“Want to come over for dinner tonight?” I said, partially to smooth things over and partially because I liked eating meals with him.
“Sure,” he said. “But why don’t you come to my place. I have a new recipe for shrimp in arrabiata sauce that I’ve been wanting to try.”
“Mmm,” I said, leaning over to give him a kiss. “Sounds spicy.”
He kissed me back and spicy took on a whole other meaning for a couple of blissful seconds until my cell phone vibrated on the table.
I reluctantly broke away. “This is Riley.” It was Gail calling to tell me that Toby Lancett, the mayor’s minion, and Tabitha had just been called into Carl’s office and by the looks of it, something big was going down.
“Go.” Jay nodded his head toward the exit before I even had a chance to say a word.
“But we’re on for tonight?”
He nodded.
“I’ll look forward to something hot,” I said, and then as I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder I added with a wink, “and the shrimp too.”
“Oh geez, Riley, this is not a good time,” Carl said as I walked up to the door of his office, where a grim-looking Tabitha and a rather gleeful-looking Toby were sitting. Toby Lancett was short and stocky and wore athletic gear almost exclusively. Since he was perhaps the least athletic person I’d ever met, it was an odd choice. Today’s ensemble was a kelly green Adidas jacket unzipped to reveal a snug-fitting white T-shirt with the words Natural Born Baller stamped across it in large block letters. I’m sure it wasn’t what he was going for, but the effect was definitely less baller, more leprechaun.
“Well, if it isn’t Tuttle Corner’s newest Lois Lane,” Toby said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I’d known Toby since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, as my granddaddy would have said, and he’d always been something of a loser. I remember the day he got caught shoplifting a king-size Twix bar from Landry’s General Store. I’d been in there with my parents getting dinner and Toby, who was probably sixteen or seventeen—old enough to know better—just started bawling like a baby when Ruby caught him. He said he had hypoglycemia and needed it so he wouldn’t faint. When that didn’t go over so well with Ruby, he started threatening to sue her for harassment. That was the kind of kid he’d been. By all accounts the kind of adult he’d become wasn’t much better, except now he had the mayor’s backing.
“You’d better get your little pen and paper out, missy, because we’ve just had a confession in the Davenport case!”
I looked at Carl, who slid his eyes away from mine. Then I turned to Tabitha and a sick feeling bloomed in my gut. “Tell me you didn’t . . .”
“Yes,” she said as she threw back her shoulders and lifted her chin like a defiant ballerina. “I confessed to killing Dr. Davenport. I was angry about the way he mistreated Thad, and I wanted him out of the picture so Thad and I could inherit his fortune.” Her caramel-colored eyes looked straight ahead the entire time she spoke.
“Tabitha,” I said, a warning rising into my voice. “That isn’t true. You know that isn’t true. Carl, come on—”
Carl looked even more exhausted than he had before. “Riley,” he said, “this is none of your concern. You need to go.” He nodded at Gail, who had followed me into his office. She tried to put her arm around my shoulder and lead me out. I resisted.
“This is crazy,” I said, “Tabitha—you don’t have to do this.”
“It’s already done!” Toby looked like someone had just handed him an eight-pound plate of bacon. “Glad we could get this all wrapped up so neatly. Aunt Shaylene will be so pleased.”
I ignored him. “Carl, you know she’s just doing this to clear Thad’s name.”
“I am not,” Tabitha said. “I did it. That’s why I confessed. The guilt was too much for me.” She said all of this without a trace of emotion, like it was from a script she’d memorized. There was no way Carl could believe this. No way anyone would believe this. And it occurred to me that that was probably her plan all along.
This theory was confirmed when, as soon as Toby turned his back, Tabitha bugged out her eyes at me and mouthed something unintelligible. I frowned at her so she’d know I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Riley,” Tabitha said loudly. “I’m going to need you to do something for me, since I’m indisposed for the foreseeable future.” That was an interesting way to describe being locked up for first-degree murder, but okay.
Toby chimed in, “Better not have to do with a nail file and a birthday cake!” He belly-laughed at his own joke.
Tabitha’s eyes bored into mine. “Can you call my wedding planner, Libby Nichols?”
That got my attention. I happened to know for a fact that Tabitha’s wedding planner was a woman out of Richmond named Gloria, as I’d had to listen to Tabitha drone on and on about how thrilled she was to get in with Glorified Events, one of Virginia’s most prestigious event planners.
“Call Libby and let her know there may be some trouble in paradise.”
As I attempted to figure out what Tabitha was really trying to say to me, Toby piped up again.
“I’ll say,” he laughed. “You ready for a conjugal visit-honeymoon, sister?” He really was the worst.
I left the sheriff’s office after promising Tabitha I’d get in touch with her “wedding planner” Libby Nichols. I figured she was trying to tell me to look more closely at Libby’s involvement with Arthur Davenport. As it happened, that was pretty high on my priority list anyway.
I walked through Memorial Park on my way back to the office and thought about Tabitha taking the blame for Arthur’s murder. It was the most selfless and romantic thing I’d ever seen her do. A tiny part
