I woke up with sunshine full in my face and the voices of my friends whispering around me. As I opened my eyes and stretched the crick out of my neck, I smiled. Apparently everyone had stayed and slept in various positions around the room. Only Lucy looked restful since she had slept on the couch. The rest of us, and I’m sure me included, looked like we’d been in bar fights that left us with circles under our eyes and rats’ nests for hair.
Fortunately, Rocky and Marcus each responded immediately when I saw it was almost nine-thirty. They were already at the store and ready to open on time. “Left something for you on the front stoop,” Rocky’s message added. “Get there before the dogs.”
I looked over to where Mayhem, Taco, Sasquatch, and Aslan were curled up by the fireplace in some sort of excitement-induced camaraderie and thought, No problem. Those guys aren’t going anywhere for a while.
When I opened the door, I whooped with delight. There, Rocky had left a carafe of coffee and a box of cinnamon rolls. The note said, “Tuck filled us in first thing. Come in whenever” in Rocky’s beautiful handwriting.
I didn’t even wait before shoving a cinnamon roll in my mouth. When I turned back to the room with a cinnamon roll hanging out of my lips, the laughter that broke out was so infectious, I almost dropped my breakfast. Fortunately, Mart saved me and got the box and coffee from my hands just in time for me to catch the rest of the deliciousness before Taco got to it. That dog could go from dead asleep to wide awake at the slightest scent of food.
As we all ate, I texted Mindy to let her know what had happened and ask, at Lucy’s sleepy request, if Lucy could come in that afternoon to talk with her boss. Mindy agreed readily, and I knew that she was going to make a great new director for the library, even if the decision hadn’t been formally made yet.
My friends and I chatted about the songbirds outside and our plans for the backyard and landscaping around the house. Elle made suggestions about good plants to include, and Woody offered to build us a bench for the back corner under the red maple. The conversation stayed light as if by some unspoken agreement we all knew we needed some time to process the events of the night before.
Lucy seemed okay this morning, but Walter and Stephen insisted on driving her home, a gift that she tried to refused but only half-heartedly. Pickle headed out to step down as Cagle’s lawyer because, obviously, he had a conflict of interest now. “Hard to defend a man well when he threatened you and your friends,” he said on his way out.
Slowly, the rest of us put the living room back together and drank the rest of the coffee, and then our friends headed on their way to their own jobs and businesses. It was going to be a sleep-deprived day around St. Marin’s, but it was a weekend at the beginning of the tourist season. None of us could afford to take the day off.
After everyone had left, Mart and I both got showers, and after I assured her I wanted to walk into work and that Taco and Mayhem would definitely alert someone if I collapsed on the way, she drove off to her wine tasting event at a nearby horse farm. Mayhem, always the more attuned of the pair of my dogs, set the pace easy and light as we walked down the streets of town in time to see cars with people in pastel church clothes headed out. Some of my neighbors were pulling weeds or trimming hedges, and everyone waved. It would have felt like an idyllic Sunday morning if I had been able to shake the lingering anxiety from the night before.
I’d finally learned from my experiences and that I had to let myself feel what I felt and trust that I’d come through it when I had braved the darkness. So I let myself cry a little as I turned onto the Main Street and took a loop up by Elle’s shop, where she was opening the door with a bunch of orange daylilies in hand. She smiled and nodded as I wiped a tear away and waved.
Cate gave me a big – if tired – smile as I walked past her studio at the art co-op. The lobby was full of guests, and I knew that even though she was exhausted, Cate was excited that the artists she supported were getting some attention. I hoped Henri’s studio was full of art lovers who were buying her weavings, too.
Max’s restaurant was packed with his in-season brunch crowd, and Symeon was outside baking pizzas in the street-side oven he’d built. I smiled as I passed by and said, “That smells so good” in my most enthusiastic voice with a wish that he’d get a huge number of pizza orders for the afternoon. Inside, I saw Max and Mel talking in a quiet corner.
