Page 60 of Murder on the Page

“Sadly, no.” He sounded as exhausted as I felt. “We’re working the case. Don’t worry.”

“Did you talk to Oly Olsen?”

“Not yet.”

“Did you find out what secret Katrina might be hiding?”

“No.”

“Then why did you reach out?” I asked, somewhat exasperated.

“I wanted to see how you were doing with the menu for the memorial.”

I grunted. Really? He hadn’t called to be forthcoming about the poison in the water bottle theory?

“I made white soup that turned out well,” I said. I didn’t tell him about the footprint outside my window, seeing as I’ddemolished it, plus after musing to Darcy about the gardener, I’d convinced myself that an intruder had not left the print.

“What’s white soup?”

I explained. When he said he hadn’t readPride and Prejudice,I was surprised. No wonder he wasn’t curious about why Marigold had been holding that particular book. Sure, it was possible it had no significance. On the other hand, it had been one of her favorites, and as I’d suggested previously, a heftier coffee-table–sized book would have been a much better shield if that had been her intent. How I wished she could speak to me from the Great Beyond and give me a clue.

“I also baked Maids of Honor.” I described them and realized I hadn’t offered Zach one when he’d come to the bookshop Tuesday because I’d been too preoccupied with the details of Marigold’s will, not to mention Vanna had forced us to move the cart of treats to the side of the room.

“Do you have any left over?” he asked.

“I’ll make a new batch soon. You should touch base with Lillian if you plan to come in costume for the memorial,” I said.

“I will. Say, do you want to . . .” He stopped and let the question hang.

Want to what?I wondered.Talk about the case? Make him his own private stash of pastries? Accompany him to question Oly in person? Go on a date?

I waited, but he didn’t continue. After a long bout of silence, I said, “I’ve got to pick up Tegan. I drove her to work this morning.”

“Okay. Talk to you soon.”

I urged myself not to take affront at the abruptness of his good-bye. If I was honest, ever since ending my relationship with my ex-fiancé, I wasn’t the best at reading men. Zach might have received another call he had to take, or Bates could have been signaling him to confer about the case.

I fed Darcy and freshened his water bowl and hurled a cat toy to distract him. Then I drove to the bookshop, rehashing the short-lived conversation with Zach. When I arrived, however, I pushed all thoughts of him aside. Our friendship was fairly new, and the murder investigation was definitely taking top priority in his world.

I parked and hopped out of the van and strode toward Feast for the Eyes. Lillian was cleaning the display window of her shop. I waved. She blew me an air-kiss.

A gust of wind kicked up around me. I shivered from the onslaught and pushed into the shop. Tegan was finalizing a sale at the counter. She’d braided her hair and had outlined her eyes in charcoal, making her look no older than the anime girl on her T-shirt. Chloe, clad in a red dress with a swing skirt and sweetheart neckline, was discussing YA novels with a young woman.

When Tegan’s customer departed, I crossed to her. “I’m ready for my training session.”

“Like I said, you already know everything you have to do. You’ve rung up sales when I’ve been too busy. You’ve even unpacked shipments of boxes.”

“Are there any book clubs on the schedule?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m going to postpone all of this week’s events, and . . .” She eyed me. “Will you lead them going forward?”

“Me?” I clapped a hand to my chest. “Uh-uh. You do it.”

“No way. I’ll freeze up. You remember that time in high school.”

She’d had to give a book report in front of the English class. She’d stuttered over the opening sentence, which sent the others into hysterics and made her so flustered, she broke into tears. For a month, she didn’t tell me that two girls continued to taunt her out of a teacher’s or my earshot. When I found out, I took them to task.

“I’m daring when it comes to antics,” Tegan went on. “I’llshortsheet anyone’s bed. But I’ve never gotten over my fear of public speaking.”

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