Some people are made for tender moments. Others are made for action.
True to her word, our paperwork was miraculously expedited. A caterer called for a head count, and before I knew it, Iwas standing in a centuries-old courtyard that wasn’t even on Google.
It was a small wedding. Only Beau’s parents, Marcus, and Delia came. Marcus officiated. We’d handled the legal paperwork back in the States before we said “I do,” but the moment Marcus pronounced us married was the one that felt real.
When we got back from the wedding, tan and happy, I couldn’t resist slipping a copy of our wedding announcement—including a photo of Beau and me postnuptials—in Carol Parker’s mailbox.
Who’s temporary now?
Chapter 36
The Day After the Hurricane
The phone call with Delia was brief—as most phone calls with Delia are. I had told her I needed someone to reach Chief Kennedy and encourage him to listen to evidence about someone on his police force.
“You’re going to need to show him something undeniable,” she had advised.
“I know,” I agreed before hanging up.
“So that’s it?” Nora asks. “We wait for your kooky aunt to call Chief Kennedy?”
“No, we have to find something to bring to Kennedy. Something that’s bigger than proof Gemma left that stuff in the Hall—your house. And it better be good. If I’m going to accuse Ardell of murder, I think I only get to do that once.”
“Or maybe we should go straight to baking a file into a cake? Is it time to move off the grid? Flee to an island?”
“I’ve asked Beau about the island thing,” I say. “But he never goes for it.”
Nora reaches for her heart like she’s wounded. “Hey. You can’t live on an island. What about me?”
“That’s what Beau always says. And then I agree. And then I don’t bring it up again until Carol does some annoying thing like that neighborhood Arbor Day BBQ—”
“I think you mean the B-Arbor-Becue.”
“Please never say that to me again,” I tease.
Marcus laughs in spite of himself.
“So you think,” Nora says like she’s trying to add up the balance of my nightmare, “Ardell killed Gemma, and then, he killed Simon? Why would he do that?”
“I’m not sure he killed Simon,” I admit. “Simon and Beau looked like they would have loved to tear each other apart last night. But I think whatever happened to Gemma set all of this in motion.”
It’s the only explanation. Everything started going sideways after Gemma died.
“And Simon seemed so fixated on Beau last night—blaming him for Gemma’s murder—but we’ve all seen the footage. Beau didn’t do this.”
Nora chews on a fingernail. “Maybe Ardell needed money? And Simon bribed him to frame Beau for everything?”
“I mean, he wastherelast night. He came into Ford’s backyard and told us all to go home.”
Marcus considers this. “What about a ring camera? If he was in the neighborhood, would someone have video footage for how long he stuck around? Whether he came back?”
“Everyone lost power, though,” I say.
“You know whose brand-new security system never loses power?” Nora says, unable to hide a wry smile.
Before she says it, I already know. And Ireallydon’t want to know.
“If you can find out what happened to Simon,” Marcus says, “maybe that will lead us to who killed Gemma.”
