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Rarity caught up Sam and Jonathon on the facts of the case as they knew them.
When Marcus’s name came into the discussion, Sam held up her hand. “The rest of you know, but I’m saying this for Jonathon’s benefit. Marcus is my brother. I know he and Janey dated just before her death, but there’s no way he could have killed her. I’ve talked to him, and he’s crushed aboutwhat happened.”
“That must be hard on you as well.” Jonathon smiled at Sam. “Did he tell you about when he last saw the victim?When they met?”
Sam blew out a breath. “Let’s get it out there. Then I don’t have to keep saying he didn’t do it. You guys will see the same thing.”
“I’ll take notes,” Shirley said as she handed Jonathon the new pages for his murder notebook that he’d pulled out of his backpack.
“Okay, so we saw their first meeting here at the bookstore. And then again when we were at Darby’s going-away party, they talked and just clicked,” Sam started.
Rarity stepped in. “Janey came with me so I asked her if she was okay staying, because Sam, Drew, Archer, and I were going to leave and go grab an early dinner. The party was still going strong when we left. Anyway, she said she had her car at my house, and she’d walk over and get it when she left. Then Marcus said he’d walk her there and for menot to worry.”
Sam nodded. “That’s what Marcus told me too. They stayed for another hour or so, but then they decided to leave since the party was a little wild for them to talk. He walked her to her car. Then they went to Annie’s for some coffee before she drove home. She dropped him off at the hotel about ten. Then she came back into town Friday morning, and they went hiking for the day andout to dinner.”
Rarity nodded. “She said that on Saturday when she worked with me. She was meeting Marcus again for dinner that night. Janey was so happy, and she really liked him. I didn’t see her again after that. Drew called me Sunday afternoon to tell me about her death.”
Sam continued the story from her brother’s viewpoint. “Marcus said they went to dinner. The next morning, Sunday, they met at the quarry to swim. He said he had to go back into town for a virtual meeting with his boss. She wanted to stay at the quarry and write. She’d driven her own car, and the hike to the quarry isn’t far, so he felt comfortable leaving her. He told her to stop by the hotel on her way out of town if she wanted to have dinner. When she didn’t show, he figured she just needed some time alone. He says she was fine when he left the quarry.”
“What time did he leave her there?” asked Holly, who was setting up a timeline onthe flip chart.
“His meeting was at one thirty. They were doing some restructuring for him to be full-time remote rather than in the office,” Sam explained. “He said he wasn’t sure of the exact time, but before noon. He had time to shower, and it’s only about thirty minutes from the quarryto his hotel.”
They looked at Holly’s timeline. “Well, as long as the time of death was after one thirty, he’sin the clear.”
Rarity shook her head. She grabbed her phone and scrolled down the recent calls until she found what she was looking for. “It can’t be after one thirty. I got the call from Drew at two. We need to know when the hiker found Janey.”
Holly flipped over the timeline and put a question mark on the page. “Okay, so that’s a few questions. When did the hiker find Janey? What is the time of death? How was she killed?Anything else?”
“Where is her journal? If she was writing when Marcus left, how much writing did she get done? That would tell us how long she was alone,” Rarity pointed out.
“That’s good.” Holly glanced at the list. Then she turned to Jonathon. “Any way you can ask Drew for some of these? I’m not scheduled to work on the computers at the station for two weeks, so me showing up to do an IT update might be a little suspicious.”
Jonathon made notes. “I’ll see what I can find out. So if we’re able to rule out Sam’s brother, and I hope we are, who else could have done this? Any ideas?”
Everyone looked at Rarity.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe we should talk to some of her classmates. If she had issues with the last guy she dated, maybe shetold someone.”
Malia held up her hand. “I’m the only one on campus, so I’ll handle this. I have class Thursday on campus, so I’ll go over to her department. What was she studying again?”
Rarity had Janey’s employment file and looked at her resume. She listed it off, and Malia wrote down the department. Rarity glanced at the emergency contact number Janey had on the sheet. It didn’t show a relationship. “I’ll call Drew and see who he notified as next of kin. If it’s this same name, I’ll call them with my condolences and find out when funeral arrangements are being made and where.”
“Some clubs have fun field trips. We go to funerals.” Holly shook her head. “I don’t even want to think what thatsays about us.”
“Dear, you’re just getting ready for when you’re my age. I swear, I attend a funeral a month as my old friends leave this world.” Shirley closed her notebook. “I’ll take on the task of treats for the next three weeks. We can go back on our rotation when this is done. I think better when I’m baking.”
The group disbanded a few minutes later. Sam stayed behind to help clean up. Rarity watched Sam put the flip charts away as she put all the coffee and lemonade containers on the cart to take into the back room and clean. “Are you okay with this? If you want to sit out this investigation, no one would hold it against you.”
“I would. I would hold it against me.” Sam closed the closet door and picked up a paper plate that had been left on the coffee table. “I know Marcus didn’t kill Janey. At least that’s what my heart says. My head I still have to convince.”
“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Rarity had never seen her friend as quiet as she’d been during the discussion this evening. She’d told Marcus’s story, then sat and listened. She’d taken notes all during the meeting.
Sam ran a wet rag over the treat table and moved it closer to the wall. Then she followed Rarity toward the kitchen after turning the closed sign on the door and locking it. Sam pushed the event sign into the corner where it sat when not in use. They’d closed up the shop together just like this for years. But tonight, Rarity thought Sam’s attention wassomewhere else.
When they finished cleaning up the drink station and checked the lock on the back door, they went back into the darkened bookstore. Archer would be here soon to walk her home. Drew typically came to get Sam. Rarity wondered if he would tonight. If he wasn’t coming, she and Archer would walk Sam home, then go on to her house.
“Rarity, I need to tell you something. But until Drew finds it, I need you to keep it between us.” Sam sank into a chair by the fireplace. “Okay?”
