Monday meant it was book club night at my house. Light food, books, and good friendship always filled our evenings. I’d prepared a veggie tray, pretzels, and a meat and cheese board. The cold foods chilled in the refrigerator that had become much too empty since Abby left for college.
Cowboy watched my movements with interest. I rolled slices of Lyoner with olives and peppers and speared each one with a colorful toothpick. His ears perked up when he smelled the Black Forest ham, and I gave him a slice. As skinny as he was, I leaned toward allowing him to eat real food. “We need to fatten you up, but don’t tell Dr. Erb I gave you anything besides his fancy dog food.”
Cowboy devoured the ham and barked.
“One more slice, and that’s all.” I cut up the slice and placed it in his bowl. “There you go, boy.”
He gobbled it up in less than twenty seconds.
After I cleaned the kitchen, Cowboy followed me to my home office. The rain had quit, but the weather was dreary. It both felt and smelled like it could rain again any moment. I sat at the desk, and Cowboy lay at my feet while I added notes to my tablet on what I’d learned about Willow.
I’d discovered more about Rita and her ex-fiancé and created a new entry on them. They probably had nothing to do with Willow’s death, but Dave was a newcomer and an ex-con. Had he been out of prison long enough to have crossed paths with Willow? I didn’t see how he could’ve had a motive to off her.
The doorbell rang, and Cowboy raced to the front door, barking until I joined him. “No barking.”
Cowboy quieted, but his tail continued to wag.
I looked out the upper window panes before opening the door to Paige. “Hi, you’re early.”
She nodded as she entered, then stopped in front of Cowboy and pet him as I shut and locked the door. “When’d you get a dog?”
“I found him this weekend and adopted him after Dr. Erb told me that his owner died. Evidently, if I didn’t adopt him, he could die next.”
“That doesn’t sound right to me. I bet they only said that to guilt you into adopting him.”
“I looked it up. It’s okay to euthanize shelter dogs, as in it’s legal.” I shivered.
“Still, it doesn’t sound like something Dr. Erb would do. He’s in the business of healing pets, not killing them.” She removed her rain jacket, and I hung it on a coat rack made from a birch tree limb. Paige wore a light blue T-shirt featuring Jane Austen.
“That makes me feel better about Dr. Erb. Let’s discuss something besides death.” I headed to the kitchen. “Would you like a drink?”
Paige and Cowboy followed me from the living area, through the breakfast room, and into the kitchen. Paige plopped onto a barstool, and Cowboy headed to his water bowl.
“I’d love a drink, but nothing with caffeine. I’m wired enough.” Paige ran a hand through her hair, messing up her already messy bun.
“I’ve got the perfect thing.” I filled a glass with ice. “The Agatha Christie book was good.”
“Hers usually are. It’s why they’ve stood the test of time.” She stared into space and replied with a flat tone.
I pulled out a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator and filled her glass, then dropped a mint sprig on top before passing it to her. “What’s going on? Has there been a new development?”
“Chief Young questioned me again. I almost puked when he walked into the store this afternoon. I had to close for about three hours while he grilled me.” She drank the entire glass of lemonade at once and passed it back to me.
“What kind of questions did he ask?” I refilled her glass.
“What was my relationship like with Willow? Where was I when the murder occurred? Do I have a witness? We went over the timeline of Friday morning again. Oh, Emma, I know they are going to arrest me.” Her knuckles whitened as she held the glass. “They’re trying to catch me in a lie or something.
“Surely not.”
“I’m going to be sick again.” She dashed out of the kitchen and toward the bathroom.
Cowboy whined.
“Do you need to go out?” I opened the back door and followed him as far as the patio. “Don’t think about trying to escape. I’m watching you tonight.”
A metallic sound yanked my attention off Cowboy. “Who’s there?” Shadows filled my yard, but it wasn’t dark yet. Although, Willow had been murdered in the light of day.
My dog poked his head up from the flowers and raced to the side of my house. His bark sounded happy instead of threatening.
The fence surrounded my flower gardens and the sideyard. I inched my way toward the side area, unsure what to expect. At least Paige was in the house and could call for help if this went sideways. Taking a deep breath, I peeked around the corner.
Jake had a wrench in one hand and was moving the gate door back and forth.
I gasped. “What are you doing?”
His eyes grew wide. “I wanted to come by and see if we could discuss the murder, and it seemed like a good time to take a look at your gate.”
“I planned to get to it.” Wait, that didn’t sound thankful. Willow’s murder must be getting to me. “I appreciate your help, but don’t you have better things to do?”
He shrugged. “It beats sitting around the bed-and-breakfast.”
“What about Brett?”
Jake shut the gate behind him and knelt beside Cowboy. “Celia wanted some time alone with Brett before she has to head back to Waco. What can I say? My little sister has me wrapped.”
Cowboy licked Jake’s face.
“Thanks for helping, but Paige is inside.” I rubbed my hands together. “I can’t desert her.”
“No problem. I’ll finish this up. Cowboy can stay with me.”
“I hate to take advantage.”
“You’re not. I’m offering. We’ll be fine.” He patted Cowboy, then stood. “Go hang out with your friend.”
“If you’re sure.”
He motioned for me to leave. “Go on.”
I only glanced back once at Jake working on my gate with Cowboy sitting beside him watching. The puppy was well-behaved. Was he special, or had he been trained? The things I knew about dogs could fill a spoon.
In the kitchen, Paige sat at the counter. Her face was pale, but she must’ve run a brush through her hair. It looked much neater. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry. Do you feel any better?”
