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“So you know about what happened when he was a kid.” Rarity let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so gladSam told you.”
“He was a teenager, almost an adult, and no, Sam didn’t tell me. Those things don’t just drop off your record. Sam’s not talking to me right now.” Drew nodded to the group that was watching them talk. “Your friends are waiting.”
Rarity thought about Sam grabbing the cash from her crystal shop. And the bags in the car. Sam was her friend. And she was driving off a cliff. “I think Sam’s helping Marcus leave the area.”
“I wondered if you knew.” Drew shook his head. “Anyway, she’s not now. I had someone watching him, and when they got to the airport, Marcus was taken into custody. I only have seventy-two hours to charge him but tell your friend she’s lucky she’s not in a jail cell next to her brother.”
Drew walked away, leaving Rarity standing there, staring at him.
Holly came over and put an arm around her.“Are you okay?”
Rarity blinked tears away and nodded. “I’m fine. Sam’s in big trouble, though. And I think Drew just broke up with her.”
Chapter 9
Rarity didn’t say much as they drove to the restaurant. Since Jonathon had joined them, they changed their destination and went to a local steak house that was on the highway on the way back to Sedona. Rarity let Jonathon ride shotgun, and as they traveled, she could feel Shirley’s and Jonathon’s attention on her. She didn’t know what to say. Drew and Sam were perfect for each other. Or they had been, until Marcus got in the way. How could Sam let her love for her brother destroy her relationship with Drew?
Rarity didn’t have any close family. Maybe some cousins in other states, but her parents had died young, after Rarity was on her own, and she was an only child. So the relationships she built were as tight as family, at least to her. And she couldn’t see sacrificing one for the other. Drew had been Sam’s first real relationship where they’d even started talking about marriage. She’d lived with people, or losers, as she liked to call them, before. But no one had talked about how to make a future together. Drew had. His family loved her, and they’d gone on a family vacation to Disneyland together afew months ago.
Then Marcus came back to Arizona, and Sam had lost all perspective. Rarity needed to talk to her, but she wasn’t sure what she could say to make her see Drew’s side.
“Ready for some lunch?” Jonathon asked as he opened the backdoor for her.
Rarity blinked and realized they were parked in front of the restaurant.
He took her hand and pulled her into a hug. “Look, I know you’re worried about Drew and Sam, but sometimes things have to runtheir course.”
She looked at Jonathon. “You don’t think that this will kill theirrelationship?”
He put an arm around her as they walked to the restaurant entrance. “Sometimes couples need to learn what they mean to each other. If they let this break them up, they weren’t meant to be. You have to be able to weather the storms as a couple. This is nothing compared to what could happen between them. Edith and I are praying for them and hopefully giving good counsel when they ask for advice. Besides that, we’re keeping our opinionsto ourselves.”
“That’s probably a good suggestion. I’ve been sitting here wondering how to get through to Sam. You’re saying ignore the fact that Sam’s ruining her future and just chat about other things.” She went inside the restaurant and moved around a saddle that was on the side of the entry with a stand holding VIP sign-up forms. In all the time she’d lived here, this was the first time she’d been in this restaurant, so she didn’t think she was their target customer. But maybe she should think about having some sort of program for the bookstore. She grabbed a flyer to review it.
“I didn’t take you as a steak-and-potato girl,” Jonathon said as Shirley went to the hostess stand to get them a table. “And yes, just stay out of the relationship issue. You can’t win when you take one sideor the other.”
“This is research for the bookstore.” Rarity tucked the flyer into her purse. “Drew’s a good friend and a good man. I’d never jeopardize my friendship there. But I don’t see many double dates in our immediate future.”
“Probably not. But let’s put that worry away. We’ve got a murder to solve. So what did you think of Janey’s sister? She’s pretty high-class. I never met Miss Janey, but I got the impression she was moredown to earth.”
“Exactly. I was shocked when she told me they both had a trust fund. I wonder if Janey had a will. I’d suspect so if the money was significant, and Trish implied that it was.” Rarity followed the hostess and the group as they moved toward a large booth near the back. The restaurant was busy. “We can talk more after we order. I’d hate tobe overheard.”
Shirley settled in the booth and glanced around at the other tables. “Every time I come to Flagstaff lately, I’m shocked at how many people I don’t know. George and I used to come into town at least once a week for an event or dinner. We had friends here. But so many people have moved to be closer to their adult children, I guess we’re becoming isolated.”
Malia, who was sitting next to Shirley, gave her a nudge with her shoulder. “You are not isolated. You have us. And we’re not going to let you feel a bit lonely. You’ll probably be trying to get us to leave you alone soon.”
Shirley laughed and opened the menu. “I think you girls keep me around because of thetreats I make.”
“It’s one of the positive benefits of being friends with you, but no, that’s not the only reason,” Holly said, then she pointed to the menu. “Does anyone want to share an appetizer? Or gettwo and split?”
“I might just get one for my dinner. They always give you so much food here,” Shirley mused. “I wonder if they havea senior menu.”
Malia turned Shirley’s menu over for her. “It’s on the back.”
As they settled in for lunch, Rarity realized that Jonathon was right. Things happened between people. But if they were truly friends, or family, or even in love, they got through the mess and became stronger. This group had meshed because one of their members had been murdered. Something like that could have ended the book club before it got started. Instead, the group had banded together and solved not only one murder but a second one. It was beginning tobe their thing.
Rarity wished people would stop killing other people so the group could go back to being just a book club.
“So what are you having?” Shirley asked, bringing her back to the conversation. The waitress was there,taking orders.
