Chapter 16 #2
“That I don’t know. Unless it was Bret. He knew about last year’s rental.
Maybe we’ve been looking at the contacts wrong.
” She thought about the incidents. “The break-in could have been him just trying to get in. The note, he missed Talia because he was there and she wasn’t.
The flowers. The only thing it doesn’t explain is the black truck almost hitting Darby. Maybe that was just an accident.”
“You should send this to Drew.” He paused. “Or tell Jonathon. He’s been at the bookstore during the day, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll talk it over with him tomorrow. Do you have to get home early?” Rarity wanted to suggest hanging out, but she didn’t want Archer to feel obligated to stay when he was tired. But he hadn’t fallen asleep in the theater, which was a good thing.
“Nope, I’m opening the store at nine, then Jack takes over and I’ve got a morning hike to take out. These guys from today asked if I’d do a private hike for them. So more movies tomorrow night?”
“I’m not sure it’s helping find Mason’s killer, but if the guys say these are the good films, I’d like to see them.” She nodded to the house. “Come in for a bit?”
“I was thinking you’d never ask,” he said as he reached for her keys.
* * *
Friday morning, Rarity was at the bookstore before anyone else.
Shirley was running the elementary-level book club on Saturday so she would come in a little later.
Thursday had come and gone without anything happening.
Something that Rarity used to take for granted, but not lately.
She and Archer had gone to the theater and seen more films. She hadn’t loved any of them. But that happened.
Today, Darby and Katie showed up together just a few minutes after Rarity opened the door.
“Guess who got flowers last night?” Katie asked, pointing to Darby.
Rarity looked up and smiled. “I hope the card was signed.”
Darby came up to the counter where Rarity was doing the opening tasks.
“Yes, it was Marc who sent them. And since he’s out of town this weekend for the race, when he called to see if I got them, he asked me if I’d have dinner with him next Wednesday night.
Well, he asked about Tuesday, but I told him I was busy. ”
“Which is great. Girls shouldn’t be changing up their schedule just to fit the guy’s plans,” Katie pointed out.
“Drew called and said he thought the stalker incident was closed. That it was a miscommunication between Talia and Bret. Did you hear that?” When Rarity nodded, Darby frowned. “Wait, you’re not surprised at all. You knew about it. Did you tell Drew?”
“I talked to Drew last night. He wanted to let me know that he stopped by the house Wednesday and spent some time with Killer. He set him up a grooming appointment for next weekend.” Rarity shook her head.
“I know he was the one to bring Killer to me after Martha died, but Killer is my dog. Sometimes he forgets that.”
“But then Killer has lots of people who care about him and his welfare. That can’t be a bad thing, right? It takes a village.” Katie paused for a second. “Maybe for Killer, it’s even more important since he was so isolated with his first owner.”
Rarity hadn’t thought about it that way.
Drew’s pronouncement had seemed a little overstepping, but she let it go.
Especially since she had needed to tell him what she figured out about Talia and Bret.
He called this morning, saying he’d talked to both of them and Rarity was right.
Bret had thought that Talia had rented the same house this year and had left the note.
And sent her flowers because he thought she was mad at him.
Darby might not have even thought of a stalker except for her history with the guy in Scotland.
She made assumptions. And through those filters, especially with the angst of Mason’s murder, it had all added up to something more.
Drew was still trying to find out who had borrowed the black truck, though.
And he’d told her that his father was running late. Again. He had taken Romeo to the vet because he seemed listless.
Rarity wondered what the difference between listless and lazy was, but she hadn’t said anything.
Rarity made assignments for the day and then pulled Darby aside.
“Hey, if you’re staying on longer than fall, I’d like you to take on something or a project.
Like the book clubs. Or an outreach program.
Just think about it and let me know. And I need a list of the types of books you love so you can be our whatever expert. ”
“Like a Scotland guru?” Darby grinned as she glanced around the bookstore.
