The service went well. Reverend Lester McIntyre did an admirable job talking about the brutality of murder and led the congregation in a beautiful prayer for Mr Miller and his family. He made a plea for anyone with the slightest idea they might have any information to talk to Dan Dunham immediately then turned the sermon into the wisdom of the Ten Commandments.
Dan, Ellen, Susannah, and Mary stopped for what they thought would be a brief moment in the church hall. It didn’t work out that way. People wanted information, along with their coffee and donuts, and it wasn’t long before Dan was in the middle of a circle of people bombarding him with questions. Most wanted reassurance that Dan thought the murderer was from out of town and had moved on. Mary was the center of another circle, questions coming at her from all directions, wanting more information on what Mr Miller was doing in town. Neither of them was doing very well coming up with answers. Finally, Ellen came to Dan’s rescue, Susannah to Mary’s, and they pulled into Miguel’s parking lot. The aroma of Mexican food wafted from the kitchen door and Mary’s stomach growled.
‘Let’s sit on the patio, if there’s a table.’ Ellen led the way through the doorway and stopped at the empty hostess stand. ‘I think there’s one empty in that corner.’
‘Hey, Susannah.’ A pretty girl, her dark hair done up in heavy braids with red, white and green ribbons woven through them, came up, her arms full of menus. ‘Four? These your folks?’
‘Hey, Connie. Yeah. This is my mom, Ellen Dunham, my stepdad, Dan, and my great-aunt, Mary McGill. Everyone, this is Connie Garcia. Her dad is Miguel. She’s going to graduate from Cal Poly next year also, only she’s going to teach Spanish.’
Connie grinned. ‘Seemed like a natural major and who knows? Maybe some of the kids will actually learn something. Patio? Follow me.’
They did, but Mary stopped and grabbed Ellen’s arm. ‘Look. There’s the Grady brothers. I guess Heath got back in town safe and sound.’ She motioned toward the far corner of the room where three people sat at a table, deep in conversation.
Ellen squinted as she peered into the dimly lit corner. ‘I didn’t know he’d gone. Isn’t that Jerry Lowell with them?’
‘I think so. Hard to tell in this light but …’
The man turned to say something to Heath.
‘That’s him. I didn’t know they were friends. I wonder where Marlene is.’
Ellen shrugged. ‘Probably at home doing dishes. They must know each other, but if body language is any indication I wouldn’t say they’re too friendly.’
Ellen was right. Jerry sat rigid in his chair with what looked like a full plate in front of him. The Gradys looked relaxed. Gabe lounged in his chair, his hat pushed back on his head and what looked like a Bloody Mary in his hand. There was no mistaking the celery sticking up out of the glass, even at this distance. Heath sat on Jerry’s other side, talking. The expression on his face seemed bland but Mary didn’t think his words were, at least not judging by Jerry’s reaction. Ellen took her by the arm and tugged. ‘They’re all waiting for us. Come on.’
With one last glance, Mary allowed herself to be guided out onto the patio, where the others were already seated, menus in hand.
‘What was so interesting in there?’ Dan looked up from his menu as she sat down but didn’t give her time to answer. ‘I’ll have a Bloody Mary. Ellen, what do you want? Susannah wants a Screwdriver. Mary?’
It wasn’t until the drinks arrived and they had ordered that he asked his question again. ‘Who did you see in there that had you so intrigued?’
‘Not intrigued, exactly. Just a little surprised.’
‘Jerry Lowell was having breakfast with the Grady brothers.’ Ellen took a sip of her Margarita and smiled. ‘Lovely. He didn’t seem to be enjoying it very much. Too bad. The food here is really good.’
‘What do you mean?’ Dan leaned back, looking around at the crowded tables and took a sip of his Bloody Mary. His interest seemed idle, at best. ‘What were they doing?’
Ellen and Mary looked at each other.
Ellen shrugged. ‘Jerry seemed upset but the Gradys didn’t. Gabe was slouched in his chair, evidently enjoying a Bloody Mary, and Heath was talking. I have no idea what he was saying but it didn’t look as if Jerry liked it.’
Dan set his glass on the table, sat up a little straighter and turned his full attention to Ellen. ‘Didn’t they buy the old Baxter place? You had the listing, didn’t you?’
Ellen nodded. ‘It was one of those joyful experiences when both the buyers and sellers were difficult. I was more than glad when we got that one done.’
He was quiet for a moment while he stared at her, then he nodded and picked up his glass. ‘I’d forgotten that. What are the Grady brothers like?’
Ellen licked a little salt off the side of her Margarita glass and stared into it. ‘It’s hard to describe. Heath was always polite, whereas Gabe … Well, as far as I can tell, the only things Gabe takes seriously are his fireworks, his electronic devices and his pursuit of “pretty women.” But Heath is one of those people who always seems to be suspicious of something, or someone, and there’s just this aura of if you try to take me, you’ll be sorry. A faint chip on his shoulder that he’s daring you to knock off, and if you do, all hell will break loose.’ She took a sip of her drink, puckered her mouth then hurried on. ‘I’m not explaining this well, and it was only a feeling I had, but he isn’t an easy person to be around.’
Dan nodded slowly, but before he could say anything he was interrupted. Pat, Karl and Neil arrived.
‘I told Susannah we weren’t going to be able to get away, but all dogs going home this morning got picked up and everything got done early, so we decided to see if you were still here.’ Pat grinned, looked around for a chair and spotted a recently vacated table. ‘Quick, Neil. Pull that table over here.’
He and Dan obliged, Karl brought chairs and Susannah waved to Connie. ‘It this all right?’
Connie nodded and hurried to get a fresh tablecloth and menus. Neil pulled his chair a little closer to Susannah’s and started telling her about his early morning call to a neighboring horse farm, Karl and Dan began rehashing last night’s baseball game and Mary, Ellen and Pat began a discussion on which flowers would be suitable for a summer wedding. The Gradys and the Lowells were forgotten.
It wasn’t until later that afternoon that Mary thought about them again. Their table was vacant when they’d left. Why hadn’t Tommy and Marlene been with them? None of it was her business and there were plenty of things waiting for her to do that were.
The phone rang. Wondering which committee thought they needed an emergency meeting, she answered.
It was Susannah. ‘Aunt Mary, I forgot to ask you this when we picked up the dogs. I need to go into the jewelry store tomorrow to get my ring sized. I thought you might like to come with me. I want you to see what we picked out.’
Mary quickly agreed. Susannah and Neil would pick her up around ten-thirty, if that wasn’t too early, and Neil would take the dogs to the dog park while they looked at the ring. Mary almost snorted. Ten-thirty too early? She assured Susannah that would be perfect and that both she and Millie would love it. Humming slightly under her breath, she went into the kitchen to get Millie’s dinner.