“You need to learn to contain this worrying. You’ll be a mess when we have kids.” Archer kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go find out what this new movie is about.”
At the theater, pictures of Mason Pike were all over the lobby area. An open bar was set up at the end of the room, and it looked like the Garnet was doing passed trays. Malia waved to them from a couch they’d taken over.
“I’ll go get us wine and you snag us a spot on those chairs.” Archer went to the left, leaving her to meet up with the crew. As soon as Rarity got close, Malia pulled her down on the couch.
“Talia’s over there with Bret Black. He’s the actor who starred in this film. And they’re looking pretty chummy.” Darby pointed out the couple. “Do you think Mason’s already been replaced?”
“Talia said they broke up a while ago. I don’t think seeing someone now is too soon.” Rarity took the wineglass from Archer as he walked up. “Although I haven’t seen a mention of Bret on her social media page lately. She went to the last one of these events solo according to the reporter.”
“So maybe it is new.” Darby was watching the couple. “But I don’t think so, the way they are together. His body language is very strong. He’s claimed her with his hand on the small of her back. They’re standing too close to be just friends. And he leans into her when she talks. He’s definitely into Talia.”
“Maybe we should look at his social media. Maybe he’s the one who wants a relationship. And with Mason out of the picture, Talia has no reason to say no.” Holly looked thoughtful. “Darby? Can you get me a napkin from the bar?”
“Sure.” Darby stood and walked across the room. Right in front of Talia and Bret. As she did, Bret’s eyes widened, and he looked from Talia to Darby.
“There. That’s what I wondered. Bret didn’t know Talia had a look-alike. She must not have mentioned meeting Darby to him.” Holly leaned back in her seat. “I think we need to know more about Bret Black.”
“You think he’s Darby’s stalker? He thought he was following Talia?” Rarity studied the man who now was focused again on his date.
“It’s a question for Drew.” Holly smiled at the approaching couple. “And speak of the devil, hi guys.”
Drew shook hands with Archer as he pulled a chair over for Sam. “Uh-oh, what did I do now?”
“With you, who knows,” Jonathon said as he came up behind him. The lights flickered behind them. “Shirley and Terrance just came in the door after us. Time for us to find our seats, I guess.”
Rarity stood, putting her hand on Drew’s arm. “We’ll chat more later, but do you know the man with Talia Brooks?”
“Can’t say I do. Should I?” Drew turned back from studying Bret Black as he and Talia headed out of the lobby.
“Like I said, I’ll catch you up after this. Late dinner at the house?” Rarity asked Sam.
“As long as I don’t have to cook, I’ll be there.” Sam nodded as they all made their way to their seats.
* * *
Later that night, out on the deck, Rarity filled Drew in on what happened just before they arrived.
“His jaw about hit the floor,” Holly added as she stood at the griddle, sautéing veggies and shrimp for tacos. Archer had taken on chopping toppings in the kitchen, and Rarity had been banned from both tasks.
“It doesn’t mean anything, but if he didn’t know that Talia had a younger double in town, maybe someone else didn’t either. Or he could be the freak following me,” Darby added from the pool.
“There are still a lot of maybes in that theory, but I’ll check out Bret. I know that Talia came into town on Thursday. She said she wanted to spend some time relaxing before any events and she’d planned on going to Mason’s signing as support. Did anyone see her there?”
Rarity shook her head from the table where she had a second glass of wine in front of her. “No, and I would have noticed a second Darby.”
“See, that’s the thing. I think we all would have. So why did she lie about being at the signing and the movie?” Drew asked, looking around.
Archer came out with a tray. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m starving, so let’s eat. Shrimp fajitas and there’s Spanish rice in one slow cooker and black beans in the other.”
Rarity waited as her guests filled their plates. But now, she had one more question to write down in her notebook. Where had Talia been on Friday night? And why didn’t she want Drew to know about it?
The one thing she did know how to do was make a timeline. And after everyone left that night, she pulled out a pad of sketch paper and started a timeline. Two timelines, actually. One for Darby’s stalker and one for Mason’s death. They’d had different start times, but she’d kept the real time the same on both lines, so she could see any similarities.
Then she ran out of points to add. Frustrated, she decided to bring the timeline to the next sleuthers’ meeting and see if anyone else could add points. This investigation was stalled, and Mason had already died. Hopefully, Darby wouldn’t be the next one just because they couldn’t see a pattern.
She headed to bed and hoped she’d be in a better mood tomorrow. Because today had sucked.
Thursday morning, Rarity headed into the store early. She didn’t have much to do, but staying home seemed like she was giving up. As she arrived on the street, she saw Madame Zelda on her porch. “Good morning, you’re here early.”