She blotted her forehead with a damp paper towel. “I’m not sure I can lead our discussion tonight.”
“Let me text our group and postpone until next week.” I picked my phone off the counter and began a group message.
“That will only work if I’m not in jail next Monday.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Aw, Paige, don’t think like that. You’re innocent.”
“There are lots of innocent people in prison.”
I hit send, then sat beside my friend. “We know you didn’t kill Willow, so who else had a motive? The spouse is always a suspect, but Vince is obvious. If we rule out you and Vince, who does that leave us?”
“I don’t know.” She reached for her lemonade and took a drink. “I heard Rusty was questioned.”
“It’s hard to believe he’d murder Willow. Maybe if she’d been run over by a drunk or stoned driver, Rusty could be considered.” I flattened my hands on the cool granite countertop. “Although, he doesn’t have a car, so that doesn’t make sense.”
“His parents moved to Austin last year. The dad made a fortune working the oil rigs or investing wisely or something.” Paige wadded up the paper towel. “None of this is helping prove my innocence.”
“We eliminated Rusty.” My phone pinged twice.
“Right, but it doesn’t help me. We’re eliminating more people than finding suspects.” My friend gasped. “You’ve got to help me catch the killer. You usually solve the mystery first in book club. Don’t just say you’re going to help. Dig in and catch the killer. I’m not imagining Chief Young’s desire to arrest me. It’s going to happen.”
I’d never seen Paige come unglued. She was normally confident and optimistic. “Hey, you’re innocent, and the truth will prevail.” I pulled out the meat and cheese board as well as the veggies and placed them on the counter. Maybe Paige’s blood sugar had dropped. Her mood was for sure bleak. My phone pinged again, and I glanced at it.
Paige took a big breath. “I guess that’s our group replying.”
I checked. “Yes. You know we’re all on your side.”
“Yeah.” She eyed the food. “I haven’t eaten all day.”
I pulled out a stack of Thun Bohemia Rambler pink flower plates I’d inherited from my Grandmother Fair. “Eat something. I’m sure you’ll feel better with food in your stomach.”
There was a tap on the back door followed by a bark.
“That’s Jake. Do you mind if he comes in? He’s had police training, and he’s been helping me solve the mystery.” I walked to the door but kept my focus on Paige.
“What can it hurt?” She reached for the crackers.
I opened the door for Jake and Cowboy.
Jake stood in the doorway. “The gate should stay closed for you now. If not, let me know. I’ll try something else.”
“Thanks, but you don’t need to worry about it.”
“It’s best to stay busy. Keeps me out of trouble.” He winked.
“Okay, I don’t want to be blamed for you getting into trouble. Why don’t you come inside? We’re going to eat a little and discuss the murder.”
Jake wiped his feet on the doormat, then pointed to the sink. “Do you mind if I wash my hands?”
“Sure. Would you like lemonade?”
“Sounds good.” He was taller than my brother who had been about the only man in my kitchen. Jake’s presence filled the space.
I poured drinks for us.
Paige pointed to the veggie dip. “This is delicious. Did you make it?”
“No, I bought it from Sophie. I’m going to grab my tablet to take notes on what we discuss.” I left her picking two little slices of rye bread off the board.
When I returned, Jake was loading up his plate.
“Let’s sit at the table.” I pointed to the long French harvest table I’d gotten for a steal at a flea market after I bought my bungalow. It was long and narrow and fit the space perfectly.
The three of us moved the food, and I sat at the end of the table with Paige on one side and Jake on the other. “Jake, Paige is concerned Matt will arrest her for Willow’s murder. Do you think it’d be a good idea to dive deeper into Willow’s life?”
He swallowed and wiped his mouth. “Yeah. That’ll give us a better idea of who might have a motive to kill Willow. What do you two know about her?”
“She’s rich.” Paige rolled a carrot between her fingers. “Always has been wealthy.”
“Then it sounds like money is a legit motive.” Jake nodded.
“I wonder who will inherit her fortune?” I added the question to my notes.
Paige said, “Probably her children, but there’s no way they murdered Willow.”
“I agree.” From a distance, I’d watched the kids grow up. They loved their mom, and I’d never seen an altercation between either child.
“I don’t know the kids, but it wouldn’t be the first time a teen murdered their parents. How old are the children?” Jake frowned.
Paige played with her ring. On and off it went. “Seventeen and fourteen, but they seem like good kids. They’ve helped me at the store for special events. Both are polite and appeared to get along with Willow.”
Jake nodded. “I’ll trust your assessment for now.”
I added money to my list of motives. How many people had been killed because of greed? The more immediate question was, who had the most to gain financially from Willow’s death?
“Blake plays baseball for the high school, and you know that parents of athletes can get hostile.” Paige sighed.
“It’s early in the season. Do you think he took somebody else’s spot on the team?” I knew most of the high school parents because of my daughter Abby.
“Benching a player is bad if they’re hoping to earn a college scholarship.” Paige left her ring alone and took a cracker. “I’ll ask around and try to find out if baseball could be a possible connection. I know it seems like a long shot, but I’m that desperate.”
“Unless Willow was on the coaching staff, it doesn’t seem a likely motive.” Jake tapped the table. “Emma, I think you’re onto something about Willow’s past. I wonder if she was being blackmailed for some reason.”
“Blackmail? That’s an interesting angle. Willow appeared to be a pillar of the community, but what if she did something bad?” I wasn’t sure what it could be, but I’d dig into her background, starting with social media.