Chapter 13
The next morning, she texted Archer as soon as she got up.
Where are you meeting your customer and is her name Tyra McAdams?
She watched the little bubbles for a long time. Then the response came back.
How do you know that? I’m at the shop. She’s supposed to be here at seven. She’s not a killer, right?
Rarity smiled and then told him she’d be right there and not to leave before she got there. She didn’t answer the killer question. One, because she didn’t know the answer and it would make Archer a little nervous while he waited. It wasn’t bad to keep a man guessing. At least on some things.
When she pulled her Mini Cooper into one of the parking spots for the building, Tyra had just arrived. She smiled brightly when she saw Rarity get out of her car. “Oh, good, another hiker. My mom always worries when I go out alone with a guide. I guess she thinks I can’t defend myself.”
Rarity hurried over. “Sorry, Tyra, I’m not hiking with you.”
“I would hope not. Not in those shoes. You’d be dying in ten minutes, fifteen tops. So you know me; why do you look familiar?” Tyra leaned against her Jeep, watching Rarity.
“I’m Rarity Cole; I run the local bookstore. The Next Chapter? Maybe you came in for Marc’s signing?”
Tyra shook her head. “No, I tend to stay away from ex-husbands. Especially when they write books. I hate to think of the way I’m portrayed in the book. Do you know?”
“I haven’t read it, no. So you and Marc were married? Is that why your brother thinks he’s stalking you?”
Tyra started laughing. When she stopped, she wiped her eyes.
“That’s a good one. But I can see you’re serious.
Rufus and Marc never got along. We were only married for five years.
Most of them, we were out on the road, racing.
When we spent time together, we talked about racing.
So then when he was hurt and decided to retire, we had nothing to talk about.
Racing was the thing that brought us together and, in the end, the thing that drove us apart.
We weren’t in love. We were convenient.”
A marriage of convenience in a nonliterary way. “So, Marc’s a good guy?”
“Marc’s the best. He’s devoted to his mother. He remembers birthdays and sends flowers on all the right occasions. He just wasn’t in love with me. We’re great friends, though.” Tyra waved as Archer came out of the building, keys in hand. “I thought you scared up another hiker.”
Archer walked over and kissed Rarity. “No, just my girlfriend. She’s trying to solve mysteries before she goes and watches movies all day. Besides, she’s in the wrong shoes.”
“I told her the same thing.” Tyra laughed and held her hand up for a high five, which Archer gave her. “Anyway, anything else I can tell you about Marc? Are you friends with that new girl he’s courting here?”
“I am, I mean, we’re all friends. And I’m her boss.” Now Rarity was stumbling over her words. She’d made assumptions about Marc and his ex-wife. Now she wasn’t sure what else she wanted to know. “Anyway, thanks for clearing up the thing about your brother and Marc.”
“No problem. Are we ready to slay this hike?” Tyra turned back to Archer, ready to start their adventure.
“Hey, one more thing. Does your brother have kids or know someone with kids that he’d be buying books for?” Rarity turned back from walking over to get into her car.
“Weird question, but no on both counts. He’s not even dating.” Tyra said as she locked her Jeep. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Back at the house, Rarity got ready for her day.
Killer sat by the door, watching her. She’d already left him home alone once, and somehow the dog knew a second time was coming.
She scooped him up into a hug then sat down on the couch.
“Look, Aunt Sam and I have to go watch movies and they won’t let you in the theater. I know, it’s a crime.”
Rarity heard Sam’s knock on the door. “Come on in, I’m ready.”
Sam opened the door and saw Rarity holding Killer. “I take it he knows and he’s not happy?”
“Worse, I took off this morning for a few minutes and left him alone. Now he’s really mad.
” Rarity kissed him on the top of his head then set him on the couch, turning the television on to a movie channel.
“I’m ready. I’ll fill you in on my sleuthing fiasco this morning on our way to the theater. Do you need water for the walk?”
Sam took a bottle, then listened as they walked into town. “So you thought Marc might be Darby’s stalker? I have to admit, the idea occurred to me too. Did I say something rude to him last night? I think I overdid it on the cheap wine.”
“The wine was free.” Rarity told Sam what Sam had said about Marc being a liar because he was male.
