Page 18 of Vows of Murder

“Vince, this is my fiancée, Jill.” He nodded to me. “Jill, this is Vince Penn, Mom’s ex.”

“We’ve met before.” Vince pulled me into a hug. “But I love welcoming a soon-to-be memberof the family.”

I saw Greg’s eyes flare with anger. But he kept his mouth shut about both the hug and the mention of family.

“Vince is going to walk me over to the bookstore and I’ll meet you there when you’re done with breakfast. I wanted to get the second book in a series I’ve been reading.” Amanda hugged Greg. “Sorry about missing youthis morning.”

“No problem. I’m sure I’ll be home for dinner.” Greg’s meaning was clear. They would be chatting about what Vince wanted. And soon.

After they left, our food showed up. I started to say something, then Greg held up his hand. “Just don’t. He’s another button. It’s my mother’s decision whether to bring him back into her life or not. I just hope he doesn’t hurt her again.”

We ate in silence for a few minutes, then we started talking about the logistics of the wedding and the night before. He grinned when he told me about Jim’s planned bachelor party. “I told him there can’t be any alcohol and I’ll be on call. But he still wants to do it. I think we’re goingaxe throwing.”

“As long as he doesn’t put my picture on the target, I’m fine with that.”

As we finished breakfast, I knew he had a lot on his mind, so I told him about my aunt calling as I walked by because she assumed I’d forgotten I wasn’t working. And about how nice it was to see Esmeralda on the beach. I didn’t ask him who had killed Kane Matthews, even though that was what I wantedto talk about.

It was too early in the investigation for Greg to be desperate enough to ask me for help or a theory. He liked my input. He just didn’t want toacknowledge it.

Or at least that was my story. I pushed away the almost-finished skillet and ate the last piece of French toast, dragging it through the warm maple syrup. I kind of regretted not getting the biscuits-and-gravy omelet, but not enough to give up the touch of sweetness with the French toast.

“I took your mom to Solvang yesterday and stopped into the bookstore. The new owner wasn’t there, but I left my card.” I emptied my coffee cup and put it by the side of the table, hoping Carrie would see I needed a refill.

“You should visit all the local bookstores. Maybe do a business-to-business type meeting with them once a quarter to talk marketing ideas. The business group has done a lot for South Cove.” Greg cleaned the leftover gravy off his plate with a spoon and ate it. “I don’t know what Tiny does to make this so good, but I have never made sausage gravy that tasted like this.”

I pulled out my phone and texted Deek about Greg’s idea.

“Did I say something wrong?” He smiled at Carrie as she refilled both our cups. “We’ll take our check now. I’ve got to get back and Jill’s having a brainstorm. I can see it growing.”

“No bill. Lille says it’s her treat and happy wedding.” Carrie glanced around and saw that Lille was on the other side of the restaurant. “I’ve never seen her comp a meal before except for a celebrity.”

“Well, please thank her for the meal and remind her that she’s more than welcome at the wedding and reception. She knows the location.” Greg smiled and held up his cup when Lille turned toward us. I hurried to follow suit, but she’d already turned away.

Today was just not my day.

Chapter 8

When I got to the bookstore, Amanda was sitting alone at a table, reading. A large coffee in a to-go cup sat in front of her. She waved at me, and I held up a finger. I needed more coffee. How I needed more, I didn’t know, but if we were going antique shopping today like we’d discussed yesterday, I needed coffee. Deek wasat the counter.

“I thought this was Toby’s morning,” I said as I ordered my coffee.

“Dude called him in to go with him this morning to the compound, New Hope? I thought you’d already know.” He poured me coffee and two pumps of caramel. “Mom’s sorry she won’t be at the wedding, but she hopes to make it for the reception. She has standing appointments on Saturday mornings that shecan’t cancel.”

“I’m just glad she’s coming. I know Esmeralda will love seeing her.” I glanced up at Deek. “Are we closing the store like I suggested?”

“Judith and Tilly are going to work Saturday. Judith’s sending her present with me. Tilly didn’t feel comfortable attending.” Deek leaned forward. “I think she needs the hours. She’s been having some problems withher boyfriend.”

“Okay, as long as they know they can close and come to the reception.” I took the cup. “Anything elseI should know?”

He shrugged. “The women from New Hope came in yesterday. Bought books. Stayed and drank coffee and ate a treat. Then they were hustled back into a van. They never meet your eyes when you talk to them. Have you noticed?”

I nodded. “It’s like they don’t want to connect to anyone outside the compound. I hear them laughing and talking between themselves, but not with outsiders. Anyway, with Kane gone, it mightjust break up.”

“Oh, no. They’ve already picked a new leader. I guess he was the second-in-command before. He came in looking for you. He said he’ll be at the next business meeting.” Deek leaned down and pulled out a business card. “Here’s what heleft for you.”

I read the card. “Roger Matthews. I wonder if he is related to Kane?”

“It’s his brother,” Amanda said as she came up from behind. “Vince told me that this morning. Molly was hoping they’d disband, but I guess Kane had a succession plan in place. Just in case. Once I told Vince I wasn’t interested in dating again or financing his business, he tried to get me to talk to Greg about Molly. So I got a little information.”

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