Page 80 of A Seer and Present Danger

“I guess. Yes. Do you have turkey on rye?”

“I do. Anything special you might want on that?”

“No. Just however you do it.”

I slipped into the kitchen, made her sandwich the way Buzz always did it—he added red onions and green goddess dressing—then brought it out with a scoop of potato salad.

“Here you go.” I set the food and drink in front of her.

“Thank you. Piper? Could you sit here a minute?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“It’s just…I had everything figured out, right? A plan. I knew how to get what I wanted. Knew who to…use to get what I wanted.”

“Hugo?” I asked.

She nodded. “And Kenny. Used them against each other. I wanted them to break up the partnership. Wanted that business to sell. I hated that business. It ruined my marriage.”

I thought maybe Hugo stealing items and selling them on the black market might have been more of a marriage killer, but what did I know? I was single.

“But I didn’t want them dead. I said things about Hugo. I said things to Hugo. But he was an okay guy. Well, back at the beginning he was okay. Sweet.”

“You knew he was stealing things for a long time, didn’t you?”

“I suspected it. But I didn’t want to know. He said he had one big payout coming in soon. That it would make him and Kenny rich. I was excited at first. Then I saw the websites he was looking at. Bahamas, Jamaica, Thailand. All one-way tickets. All only for one person. He was going to leave me. He was going to take that big payout and dump me.”

“Is that why you cheated on him?”

“I didn’t—” She glanced up, then took a sip of her cola. “Not at first. I just wanted to talk Kenny into signing over part of the business. Things got out of hand. Kenny was real sweet in the beginning too.”

“Did you kill them, Gail?” I asked. “Hugo was leaving you. And did you think Kenny was really going to recognize your partnership in the store?”

“Kenny never signed the papers. He said he did, but my name isn’t on the building. I was never a partner. When I found out, I was angry. But I didn’t kill them.”

She picked up her sandwich, then put it back on the plate.

“I’ve got nothing. Just the house. I locked up the business and put cameras on it in case someone tries to vandalize it. Kenny would have hated seeing it get vandalized. But I’m going to sell the house. I’m moving to Idaho. Or Florida. Or maybe Boring where my life will be more…”

“…Boring?” I suggested.

She perked up a little at that. “Can you blame me for wanting some quiet? This town is just too much for me.”

She didn’t even know the half of it—the magic half.

“You’re staying until the murder investigation is done, aren’t you?”

“I suppose.” She finally took a bite, and her eyebrows lifted. “This is good.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s going to take time to sell the house, anyway. But I need something new. You know? Something that I can call my own.”

I thought of the yarn shop and the Blue Owl, and how I was ready for my life to change, to claim more places as mine, to move forward and build my dreams.

“I’ve got to get back to work. You need anything else?”

She shook her head and went back to her sandwich like she hadn’t eaten in days.