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something.”
    Sarah shook her head. “No. Although Lou Lou didn’t have a will, Pete is her only heir. He inherits everything, so it’s his to sell.”
    â€œDo you still want to buy the place?” asked Jackie as she wiped her mouth on her napkin. “I mean, Lou Lou
died
in there. Aren’t you going to think about that every time you walk through the door?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I said. “I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”
    *   *   *
    J ackie left as soon as we’d had some toast and coffee the next morning. She had to go back home and get changed into her uniform before coming back to the café. We were the only two people we knew for certain were going to be working. Hopefully, Pete had called others—particularly Aaron, who bussed tables and washed dishes—but he hadn’t mentioned anything about it when he’d lent me a key to the café yesterday.
    I saw a police cruiser sitting in the parking lot and my heart began thumping against my rib cage. What were the police doing here? Weren’t they done with me? Obviously Ryan had told me I was a person of interest, but I had hoped they would cross me off the list. Why were they here now? What if someone was here to arrest me? What would I do? I knew I was innocent, but I had no way to prove it. What if every cent Nana had left me went for a legal defense instead of for my café?
    By the time I’d parked the car and stepped out, tearshad filled my eyes. Deputy Hall got out of the cruiser and came toward me.
    He gently took my shoulders. “Hey, hey . . . don’t cry. Everything’s going to be all right.”
    â€œYou’re not here to arrest me?”
    â€œOf course, not. I’m sorry if you thought that.”
    â€œBut I
am
a suspect in Lou Lou’s murder, aren’t I? I found her.”
    â€œYou are a suspect. But there’s no hard evidence indicating you murdered Lou Lou Holman,” he said. “Not really. As a matter of fact, off the record, I know you didn’t do it.”
    â€œWait. You said
not really.
Do you mean there was evidence found?”
    He inclined his head. “Ivy found a necklace beneath Lou Lou’s desk.”
    â€œWhat did it look like?”
    â€œA pearl inside a heart. One of the waitresses we spoke with identified it as yours.”
    â€œThat
is
mine. I lost it more than a month ago.” Did he believe that? Or did he think I’d lost it the other night in a struggle with Lou Lou? “My nana gave me that necklace for my birthday one year. I thought I’d lost it for good.”
    â€œWell, I’ll make sure you get it back . . . you know . . . when all this is over.”
    Tears filled my eyes again. “The sheriff thinks it’s me, doesn’t he? But I swear, I didn’t hurt Lou Lou.”
    He spread his arms, and for a second, I thought he was going to hug me. Instead, he simply rested his hands on my forearms. “The sheriff has a lot of people on this case, and we’re going to find Lou Lou’s killer.”
    I nodded. “Thank you.”
    â€œI hope you’ll confide to me any information you remember or come across—like who might’ve had the motive and the means to harm Ms. Holman,” he said. “I also want to warn you. Since you were the first person to arrive at the café after Ms. Holman was murdered, the killer might think you know more than you do.” He placed his hands on his hips. “And it’s possible you
do
know more than you realize. I want you to take some time to yourself as soon as you can, and write down everything you remember.”
    â€œAll right. I will.”
    â€œAnd be careful. If you even
think
somebody might be following you or creeping around your house, call the sheriff’s department . . . or call me. It’d be better to run the risk of being wrong than to