“Foot in mouth, check. I really need to slow down when it’s hot outside. I forget how wine affects me.” Sam sipped more from her bottle. “No wonder I’m parched today. This is my third bottle of water.”
“You weren’t horrible, just a little sloppy.
” Rarity rubbed her friend’s back. “Anyway, Marc has an ex-wife who said their divorce was amicable. The brother-in-law doesn’t like him, but she’s very clear that they were just about the racing.
When he wasn’t racing anymore, they didn’t have anything in common.
Sometimes when circumstances change, people change with them. ”
“So now you have no suspects in Darby’s stalking pool.” They stopped at the red light where Darby had almost gotten hit by the truck. “Did Drew get anything off the cameras? Maybe that might lead you in the right direction.”
“Not that I know of, but I’ll text him. Good question.”
Sam beamed at the compliment. “Just because I’m not as involved in the sleuthing as the rest of you doesn’t mean I’m not interested.
You all get a little crazy when you’ve got a case going on.
You’re all Sherlocks and Watsons. Jonathon’s an actual ex-detective. Sometimes it’s a little intimidating.”
“As Drew reminds me all the time, he’s the professional.
We’re all just amateurs. So no letting yourself get intimidated by any of us.
Besides, last night I thought I had one of our mysteries solved, only to find out this morning that the answer I thought was not the correct answer.
” She pointed to the theater ahead. “We must be early or late; there’s no line. ”
Sam glanced at her watch. “We’re a few minutes late, but we should be able to get in still.”
After they went inside and grabbed some popcorn, the ushers took them up to a box to watch the movie.
The usher said as he opened the curtain to show off their seats, “Best seats in the house, but if you were a little later, you would have gotten turned away. We’re almost completely full.
We have two other seats in the box across from you, and then we’re full. ”
As he said that, the curtain from across the theater opened and Darby and Marc walked into the box. They sat down, and then Darby saw them and waved.
“What a surprise,” Sam said as they got seated. “Not.”
“Marc Billings is beginning to get much more interesting,” Sam said as the lights went down.
At intermission, Darby came and found them. “Isn’t this amazing? I’ve never been in box seats before. You can see everything. So how did you guys score those?”
Rarity answered honestly. “We were late. How about you?”
Darby frowned at Rarity’s answer. “According to Marc, he had to use his connections. Maybe I should go home.”
“Stay and enjoy the movies. Maybe he did call in a favor for them to save the seats for you. Like I said, we were just late. I talked to his ex-wife this morning.”
Darby looked like she’d been hit with a two-by-four. “Marc was married before?”
“Tyra McAdams. Her brother, Rufus, hates Marc, so be careful there.” The lights flickered.
“Seriously, Darby, if you feel safe, use this time to get more information about Marc. Where he grew up, what he used to do for a living, besides racing. Get what you can. But if you feel uncomfortable at any time, let one of us know and we’ll get you home safely. ”
“He seems to be a really nice guy,” Darby insisted.
“I hope he’s the best,” Sam said as she squeezed Darby’s hand. “You deserve a nice guy.”
Marc stood by the stairs, drinks in hand. When he found Darby in the crowd, he waved toward her. It was time to go back to the movie.
“Let me know if anything happens.” Darby headed toward the stairs and the waiting Marc.
Rarity and Sam went the other way. Rarity looked at her friend. “Why do I feel like I’ve just sent the baby goat into the forest? I hope she’s going to be okay.”
“Darby will be fine.” Sam waved across the theater when they got back to their seats. “She’s one of us.”
* * *
Besides the information from Tyra that morning and seeing Marc with Darby later, Rarity and Sam didn’t get much from the four independent movies they saw that afternoon. As they sat at the Garnet, iced teas in hand and waiting for a late lunch, they talked about the films.
“They weren’t my style, but then again, I’m not an indie movie type of girl.” Sam shrugged. “I would rather watch an action movie with a dreamy hunk than one that’s all about your feelings. I tried to rate them fairly, though. So they’ll be doing screenings all week?”
“Except Wednesday,” Rarity clarified. “Then they’ll do awards on Saturday night.
I like having the film festival here, it brings in lots of traffic for all the businesses.
I’m going to try to get some things around the house done tomorrow.
Archer’s coming over and making waffles in the morning, then we’ll probably go to the festival for the afternoon showings.
Katie’s running the bookstore on Monday. ”