My store was buzzing, too, and as I unhooked Mayhem and Taco, I glanced around. Marcus had redone the front tables, leaving a small section for the remaining copies of Lippman’s books that we still had and adding in a whole slew of thriller titles to flesh out the display. He’d even made a sign that said, “If you love Laura Lippman, you’ll love these thrillers, too.” I was particularly happy that he’d featured The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones because the book was so creepy and because the cover was gorgeous. From the looks of it, the books were already selling, and I made a note to order in more thrillers since they were great vacation reads.
After checking in with Marcus and learning that nothing special needed my attention in the shop, I headed over for my latte and to thank Rocky for the thoughtful gift. “It was nothing,” she said. “Sounded like you all had a hard night? Sorry we weren’t there.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. We need at least two people in town who aren’t too sleep-deprived to make good decisions.”
Rocky laughed. “Well, if anyone needs us to weigh in, I’m sure I can speak for Marcus and say we’re happy to help.” She glanced over at her boyfriend, who winked at her. They were simply so sweet together.
I spent the next hour or so keeping myself upright by tidying shelves and pulling down backstock. Marcus managed the customer end of things for both of us since I wasn’t sure I could recall the titles of books, much less make good recommendations.
About noon, Tuck came in, and I pointed toward the wingback chairs in the fiction section to suggest we talk there, a suggestion that also gave both of us a chance to rest. Even walking around, I was having a little trouble keeping my eyes open. It looked like I was going to need to make an exception to my no caffeine after noon rule.
I smiled at my friend as he sat down even more heavily than I did. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Not yet,” he said. “But I’m headed home after I talk with you. Lu’s orders.”
“Good woman,” I said. “You don’t owe me information, though, Tuck. Just go on home.”
Tuck smiled. “I know I don’t owe you anything, Harvey, but I want to give you an update and then ask that you let everyone know. You all probably saved Lucy’s life last night, so I thought you’d all be interested to know that Cagle has been charged with Sidney’s murder.”
I sighed. “Good. That’s good,” I said quietly. “Did he confess?”
Tuck shook his head. “And I don’t think he will. He’s too far deep into his role as Lucy’s protector to think he did anything wrong at all, but he’s also too smart to say too much.”
“But you have enough evidence.” I tried to sound very confident in my friend, but I knew that enough sometimes isn’t.
“The district attorney assures me that the case in iron-clad since Lucy has already agreed to testify to what she saw. Between that and Cagle’s breaking and entering, we have got it, Harvey.” Tuck rubbed his chin. “I just wish we could also get him for what he did to Lucy before . . .”
“Yeah, me too.” I took a deep breath and asked, “Do you know why Reeves was so invested in keeping Lucy safe? I mean he saw one interchange and took it on himself to protect her.”
Tuck sighed and nodded. “He told me about his daughter who had been assaulted by her boyfriend. He had ignored the warning signs, and he still feels guilty.”
I blew air out of my pursed lips. “So when he saw Lucy and Cagle arguing . . .”
“Yep. He didn’t want to wait to act this time.”
We sat quietly for a few minutes, but then I felt pressed to say something. “Tuck, you are a good sheriff, you know that, right?”
Tuck looked up and met my gaze. His eyes grew soft, and he said, “Thank you, Harvey. Most days, I think I do my job well, but some days . . .”
“Some days, we all need to be reminded of our worth,” I said quietly. “As you ramp up your campaign, let me know how I can help, okay?”
He stood and offered a hand to pull me up. “Will do, Harvey. Will do.” He looked over at the café. “Now, go get the latte Rocky is waving in the air before you fall asleep standing up.”
I laughed and made my way over to the café. The mug Rocky handed me was the size of a soup bowl, and I didn’t hesitate. “Full strength? I asked as I took a long pull from the hot liquid.
“Of course,” Rocky said. “Just like you.”