I sat at the bistro table for a few more minutes, mostly to be sure Brayden and Jack were both gone from the dining room. I didn't hear any noise or conversation coming from the dining room, so I crept to the door and peeked outside.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I scanned the almost empty dining room. Jack was gone, and so were the other guests. No one had heard me arguing with Brayden. I opened the door a crack further and my heart sank as I spotted Tyler Gates over at a table by the window, alone.
He caught the door's motion and met my gaze. Our eyes remained locked for a split second before he turned away. He knew.
Great.
The one person I hadn't wanted to know about my troubled relationship had obviously heard everything. I turned around and walked back into the kitchen, deflated.
How awkward.
I wanted to talk to him about the case, and this just made me want to avoid him. But Aunt Pearl needed help fast, so I couldn't exactly hide under a rock.
"You did the right thing."
I jumped at the voice behind me, not expecting anyone else in the kitchen. "Huh?"
Grandma Vi floated a few feet away from me in a purpley haze.
"You promised to stay at the tree house, Grandma."
"I can't stay away when I'm needed. Brayden's all wrong for you. It'll take a few days but it will all blow over."
“Of course you think that. You never liked him in the first place.” I sat back down at the table, deflated at the prospect of canceling the wedding. "How am I going to un-invite two hundred people?"
"We'll figure out a way." Grandma Vi sat down—or rather hovered—opposite me. "Now you can make a play for that handsome new sheriff."
"I'll do no such thing. All my energies are focused on solving Sebastien Plant's murder and clearing Aunt Pearl. Tell me what you know about Tonya Plant and Jack Tupper."
"Who's Jack?" Grandma Vi asked.
"The one sneaking around with Brayden last night," I said.
"The one in my room."
"It's not your—" I stopped myself mid-sentence. No point in upsetting Grandma more. I took a deep breath. "We all agreed to open the Inn and we've all made sacrifices. You can't spy on people like that."
"I was homesick. And Pearl promised not to tell anyone." Grandma Vi frowned. "Pearl never could keep a secret."
"I made her tell me," I said. "She's about to get charged with Plant's murder unless we do something about it. What did Tonya and Jack talk about when you were there?"
"There wasn't much talking going on in that room. Tonya's husband isn't even in the ground yet and that scoundrel's making out with her."
"It takes two to tango."
Grandma Vi sighed. "They can't just steal our land out from under us, can they?"
"Not unless we agree to sell it, and we're not going to do that."
"They seem to think it's already theirs,” Grandma Vi said. “Tonya's playing that Jack guy, though. He's too lovesick to see it.”
I couldn’t imagine abrasive Jack being lovesick, but maybe he was different behind closed doors. "I need your help to solve the murder, Grandma. I want you to follow Tonya everywhere she goes."
"You mean like, spy on her? I thought that wasn't allowed."
"In this case, it is." We couldn't leave her unguarded for a moment. Grandma Vi wouldn't stay at my place no matter what I did, so I might as well use her talents.
"But she's a witch. She'll see me," Grandma Vi said. "Why don't I spy on Jack instead?"
I shook my head. "I'll watch him. I need someone powerful against Tonya, and your magic is much better than mine."
That seemed to appease her. "Under one condition."
I sighed. "Fine, name it." Why did every promise in my family come with conditions attached?
"I want my old room back."
I nodded. One way or another, we all wanted something back. I just wasn't so sure if we would get what we wanted with no strings attached.