Page 78 of Diamonds in the Mud

I cocked my head and thought. “Not sure yet,” I admitted after a moment. “Whatever it is, I’ll try to keep you in the loop.”

Randy nodded. “Your mother would love to have you over for dinner, but to be honest, the last round of chemo has her too tired. Since Carolyn had to go back to Florida last week, I think your mother is feeling lonely now.”

“I was going to stop by after work today,” I told him. “I have some lotion that Aria wanted her to try that I need to drop off.”

I left his office and headed down the street for another sandwich. Suddenly, I was in a foul mood. I needed to know Abe’s game. Was he working with someone or was he just trying to wiggle his way into my case work? I doubted that.

I didn’t see Abe as the astute kind. I doubted the guy could find his car in a crowded parking lot, let alone solve a murder.

I stood in line at the sandwich shop and, instead of looking down at my phone like everyone else was doing while they waited, I glanced around the place. I doubted the old black-and-white tiles had ever been changed out. Many of them were worn through so you could see the cement floor underneath. The countertops were just as worn. Still, they had purchased new refrigeration cabinets to house all their meats and cheeses. And everyone in town knew that their bread was made fresh daily.

The couple that owned the shop, Hillary and Steve Klein, were old friends of Randy’s and Edith’s. They attended the same church and Hillary was probably Edith’s closest friend, which is why I frequented the shop as much as I could.

I was raised to know the importance of supporting small local businesses and friends. When Jackson Pennington had moved into town, everything had changed. They way he threw his money around caused some smaller businesses, those ma and pa places, to go under.

While I waited for my Reuben on rye, I glanced up to see Wyatt Taylor having a heated conversation with Clara in the back corner.

When I saw Wyatt grab Clara’s arm, I marched across the shop and stood at the edge of the table.

“You might want to carefully consider your next move,” I told Wyatt in a low voice. His hand instantly dropped from Clara’s arm as his eyes narrowed.

“Stay out of this, Rayne,” Wyatt hissed.

“Make me,” I said, feeling like an empowered child.

How many times had I wanted to tell both of those boys off? Hell, what I wanted to do was shove my fist through their perfect noses. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest slowly as he glared up at me for a few seconds.

“This is over,” he told Clara. He jerked his chair out and stormed out of the shop.

“Thanks for that,” Clara said with a sigh. “I knew the Taylors had a temper, I had just hoped Wyatt was different.”

Had Wyatt just found out about Clara and Quincy? There were rumors the two had been seen several times around the office. It was bound to get back to Wyatt sooner or later.

Nodding my reply to her, I turned as I heard my name called and walked over to grab my sandwich.

Normally, I would have eaten there, in the shop, but suddenly I was in an even fouler mood, so I took my drink and food to the park to eat alone.

I didn’t want to be around anyone at the moment.

I found an empty park bench by the little pond full of ducks and sat under a large oak tree and downed my sandwich.

I was so deeply invested in running through suspects and plots that I hadn’t heard anyone approach me.

“How can you eat when it’s so hot out?”

I turned to see Faye Baker sitting down on the other end of the bench. She was wearing a black ball cap, gray sweat shorts, and a blue tank top with running shoes. Obviously, she’d been out for a run.

“How can you run in this heat?” I shrugged and took another bite.

She sighed and leaned back a little. “Evie was about to break things off with Declan.”

I set my sandwich down and turned towards her. “You know this firsthand?” I asked slowly.

Faye nodded slowly. “She told me about an hour before…” She pulled something out of her short pockets. “She wanted you to have this.” Before she handed me the small piece of paper, she glanced around. “I think it’s why she was killed. For the record, I don’t think Declan killed her. I could get in a lot of trouble for talking to you,” she said, still glancing around.

I took a moment and looked around. I’d picked this spot because it was secluded. From here, I couldn’t see anyone else and, thanks to the large oak tree, no one could see us.

“I think we’re okay for now,” I said, taking the note from her fingers, noticing that they shook slightly.