Page 99 of The Luminosity of Loriana Harper

“I think it’s too late to make any difference.” He tried to keep the venom from his words, but Colton’s darkened expression assured him he hadn’t succeeded. The male officer rose and put on his jacket. “I’ll see if I can convince my sister Mallory to make an appearance. She’s pretty wrapped up in Darius these days.”

Mitch, in the process of rising, plopped back down. “Wasn’t Darius at the party last night?”

Colton rolled his eyes. “Yes. Whether Loriana forgot about my sister and her boyfriend or he was just there to fill out the numbers, I’m not sure.”

“So you figured it out.”

A snicker. “Loriana’s as subtle as a freight train. She’s been leading up to this for quite some time. I’m curious how things played out.”

Mitch glared. “Since I was dragged away, I have no idea.”And even if I knew, I’d never tell you.

“I thought you might’ve spoken to Loriana this morning.” Deceptively casual.

Not going there. Mitch wasn’t fooled for even a moment. “We had other things to discuss.”

Dorrie rose. “Well, hopefully we’ll see you there.”

Finally, Mitch managed to rise as well. He trailed behind the two cops and after they crossed the threshold, slammed the door.

Dorrie’d looked like she was about to say something, but he honestly didn’t care. He was done—with cops, with investigations, with innuendoes—with all of it.

As he wandered back into the kitchen, he spotted a business card on his table.

What…?

He hadn’t caught either cop leaving it. He picked it up.

Dorothy Anne Duhamel.

And on the back, in handwriting—if you ever need anything.

His first instinct was to toss it. On second thought, having a cop’s card was never a bad thing. He tucked it into his junk drawer.

The display on the microwave informed him that noon had come and gone. Loriana’s party would be starting soon.

He could wait until Dorrie and her family had made an appearance and then show up. Except he might run into Colton and his sister. No, the entire situation was too fraught. So he wandered over to his living room and plopped down on the couch. He cued up a Christmas movie and settled in for the long haul.

Chapter twenty-one

Tuesdaymorningdawnedgrayand threatening snow.

Bring it on.

Maybe there’d be enough to close the library early. Send everyone home. Loriana could go wallow in her little house and continue to graze on leftovers. She’d done her level best to ensure every guest left with something, but she’d had fewer people than previous years and had way overdone things.

As she entered the library, she uttered yet another curse at Colton Pritchard. He’d had the temerity to show up at her party. With Mallory—lovely woman—and her boyfriend Darius. The man’d looked distinctly sheepish.

Damn.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d known those two had hooked up. She’d wasted a spot at the party. She should’ve invited the new guidance counsellor. Gifford? Griffiths? No, Griffin. He needed to get out and meet people, and this would’ve been the perfect opportunity. And he was close to Marnie’s age.

Ah, Marnie. Loriana wasn’t exactly looking forward to this morning. Her friend hadn’t made an appearance on Christmas Day—hardly surprising given the events of the night before—but also hadn’t answered Loriana’s three calls. She’d teetered on concern. But Marnie often kept radio silence for a few days at a time. The woman was prone to leaving her phone in another room and promptly forgetting about it. For someone who was so safety conscious, the oversight niggled Loriana. People Marnie’s age had grown up attached to their cell phones, but Marnie often forgot hers. Like the thing was an afterthought.

Loriana jacked up the heat, hoping the space would warm soon. They’d only been gone four days, but she’d turned down the heat. Although she wasn’t directly responsible for paying the electricity bill, Regan on the city council was constantly reminding her of the line item.

And I still don’t know who bought the computers.

Flipping on the computer in the back room, she waited for it to boot up. Now that her patrons had good computers, maybe she could look at upgrading this one.

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