“Hey, Gerdie.” Megan greeted the young woman behind the counter with a smile. “How are you today?”
“Fine.” She shoved her glasses up on her nose and shifted on her feet. Her glossy hair was loose today, tumbling over her narrow shoulders. “What can I get for you?”
They placed their orders and someone called Megan’s name. She turned as Kyle approached from the rear. His eyes were watery and his complexion pale. He held out a hand to prevent her from hugging him in greeting.
“I’ve caught my uncle’s cold. I don’t want to give it to you.” Kyle sniffled, shifting the motorcycle helmet in his left hand to his right. “How are you, Megs?”
“I’m hanging in there.”
Gerdie set a to-go cup on the counter with a snap. “Here you go, Kyle. I added lemon and honey to the tea.”
“You’re an angel.” He retrieved his drink, and the chains on his boots jingled. He turned back to Megan and Luke, lowering his voice. “How’s the investigation going?”
“We’re making progress.” Megan frowned. “Kyle, do you remember Chad talking with Wade at Franny’s party?”
He stared at the floor in thought. “Ummm, yeah, I do. It was weird because Chad and Wade weren’t such good friends, you know. But Wade is one of those guys who’s relaxed. He’ll talk to anyone.”
Megan passed a quick glance to Luke. His theory might be right after all. If Chad was close enough to her brother to steal his phone, then he could’ve framed him.
Kyle took a sip of his tea. “Come to think of it, Wade talked to many people that night. You know most of the sheriff’s department cycled through, and he was friendly with all of them because of his work with your aunt. Lots of Franny’s friends are rodeo people because of her brother and dad. It was a crowd.”
“Did you notice anyone act strangely that night?” Luke asked.
“Naw.” Kyle caught Gerdie’s eye and waved her over. “Hey, on the night of Franny’s party, did you notice anything weird?”
The young woman blinked at him, clearly caught off guard by the question.
Kyle laughed. “Sorry. That was blunt.”
“Gerdie, I didn’t know you were at the party that night.” Megan racked her brain, trying to determine if there was an interview for her in Franny’s file. She didn’t remember seeing one, but that didn’t mean much, since half of the file was missing. “Did the investigators talk to you?”
Gerdie swallowed hard. “They did, but I couldn’t tell them much. I was only there for a short while. And no, sorry, I didn’t notice anything strange.”
“That’s okay. It was worth asking.”
“I’d better get moving.” Kyle sniffed again. “My bed is calling my name. If you guys need anything, let me know.”
“Thanks. We will.”
Gerdie went back to filling their order, and Rosa came through the back entrance. She beelined over, her brows furrowed and eyes shadowed with worry.
“Megan, Luke, thanks for stopping by.”
“Of course.” Megan patted the older woman’s arm. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” Rosa glanced over her shoulder and leaned closer. “Bessie came over this morning to quilt and we got to talking. We may have news about the case that could help.”
Megan’s heart leaped, but she resisted asking questions. Clearly, her aunt’s friend wanted to speak with them about it in private.
Rosa quickly added two more coffees to the order, along with a plate of blueberry muffins. “And Gerdie, could you bring everything over to the house?”
Her niece nodded as she flipped on the bean grinder. “Sure, Aunt Rosa.”
“Come on.” Rosa waved for Luke and Megan to follow her. “Bessie’s working at my place.”
She led them to a door in the back. A small courtyard separated the coffee shop from the rest of the property. When she opened the door to her home, a clamor of barking erupted. Two Chihuahuas raced around the corner.
“Fudge and Cookie, stop that right now,” Rosa scolded, but in a singsong tone that did nothing to halt the yapping dogs. They circled the guests like attack drones.
“Watch your ankles,” Megan whispered to Luke before following Rosa down the hall.
A whirring sound stopped and started and then stopped again. When they entered the kitchen, Bessie was seated, peering at the fabric in her hands over the edge of her reading glasses. A multicolored scarf was wrapped around her head and on the plank table in front of her was a sewing machine, bobbins, and a large quilting hoop.
Bessie looked up and her entire face brightened with a smile. She started to rise from the chair. “Megan! Luke!”
Megan waved her down, quickly closing the distance to give the other woman a hug. Luke kissed her cheek.
“It’s so good to see the both of you. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.” Something nipped Megan’s ankle, and she shifted to avoid the yapping dog. “Rosa mentioned you might have information about the case we’re working on.”
“Yes. Sit, sit.” Bessie waved to the chairs at the table. “I didn’t reach out earlier because I haven’t been paying much attention to the town news. I had my chemo a couple of days ago and it knocked the wind right out of me. Today’s the first day I’m feeling myself, and I came right over here to visit with Rosa.”
Bessie talked a mile a minute and Megan’s head was spinning as she pulled out a chair. Luke removed his hat and joined her.
Rosa took a seat next to Bessie. The dogs, thankfully, hopped up next to her. She picked up the quilting hoop and started adding stitches to the cloth. “I told Bessie everything about the investigation this morning while we were sewing.”
“I’m working on this quilt for my nephew. He’s graduating high school this year, going to A&M in the fall, and
