was her true Prince Charming?”
“Because everyone wants to fit in.” Bitsy’s green eyes hardened. “Lucy went from zero to hero, and no one wants to take the reverse route. She thought if she broke up with Mr. Popular Jock and dated the art freak instead, she’d have to give up being considered cool and her new friends would turn their backs on her.”
The other girls all nodded, but Heidi said, “Maybe. Or maybe she stuck with Connor because no one else loved her, and no matter how much better Sam might seem, he wasn’t a sure thing.”
“What do you mean?” Trixie tilted her head. “Her father loved her.”
“Maybe, but her dad pretty much abandoned her for his new family. He dragged her all the way across the country, took her away from her old friends, then left her living in an unfurnished basement with people who didn’t like her. Connor and his friends were all she had.” Heidi wrinkled her brow. “I don’t think it was popularity she was afraid of losing. I think it was love.”
Now that the girls had warmed up, the discussion took off, and the next time Skye looked at her watch, two hours had gone by.
Skye had just signaled Trixie that they should finish up when a girl who hadn’t spoken the entire time said, “Didn’t any of you find it a little unbelievable that Lucy was accepted so fast? She went from being invisible to being part of the in crowd way too easily.”
Skye was about to answer when Ashley spoke. “But that’s how it is. One day you’re nobody. Then something happens, and the next day you’re in.” She shook her head. “The scariest thing is that it can go the other way, too. You can wake up one morning and be out.”
“Something to think about.” Trixie rose from her chair. “Unfortunately, the store is closing soon, so we have to wrap this up.”
The girls grumbled a little, but after a few minutes they gathered their belongings and left to go home.
Once they were gone, Skye said to Trixie, “Since you got everything ready, I’ll clean up.”
“I can help.”
“No. Go ahead.” Skye started throwing away the used paper cups and crumpled napkins. “I know Owen likes you home before he goes to bed.” Trixie’s husband was a farmer who was up before sunrise.
“You talked me into it.” Trixie hugged Skye. “Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
Skye was putting the literature alcove back in order when she saw Xenia through the archway. She called out to her, but Xenia only waved and continued on. Skye finished folding a chair and added it to the stack against the wall, then followed her.
This was her opportunity to talk to Xenia about Kayla. But where had she gone? Skye checked the mystery, romance, and science fiction rooms. Next she tried the register area. Rise was leaning across the counter talking to Xavier in a voice too low for Skye to hear.
Xavier’s brows were drawn together, and he was patting Rise’s hand, clearly comforting his old friend. Skye wondered whether they were talking about Kayla’s murder, Orlando’s fall from grace, or maybe just the strain of opening a new business in a strange town.
As Skye watched, she saw Xavier reach over and cup Rise’s cheek. Skye was glad Orlando and Rise had moved to Scumble River. It was good to see Xavier with friends in town.
Smiling, Skye resumed her search for Xenia. A quick glance in the cafe showed it to be empty except for Orlando washing dishes. Skye shrugged. Xenia must have been getting off work when she saw her and had already left the store.
Skye made a mental note to track her down the next day, then went back to the literature alcove. Once she finished tidying the space and made sure everything was back where it belonged, Skye picked up the empty pitcher and tray and walked into the central area. She looked around for Rise, but she wasn’t behind the counter.
Figuring that since the store had closed several minutes ago, Rise might be taking a break in the cafe, Skye headed in that direction.
When she approached the door, she stopped and put the tray under her arm in order to grab the handle. As she did so, she heard Orlando say, “If you don’t stop, he’s going to tell everyone.”
“But it’s not right.” Rise’s tone was stubborn.
“Right, schmite. Just lay off.”
“No.”
“Do you really want the entire town to know?”
Skye held her breath. What were Rise and Orlando hiding? As she leaned forward to hear better, the tray slipped from underneath her arm. It clattered to the floor, sounding like the cymbals in a marching band.
Immediately the voices fell silent.
A few seconds later Rise pushed open the door, looked at Skye, and said, “Oh, it’s you. I thought you were gone. Here, let me take those.” She grabbed the tray and pitcher in one hand and gripped Skye’s elbow with the other. Nearly pushing her toward the exit, Rise said in a rush, “Thanks so much for helping us out. I really appreciate it. You must be exhausted, so I won’t keep you. Bye.”
As soon as Skye was over the threshold, Rise locked the door, pulled down the shade, and turned the sign to CLOSED.
“You should have seen her. She couldn’t wait to get me out of there.” Skye lay on her stomach across Wally’s king-size mattress, her chin resting in both hands. “What do you think they don’t want people to know?”
“More important, who is going to tell it?” Wally was running on the treadmill next to the bed. The exercise machine was a recent gift from his father, who after a health scare was on a fitness kick. “And what does Rise have to quit doing in order to stop him?”
“I wonder if it’s Hugo.” Skye narrowed her eyes. “The first day I met Rise, Hugo was with me, and they had that argument about parking spaces that I told you about. As we were walking away, he said something about most people having to make a living from their business and that he’d done some digging, too.”
“Did you talk to Hugo today?” Wally wiped his face with the towel hanging around his neck.
“No. I didn’t realize he worked such short hours.” Skye played with a loose thread on the bedspread. “By the time I got to the used-car lot he was gone. But he’ll be my priority tomorrow.”
“Good.” Wally increased the speed on the treadmill. “Call me before you go inside, and I’ll have an officer nearby as backup in case there’s a problem.”
“Okay.” She looked at Wally, admiring his powerful, well-muscled body moving with such easy grace as he ran in place. “Any more on the security camera image or Rise’s or Kayla’s background?”
“The crime scene techs had to send the tape to the state, so who knows how long that will take.” Wally took a swig of water from the sports bottle in the treadmill’s cup holder. “Martinez is still digging, but the police from Rise’s old neighborhood said they’ve never heard of her.”
“How about her old job?” Skye asked. “Anything there?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any record of where Rise worked before opening up the bookstore.”
“Wouldn’t her income tax records tell you that?”
“Sure, but we’d need a warrant to see them,” he explained. “I told Martinez just to ask Rise for the info, but I think Rise intimidates her. I need to get on Martinez about that.”
“Or ask Rise yourself.”
“I will if I have to, but Martinez needs to learn.”
Skye nodded. This was the young officer’s first job after police training. “Anything on Kayla?”
“The students at her school seemed to have genuinely liked her. None of them mentioned anyone being jealous.”
“How about those blue plastic pieces the ME found in Kayla’s hair?” Skye sat up. “Do we know what they came from? I’m assuming they must have broken off of whatever hit her on the head.”
“That’s what I think, too, but the ME has no idea what it is.” Wally scowled. “I sure wish it was like TV, where they track a speck of dirt back to the exact location the criminal got it stuck on his shoe.”
“Me, too.” Skye was a big fan of those shows. “Oh, I keep forgetting to let you know Vince’s big news.” After telling Wally about the engagement and elopement plans, she added, “But now I can’t get in touch with him or
