“I wish. Edith called, and so Romeo and I went walking while we talked. Edith walks and talks too. That way we both get some exercise first thing in the morning, and we’re touching base. Couple stuff, you know.”
Rarity smiled at the idea. “I’m glad you and Edith find a way to still be together after so many years and trips to Sedona.”
“She likes having me out of the house, to be honest.” He waved away her arguments. “Just wait until you’ve been married for thirty years. It changes with every decade. Anyway, after that, Drew threw out some possible theories around Mason Pike’s death. One interesting thing, though, was his house in California was broken into on Friday night.”
“After he died?”
“About the same time. Which, okay, he announced he’d be out of town on his media so it was a good time to rob him, but they don’t think anything was taken. From his housekeeper’s notes, everything was right where it was supposed to be. Whatever they were looking for, Mason didn’t have it stored at the house.” He ate a chip from the bag he’d gotten with his sandwich. “So what did Mason have that someone would want bad enough to break into his house?”
“Maybe a screenplay?” Rarity didn’t know how these things worked. “Or do they copyright those?”
“Good questions that neither Drew nor I have answers to. I did hear last night in the men’s room that a producer was taking over the development of Mason’s film we saw last night. There are some changes they’re going to make before releasing it. I don’t know if that changes what Mason would have gotten from the movie or not.” He picked up his sandwich then set it down again. “However, I would havethought that if the movie needed changes, with Mason dead or alive, it wouldn’t have changed his participation in the funding and rewards.”
“Okay, so we’re still at the same place with Mason Pike. Nowhere.” Rarity set half of her sandwich down on the plate. “What about Darby?”
“She hasn’t had an issue since the flowers. Maybe her stalker was following the wrong person?”
“Can Drew ask Talia if she had any unwelcome attention in the last few months? If she has, maybe Darby was just in the wrong place, wrong time?” This was Rarity’s favorite theory because it meant that since Talia was here in Sedona and would leave soon, Darby was safe.
“It’s a good theory.” Jonathon said. “And we just got into the stalker idea because of the guy from Scotland who’s already moved on.”
“I’d love to not be babysat twenty-four seven,” Darby added, obviously overhearing the conversation. “I feel less stressed right now. Maybe that’s because no one is watching me with bad intentions?”
Chapter 11
After their talk, Darby agreed to keep her houseguests around for a few more days while Drew researched Talia and her current boyfriend, Bret. If Bret was upset that Talia was hanging around Mason again, it could explain the problems that Darby was having. Especially if Bret thought Talia had rented Darby’s house for a getaway with her old boyfriend. Rarity thought that he’d looked confused when he saw Darby on Wednesday night.
On Friday, Rarity still thought she was missing something. She decided to let it marinate a bit. Maybe when the sleuthing group talked on Tuesday night it would come to her. Katie showed up at three that afternoon.
Rarity greeted her as she came in the door. “Hey, you’re not scheduled until tomorrow morning.”
Katie looked around. “I told Darby I’d stay at her house tonight through Sunday. So I thought I’d come in and set up, but you guys have already taken care of that.”
“We had a slow day and I was angsty. Shirley asked why you weren’t doing a movie-themed activity.” Rarity smiled at the look now on Katie’s face. “And, there’s the answer, you didn’t think about it.”
“It would have been so easy. Especially since all the kids will want to talk about tomorrow is either the bike race or the film festival. I have the perfect activity. Do we still have Mason’s film?” Katie grabbed a piece of paper as she wrote down her thoughts.
“Yes. His assistant, Jane Carey, was supposed to pick it up on Sunday, but she hasn’t come by. I reminded her of it Wednesday night at the memorial.” Rarity thought about their short conversation. “Maybe she thought itwas this Sunday. Anyway, if she comes in, I’ll tell her we need it for tomorrow morning. Then she can come get it or I’ll send it over to her hotel.”
“Thanks. I need to do some work to make this mesh with the book, but it will be fun.” Katie nodded to the back. “Coffee in there?”
“Of course.” Rarity felt Killer by her foot. He was looking up at her, a sign that he needed something. “Shirley, can you watch the front? I need to take Killer out. It won’t be long. I think it’s still hot out there.”
“It is hot,” Katie called out from the back room.
Rarity clicked Killer’s leash on and headed to the front door. The sun would have crossed the point where Killer’s little fake yard of grass would be in the shade. She always kept water out for the local dogs that walked by the bookstore. She even had a sign on the window telling people that the store was a pet-friendly environment. She didn’t want dogs to be overcome in the heat. Especially if their owners weren’t smart enough to keep them inside during the worst of the day.
She dumped the warm water and refilled the bowl with cold water from the bottle she’d brought out with them. Darby came out and stood by her as they waited for Killer.
“This is going to go away someday, right?” Darby asked as she scanned the street and the area around the buildings.
Rarity pulled her into a side hug. “We hover because we care. Yes, you will have your life back. And, according to Drew, it should be sooner than later. As long as the stalker doesn’t find a new way to torture you.”
“Rarity, that’s almost comforting.” Darby hugged her back, then went to the door. “Sorry, it’s too hot for me. Scotland is a lot cooler.”
As she waited for Killer to finish so she could clean up his mess using a pet bag, Rarity saw Jane Carey standing across the street. She waved at her and prepared to tell her that she couldn’t have the movie. At least not until tomorrow afternoon. She knew that someone would come by to pick up the film, but she hoped they’d allow her to honor her promise to Katie.
To her surprise, Jane didn’t acknowledge the wave and instead got back into the car she’d just parked. Rarity watched her drive away until she heard Killer barking. Telling her to hurry since it was hot out there.
