to do whatever I can to help,” she said as she got up. “We’re staying at Jean Henshaw’s B&B.”
“I know,” Molly said. “I was hoping you might be able to give me some insights into the woman as I search.”
“I’m happy to help in whatever way I can,” Sharon said.
“Your coffee’s ready,” Ruby called out.
Molly asked Sharon, “Are you coming?”
“Give me one second,” she replied, then Sharon turned to me. “Thanks, Ben, for everything.”
“Hey, I just ordered the tea. Ruby brought the pie on her own.”
“You know what I’m talking about,” she said, “and it’s got nothing to do with dessert. You’re a good listener.”
“I’m just happy I could help.” I lowered my voice to a whisper and asked, “Are you ready to talk to her now?”
“I think so,” Sharon said.
“You’ll feel a lot better once you do,” I said. “Give Molly a chance. She might be tough, but she’s usually fair, and she’s also the best cop I’ve ever known in my life.”
“You can actually say that with a straight face after what I just heard?”
“We bicker all the time,” I admitted. “We’ve been doing it since grade school.”
“Well, you’re both very good at it. It must be all that practice.”
“Listen, I meant what I said. Tell her everything. You can trust her.”
“Okay, I will,” she said.
Molly must have overheard some of what I’d said, because she smiled at me as they left. I was glad we were back on familiar footing. There had been some turbulent times in our relationship lately, and it had bothered me a great deal more than I’d been willing to admit. When all was said and done, Molly was my very best friend, though I never would have admitted it to anyone in the world, especially her.
Ruby slid the bill under my plate, and I saw it was just for the tea. “Hey, we had pie, too.”
No one else was in the café at the moment, but she still lowered her voice as she said, “That was on me, and if you tell anybody in town, I’ll call you a liar to your face.”
“Hey, my lips are sealed,” I said. I slid a tip under my glass that was more than enough to cover the pie, too. Ruby would fuss at me for doing it—I knew her well enough to realize that—but I didn’t mind. It was part of living in a small town, the give-and-take in the art of getting along, an ability that was highly prized in Harper’s Landing.
As I walked back to Where There’s Soap, I suddenly realized something. Sharon had been so convincing in naming two suspects besides Diana, I’d nearly forgotten that she’d left one out.
Sharon herself could have had more reason than anyone else to want her employer dead. Were the other people she mentioned legitimate suspects, or was Sharon just trying to divert suspicion away from herself? Whatever the reason, I knew Molly was too good a cop not to consider that angle as well.
Still, I was going to do a little digging of my own, especially considering that Diana was probably still Molly’s number one suspect.
UNFORTUNATεLγ, my amateur detection would have to wait. I found my family gathered in the front area of the soap shop, and a table and chairs from the break room that I’d helped put up earlier were back where they had been this morning. My family was gathered around, and all of them looked expectantly at me as I walked in. It was after our regular business hours, but just barely. Still, I’d expected to find my family scattered throughout Harper’s Landing instead of clustered together like a handful of marbles.
As I studied them, I said, “Aren’t we digressing here? I could swear I helped put that table away earlier.”
“Where have you been?” Mom asked.
She usually gave me some leeway in my job, so I was surprised by her tone of voice. “I’ve been detecting,” I said as I tapped my forehead. “It’s brutal work, but I’m throwing myself into it.”
“And did you discover anything?”
“I can say one thing,
“I know,” Molly said. “I was hoping you might be able to give me some insights into the woman as I search.”
“I’m happy to help in whatever way I can,” Sharon said.
“Your coffee’s ready,” Ruby called out.
Molly asked Sharon, “Are you coming?”
“Give me one second,” she replied, then Sharon turned to me. “Thanks, Ben, for everything.”
“Hey, I just ordered the tea. Ruby brought the pie on her own.”
“You know what I’m talking about,” she said, “and it’s got nothing to do with dessert. You’re a good listener.”
“I’m just happy I could help.” I lowered my voice to a whisper and asked, “Are you ready to talk to her now?”
“I think so,” Sharon said.
“You’ll feel a lot better once you do,” I said. “Give Molly a chance. She might be tough, but she’s usually fair, and she’s also the best cop I’ve ever known in my life.”
“You can actually say that with a straight face after what I just heard?”
“We bicker all the time,” I admitted. “We’ve been doing it since grade school.”
“Well, you’re both very good at it. It must be all that practice.”
“Listen, I meant what I said. Tell her everything. You can trust her.”
“Okay, I will,” she said.
Molly must have overheard some of what I’d said, because she smiled at me as they left. I was glad we were back on familiar footing. There had been some turbulent times in our relationship lately, and it had bothered me a great deal more than I’d been willing to admit. When all was said and done, Molly was my very best friend, though I never would have admitted it to anyone in the world, especially her.
Ruby slid the bill under my plate, and I saw it was just for the tea. “Hey, we had pie, too.”
No one else was in the café at the moment, but she still lowered her voice as she said, “That was on me, and if you tell anybody in town, I’ll call you a liar to your face.”
“Hey, my lips are sealed,” I said. I slid a tip under my glass that was more than enough to cover the pie, too. Ruby would fuss at me for doing it—I knew her well enough to realize that—but I didn’t mind. It was part of living in a small town, the give-and-take in the art of getting along, an ability that was highly prized in Harper’s Landing.
As I walked back to Where There’s Soap, I suddenly realized something. Sharon had been so convincing in naming two suspects besides Diana, I’d nearly forgotten that she’d left one out.
Sharon herself could have had more reason than anyone else to want her employer dead. Were the other people she mentioned legitimate suspects, or was Sharon just trying to divert suspicion away from herself? Whatever the reason, I knew Molly was too good a cop not to consider that angle as well.
Still, I was going to do a little digging of my own, especially considering that Diana was probably still Molly’s number one suspect.
UNFORTUNATεLγ, my amateur detection would have to wait. I found my family gathered in the front area of the soap shop, and a table and chairs from the break room that I’d helped put up earlier were back where they had been this morning. My family was gathered around, and all of them looked expectantly at me as I walked in. It was after our regular business hours, but just barely. Still, I’d expected to find my family scattered throughout Harper’s Landing instead of clustered together like a handful of marbles.
As I studied them, I said, “Aren’t we digressing here? I could swear I helped put that table away earlier.”
“Where have you been?” Mom asked.
She usually gave me some leeway in my job, so I was surprised by her tone of voice. “I’ve been detecting,” I said as I tapped my forehead. “It’s brutal work, but I’m throwing myself into it.”
“And did you discover anything?”
“I can say one thing,
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