Page 32 of Dying to Read

Rarity saw Lee’s faceturn crimson.

“I mean, I don’t wish anyone dead. But William Jully was a bully from the first day he graced us with his presence. The guy had a huge ego. And he pushed all his work off on me. Night shift supervisors aren’t supposed to file the shift summary. He was supposed to do it. But he always hadsome excuse.”

“Sounds like you didn’t like him at all. Did the other nurses feel that way too?” Rarity asked.

“Most of us. Some of the younger ones thought he was charming. But he was trying to get their attention. Everyone’s looking for a man to whisk them away, especially from this job. I know that’s afallacy.” She nodded to a woman who was heading their way. “Looks like I’m on. Thanks forstopping by.”

“One more question, do you think George could have killed Mr. Jully?” Rarity figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

This time, Lee laughed. “You’re joking, right? According to what I heard, Jully was overdosed. George wouldn’t know how to either get the drugs or find a way to administer them. He’s lucky he knows how to put on his pants some days. They’re barking up the wrong tree thinking George did it. Or Terrance for that matter. He’s such a sweetie.”

“Miss, can you answer some questions for me? I think my husband is trying to put me in a home. Can he do that?” The elderly woman set her purse on the table with a bang.

“Thanks for your help,” Rarity nodded toward the other woman. “Have fun.”

“I hope Cindi gets back soon.” Lee pasted on a smile before she turned to help.

When Rarity got back to the tent, they didn’t have a lot of customers, so she sent Katie off for a dinner break. She walked through the tent, checking stock and making notes for Shirley’s stop at the bookstore tomorrow to restock. As she was at the edge of the tent, she heard footsteps. “Welcome to the Next Chapter, mobile edition. Look around and let me know if I can be of assistance.”

“Thanks but we’re only looking,” the woman’s voice called back.

Rarity finished her task and then crossed back to the table. She started an email to Shirley on what to pick up when someone dropped a book on her table. She looked up and realized it was Lizzy from the nursing home. An older woman and man stood behind her, waiting.“Is this it?”

“I’ve been waiting for this biography to come out for years. She’s so inspiring.” Lizzy pulled two twenties from a pink wallet to pay for the popular pop queen’s tell-all book. She looked back at the couple, who were still watching her. “They don’t think I’ll read the book, but they don’t know everything, right?”

Rarity was at a loss. Tizzy Lizzy was well enough to be out in the community. This was the version that Malia saw at the Garnet. Rarity decided to play along. “Oh, is there something they don’t know?”

Lizzy nodded as she took her change and a receipt. “I’m getting married. All I have to do is wait for Billy to come get me. He went on a trip.”

“Congratulations.” Rarity tucked the book into a bag. “My regular store has a lot of books on wedding planning.”

Lizzy saw the older woman coming toward them. “We’re eloping. But shh, it’s a secret.”

The woman put a hand on Lizzy’s shoulder. “Honey, are you ready to go? Mike wants to grab some dinner over at the Garnet before we go back and getyou settled.”

“I don’t need to go back. How many times do I have to tell you that,” Lizzy muttered, then turned and stomped out of the tent. The man, Mike,followed her.

Rarity still had the bag with the book. “Sheforgot this.”

“My sister is a little scattered these days.” The woman smiled but Rarity could see the weariness in her eyes. “Thanks. I visit your store a lot. So much more fulfilling than shopping for books online. I like spending time withactual books.”

“Me too,” Rarity said with a laugh. “I guess that’s why I bought a bookstore. To surround myself with stories. I’m Rarity, by the way.”

“Constance,” she replied, looking toward the tent opening. “I better go catch up. Mike’s good with Lizzy, but she can be tricky. I don’t want herrunning off.”

After they left, Rarity wondered if the conversation about her leaving had been to pacify Lizzy at dinner. Constance seemed tired of handling her sister for the day. Rarity wondered how hard it would be to rein the woman in all the time. And who did she think she was eloping with? The next time she saw Lizzy’s sister, she’d tell her about the wedding Lizzywas planning.

Rarity finished up the email to Shirley then opened her search engine on the laptop. Ruth Agee was the name of the woman whom George thought had been killed. She searched the name again, with too many hits, then narrowed it down by adding Sedona to the search. This time, she got a lot of hits besides the obituary. Maybe she’d typed it wrongthe last time.

The first was her obituary that Rarity had found before. Ruth and her husband had opened a chain of coffeehouses and she’d beenbought out. She’d been rich after that and had lived in Sedona for decades before she entered Sedona Memory Care. She’d outlived her husband, three kids, and any other relatives. The obituary stated that she was cared for by friends and found family at Sedona Memory Care.

Rarity wondered exactly where her money had gone. She knew that a lot had gone to the library, but how much had she given to William Jully? And why? She opened her calendar and put a note on Sunday to talk to Drew or Jonathon about Ruth. Since she’d lived here a long time, they had to know her and the family. Or maybe her attorney. There had to be some sort of law against targeting elderly people to get them to change their wills.

It was probably George rambling about things that didn’t matter, but it might be something. George was convinced that William Jully had been going into people’s rooms at night. And Jully had tried to get George moved. Was it because of his medical condition or mental status? Or was there another reason? Was Georgetoo observant?

Rarity wondered if the probate that Holly had found had been completed yet. She went to the website that Holly had sent her and started searching. She hadn’t been successful in finding an updated record before Katie came back into the tent with two largebeverage cups.

“It’s still so hot this evening. I thought you might like some strawberry lemonade.” Katie set the cups on the table. “What are you working on? Something for the bookstore?”

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