“Exactly, but think bigger. Maybe travel or romance or time travel? You make the decision.” Rarity opened her email program. “I plan to get to inbox zero status before the end of the day.”
“It’s an impossible dream,” Darby said.
Rarity smiled. “Yes, but a woman’s dream should exceed her reach, or what is heaven for? Or something like that. Let’s get to work. It’s going to be a busy weekend with the film festival wrapping up.”
As they worked, Rarity kept an eye on the door for Jonathon. When he finally arrived with his laptop and Romeo in tow, she walked over to talk to him. “Everything okay?”
“He’s healthy as a horse. They ran every test known to dog after I told him I was concerned, but Romeo is just lazy.
So we’re going to take walks in the morning before I come in for bookstore duty, and when I’m home, we’re walking before I sit down with coffee.
It will do both of us good to be more active.
” Jonathon wiped at his eyes. “It’s dusty out there. ”
“No, it’s not,” Rarity said as she gave him a hug. “I’m glad Romeo’s okay. I was worried.”
Jonathon chuffed. “You were worried. You weren’t going to have to be the one to tell Edith. She loves this dog.”
“Well, now she’ll have him for a long time.” Rarity went back to the register. “So did Drew tell you about closing out Darby’s stalking case?”
“Yes, and that officer is hopping mad. He thought maybe he’d found a ring of thieves, preying on women who lived alone.
He had a whole presentation made out for things for patrol officers to watch for.
Which is still important, but the lack of a stalker kind of took the air out of his tires.
It’s hard when mankind turns out to be better than what you’re expecting.
” Jonathon arranged his writing table, and Romeo had found a spot to sleep near him on the floor. All was right in the world again.
Sam came into the store as Rarity was closing up. “Hey, what’s going on tonight?”
“Archer and I are heading to the film festival. Do you and Drew want to come?” She finished closing up the register and put the day’s receipts in a bag that she tucked into the safe.
“Drew’s working,” Sam complained. She looked over at Jonathon, who was packing his laptop. “I suspect you’re having a video chat date night with Edith?”
“I am, sorry, or I’d volunteer as tribute since Drew is unavailable.” He stood and gave Sam a hug. “Thanks for asking about me, though.”
As he and Romeo headed out to the front door, he called back, “Don’t forget to set your security system.”
Rarity waited for the door to close before turning to Sam. “And there it is. I thought for a moment that the ex-cop was going to realize that I’m a freaking adult with a brain.”
“He hovers because he cares.” Sam laughed as she put the leash on Killer. “So you don’t mind me being a third wheel?”
“Not at all,” Rarity said as she held up a finger. “Let me lock the back up and check the security system. We have time to change if you want.”
“I’ll have to see what’s in your closet that I haven’t borrowed yet.” Sam grinned as she pulled a book off the shelf. “With Drew busy all the time, I’ve had more time to read. So that’s one advantage.”
Rarity checked the back door and its locks.
She turned and thought she saw something behind her, but it was a leather jacket hanging up on the back of the door to the shop.
How long had that been there? She took it off the hook and looked in the coat’s pockets.
A small notebook with a pen was in the left pocket, and a wallet in the right one.
Archer didn’t own a jacket like this and it was too small for Jonathon.
She opened the wallet and found Mason’s driver’s license.
This was his coat. She needed to get this to Drew.
It must have been missed in the rush to get him out of the back room before the movie ended.
A picture fell out of the wallet. It was of him and Talia at a restaurant.
The photographer had superimposed the words “Valentine’s Day” and the year. This year.
Had Talia and Mason gotten back together? Or maybe tried and failed, again? She’d never said anything like this to Rarity during dinner.
She opened the notebook and found a to-do list for the quarter. Most of the items were about festivals and events. Some about developing a new screenplay. Send a thank-you to Rarity at the Next Chapter. And one that made her pause. Move Talia home. He’d inked a heart behind that task.