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The first woman tittered. “But it doesn’t look like it’ll take long for Pastor Bob to replace her.”
The women’s voices drifted away as they left the aisle. Mick didn’t care. He’d overheard enough to make his blood boil. The town suspected Sophie of the murder. “Damn that interview,” he muttered. “And double damn that book.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Sophie had taped that morning show interview a week ago, but it had aired the very morning after Miss Hester’s murder. The whole world—not to mention the town of Derryville—had discovered that R. F. Colt was living in their midst.
At first, they’d been thrilled. They’d barraged her for interviews and autographs. Then they’d driven over to the big bookstore in the next town and bought copies of her newest book. The one with a sanctimonious, pinch-faced female church deacon who was found murdered in a bathtub.
“Jesus, Sophie,” he whispered as he made his way to the checkout. Of all the times for her to come out of her writing closet. It had to be with a book that included a very obvious Miss Hester-like victim.
That would have been bad enough if Miss Hesterhadn’tdied. But now, with the murder, the scandal was much more serious. Sophie was under suspicion of homicide.
Hard to fathom, but even the state police had asked to question her, not trusting the locals to do the job. Especially because the chief was the suspect’s fiancé.
“Hey,” he heard.
He glanced up to see Jared standing near the checkout counter. “Have you heard anything?”
“No. I’ve put in a few calls, though.” Jared looked around, as if making sure they weren’t overheard. “I’ve also called in someone I used to work with. He’s in business for himself these days. And he’s very good at tracking down people’s backgrounds.”
Mick raised a curious brow.
“It might be a good idea to know more about our victim.”
Mick realized thatwasa good idea. Hester wasn’t an old-time resident of Derryville. She’d moved here only a few years ago, when Pastor Bob’s wife—who’d been loved by the town—had tragically died while only in her forties. Miss Hester, a helpful older sister, had been accepted by one and all due to their love for the pastor. But she’d always remained somewhat private. An enigma. A woman with secrets whose dour demeanor made her look older than her years.
“Let me know what he finds out, okay?”
His cousin nodded.
“Let me know, too.”
Neither of them had heard Daniel approach, until he spoke. The chief looked tired and haggard, his brow pulled into a perpetual frown and dark circles under his eyes.
Mick patted his shoulder. “You hanging in?”
Daniel shook his head. “I just officially took a leave of absence.”
Jared eyed him. “Bad move. That leaves Chip and Dale in charge.”
“Curtis and Eustis,” Daniel interrupted.
“Whatever,” Mick said, knowing where Jared had been headed. “Dumb and dumber are now in charge of a murder investigation. God, didn’t Curtis do enough damage throwing up all over half the evidence? I can’t imagine how the coroner felt about that. As if the fake blood wasn’t bad enough.”
Daniel merely shrugged. “I don’t even want to hear about it because I can’t be unbiased. I won’t be part of an investigation that turns its eye toward Sophie. But don’t worry, the state guys are taking over the case.”
Jared cocked a brow. “State doesn’t usually get involved with local crimes.”
“I asked them to.” Daniel looked resolute. “They can look for the real killer while I focus on keeping Sophie out of this mess.”
Mick nodded in appreciation but couldn’t completely erase his frown of concern. “And while you keep Sophie away from the eye of the police,” he said, thinking about Caroline’s job, “I’m going to focus on trying to keep Caroline away from whoever the hell killed Miss Hester.”
“THEY FOUND THE GUN.”
Mick hadn’t even heard Caroline enter his office until she spoke. He immediately looked up from the closing documents he was preparing for a sale and dropped his pen onto the pile of papers. “What?”
She shut his office door behind her. “They found the gun they think was used to kill Hester Tomlinson.”
Noticing that Caroline looked visibly shaken, Mick stood, walked around his desk and took her hand. He led her to a chair and sat beside her. “Where?”
