Page 109 of Murder on the Page

My mother breezed past Evelyn Evers, and I heard Evelyn whisper her name to Lillian. My mother must have heard, because she lifted her chin proudly and continued on without a glance.

Tegan joined me with a plate filled with sweets. She was nibbling on a Maid of Honor. “Why did your mom snub Evelyn?”

“Got me.” I recalled the telephone conversation in which Evelyn had bad-mouthed Fern. What was their story? Would either confess?

“Petit four?” Tegan offered me one from her plate. “Vanna really does knock these out of the park.”

I couldn’t resist.

The pastor of Marigold’s church entered the shop, chatting with Graham Wynn, who had dressed in clerical garb appropriate for the Regency period. I bit back a smile. The look suited him.

Katrina Carlson stepped inside next and paused by the first endcap. Oly Olsen sauntered in after her. Neither had dressed in costume. The two studied the growing sea of faces. Oly whispered something to her and gave her a nudge.

She tripped over her feet, but recovered and crossed to Tegan and me. “Hi. Um, I’m glad you were able to, you know . . .”

I embraced her. “Without your help, we wouldn’t have figured out what Rick did. It took a lot of courage for you to come forward.” I released her.

“It was the least I could do,” Katrina murmured. “Detective Armstrong has been wonderful. He helped me get all the negatives from Upton, free of charge.”

“That’s great news.”

“Katrina, I told my mother about your situation,” Tegan said, “and she would like to offer you a loan so you can go to school and get your degree. She’ll give it to you at a really low interest rate.” She leaned forward. “Between you and me, I’ll bet she forgives the loan, as long as you finish school. She would want to honor what Auntie intended to do for you.”

“You’re kidding.” Tears sprang to Katrina’s eyes. “Really?” She glanced over her shoulder at Oly, who was beaming.

“Yeah, he knows,” Tegan said. “Mom clued him in as to her intention to make sure you’d come by today.”

“That’s so generous I can barely breathe.” Katrina pressed a hand to her chest. “Yes. I accept. Thank you.”

Katrina rejoined Oly, and the two walked to the beverage table, where he poured her a celebratory glass of champagne.

“Look who sneaked in,” Tegan said. “It’s Zach. Go.” She nudged me.

The moment I saw him, my jaw dropped. He looked stunning in a black tailcoat over brocade vest, his trousers tucked into black riding boots. He hadn’t gone so far as to wear a top hat, butwow!

Heart racing, I had to tell myself to walk at a slow pace until I reached him. “Thank you for coming.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it. Marigold was one of my favorite people. This shop”—he motioned to it—“has been my solace since I moved back to town.”

I ushered him through the crowd to the table filled with treats.

“You made all these?” he asked, amazed.

“All but the petit fours and cream puffs.”

He took a raspberry-lemon cookie and bit into it. “I’m definitely a cookie guy.”

“What’s your favorite flavor?” I asked, desperately wanting to know the answer.

“Good old chocolate chip. Double chocolate, if possible.” After polishing off a second cookie, he leaned in. The woodsy scent of him was heady. “Listen, Allie . . .”

I held my breath.

“We haven’t had a chance to talk since the debriefing,” he went on. “Wrapping up this case has taken all my attention, but I’ve been wanting to apologize for being gruff with you.”

“Gruff?”

“And for inadvertently hurting your feelings.”

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