Page 45 of Vows of Murder

The tea was working its magic, and I could feel my muscles relaxing. I was home. Greg was here with Emma. All was right in my little world.“Yeah, sorry.”

“Honey, there’s not much that goes on around here or around those I love without me finding out. But I appreciate the concern.” He picked up a pen and started crossing names off my list.

“Whatare you doing?”

He looked up and smiled. “Removing the people we’ve already checked for alibis. “Remember, I am a professional investigator. I do know things.”

My face warmedand he laughed.

“It’s fine. I appreciate your work. Looking at the obituaries for next of kin, that was pretty impressive.” He took out his notebook and wrote a few names into it. “I’ll have Esmeralda check on these. And I’ll have a chat with Vince if he hasn’t already skipped town. He’s broken ties with Molly, his current golden goose. And Mom’s not giving him anything. I’ve madesure of that.”

“Sometimes it’s crazy how close these investigations get to the people in our lives.” I finished my tea and stood to turn the kettle back on to warm more water. “Have you been able to get our favorite minister off the suspect list yet?”

He groaned as he closed his notebook. “No. Bill took a drive before church on Sunday morning. He was back at the church at ten but the time of death Doc gave me doesn’t clear him. It cleared Molly, though. He was dead for at least an hour before the paramedics got to the mission and we have video showing when she came into the parking lot and when she left. And, Mrs. King, the video clears you.”

“Wait, I was a suspect?” I turned away from the kettle I was trying to willinto whistling.

He shook his head. “We always look at the person who found the body. I thought you’d know that by now.”

Chapter 18

There was a line at the coffee shop when I walked up from the house on Tuesday morning. News vans sat parked around Main Street. I pushed my way through the crowd and ignored the questions being thrown my way as I unlocked the door.

One reporter asked, “Did you knowKane Matthews?”

Another reporter asked, “How has having a cult in your backyard changed South Cove?”

“Any theories on why they used the mission as a murder venue?” a woman standing next to me asked quietly. Then she added, “How was the wedding? Any ghost Kane sightings?”

I stared at her as the lock clicked under my key.

“I have no comment on the murder of, or the life of, Kane Matthews,” I said as I turned and stared down the group. “However, if you want to buy coffee or a book, you’re welcome to come inside.”

When I walked into the shop, most of the group followed me. The woman who’d asked about the wedding stayed outside. I met her gaze and she smiled. I hadn’t heard the last from her. I put on an apron, started my coffeepots, and switched on the rest of the lights. Then I turned to the first person in line. “What canI get for you?”

As the line eased, I texted Sadie and asked for an emergency refill on my treat stash before I helped the next person. I thought about calling for help, but things were going well, and most of the reporters got their order and left the shop. If they stopped in again after the funeral on their way back to their home base, the shop would be out of baked goods by one.

With the shop nearly empty, the woman loitering out front came in. She had a disposable cup in her hand that she threw away asshe approached the counter. She must have had someone else get her first cup. I tried to ignore what I knew was coming. “Good morning, can I get you another coffee? How would you like it?”

She rattled off her simple order and pointed to the snowflake cookies. “I’ll take a dozen of those if you have enough.”

“I’ll run in the back and check.” I didn’t wait. I’d already started her coffee and I’d box up the cookies in the back, keeping me out of conversation range. I had two dozen left, so I packed the dozen for her and brought the rest out to put in the case. If I kept busy, maybe she’d leave me alone. I rang up the purchase and gave her the total as I put the box into a large bag, then pushed the coffee toward her. I took her credit card.

“So howwasthe wedding? I would have thought you’d be gone on your honeymoon. I guess marrying a police detective kind of killed off that idea.” She took back her card and signed her name on the receipt. Then she left an extremely large tip.

“I was needed at the coffee shop.” I nodded to the line. “Work is calling.”

The woman’s eyes flashed, and I realized she’d thought I’d talk about Kane’s death. Even Darla knew better, and she was only a part-time reporter. This woman thought a few dollars in my tip jar would buy my story. Or maybe it was the dozen cookies she’d bought.

She slid a business card my way. “If you ever want to chat, I can pay expenses for a story like this.”

I wondered briefly what expenses I might have that she’d offer to cover. She was trying to buy a story from the new wife of the detective in charge of the investigation. She thought I was so self-centered I’d think that Greg’s job was interfering with my own happiness and needs. Or maybe I’d be mad about the delayed honeymoon. I bet Sherry would have made the deal in a hot minute. I smiled at her, moved her card to the side, and called out, “I can help thenext customer.”

After the news vans left, I watched as Molly came into the shop. I’d seen her walking past several times wearing a baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and a huge letterman jacket that seemed to swallow her. When she came into the shop, she headed straightto the counter.

“No one else is here, right?” She glancedback and forth.

“You mean the news people? No. They’ve gone. I would have thought that you would want to talk to them. To put Carlie in the spotlight.” I poured her a coffee. Molly had become a frequent customer in the last few weeks and had been on Deek’s list of regulars and their coffee orders. I’d seen her name last week while I was off when I checked the list to see if my regulars still came in without me here to pour their coffee. They had.

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