Page 10 of Exposure of Murder

Since she wasn’t writing anymore, seeing her books in stores and online just reminded Jane of everything she’d lost.

Changing the subject, Jane asked what everyone was ordering. They looked at their menus and discussed what sounded good.

“I suggest we get a charcuterie board for the table and go from there,” said Lily. She looked at Savannah. “Emmy makes the best boards. Well, the best everything but her boards are exceptional.”

“Works for me,” said Savannah. Everyone chimed in with a yes. They went over their choices for cured meats, cheeses, fruits and nuts. Local honey—yes, please. Apples from the local orchard—definitely. Jane was excited. She’d never sampled a board before.

After their order was placed, the women caught each other up.

“So, what do you do for work, Savannah?” asked Claire.

The women had taken to Savannah like an old friend. Jane was thrilled that she was welcomed and getting along with them.

Savannah took a sip of wine and put her glass down. “I paint scenes of Boston, boats in the harbor and the surrounding area, using watercolor as my medium.”

“Oh. How wonderful. Another artist.” Claire clapped her hands with joy. “You should have Jane bring you by my gallery. I own Earth & Fire in town. I’m a potter, and my partner, Dylan McQueeney, is a painter. He paints in oils and loves findinguninhabited buildings, abandoned farm equipment, and old cars to paint and making them come alive.”

There was another McQueeney? Jane was surprised to hear the name. How many siblings did Ethan have? None of her concern since she hadn’t talked to him since the window was broken and she never saw Tanner.

The server took their order, and the women talked amongst themselves.

“I heard you had a break-in,” said Leah. “Did they take anything? Was Ethan able to help you?”

Pffft. Ethan! Just remembering how dismissive he had been still rankled her.

“No, they didn’t take anything, just moved things around,” Jane replied. “Ethan couldn’t help since nothing was missing. He thought it was just kids.” Jane sighed. It wasn’t as if she was going to tell everyone Ethan thought she had a vivid imagination and hadn’t taken her seriously.

“Oh, sometimes he can be a bit uptight and a fuddy-duddy.” Leah giggled.

A bit uptight? Jane kept her mouth closed.

“He wasn’t like that before Corrine left,” remarked Claire. “Well, let me clarify. He’s always been reserved and very responsible, but before Corrine left, he smiled and laughed a lot.”

The women nodded in agreement. “Corrine’s leaving devastated him,” Leah said.

Corrine?

Jane furrowed her brow. She hadn’t heard Corrine’s name mentioned before. What was she to Ethan?

“Wait, who’s Corrine?” asked Savannah.

Leave it to Savannah to get straight to the point.

“Corrine McIntire.” Emily took a deep breath. “She and Ethan grew up together and were engaged. I knew them both inhigh school. Corrine liked to act in school plays and community theater. She always dreamed of becoming an actress.” Emily shook her head sadly. “I don’t know what happened. I think Corrine got cold feet and saw her chance of acting slipping away and broke off the engagement.”

Wow. So, this Corrine was Ethan’s ex-fiancée. And she wanted to become an actress? That was sad. Jane couldn’t imagine saying yes to marry someone and then breaking their heart. “Why didn’t she say something before Ethan proposed?” Jane asked.

“I believe her parents convinced her to go through with it. They always liked Ethan,” Leah said. “As the wedding got closer, I think she panicked.”

“How long ago was that?” asked Savannah.

“Hmmm, about a year ago,” Leah answered, scooping some of the liver pâté from a small mason jar and spreading it on toasted sourdough bread. “He’s never been the same. Doesn’t date much and doesn’t have a girlfriend.” She took a bite and groaned in delight. “This is delicious.”

The women sampled the board and talked among themselves. Jane sat back in her chair. It must have been a shattering experience for Ethan, especially for him to carry the hurt for so long. No wonder he was so grumpy. She felt a pang—well, a small pang—of sympathy for him.

His personal issues didn’t excuse his accusations or attitude toward her. If he didn’t trust women, that was on him, but he needed to act responsibly as sheriff.

Seven

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