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“He asked me to check out Janey’s sister’s alibi. Do you want to drive into Flagstaff with me tomorrow? I’d ask Archer, but he’s working with that corporate group for the next few days.” Rarity took another bite of her dinner, trying to not think of death and Marcus and Sam. She should be focusing on Janey. Why had she been killed? If she found the why, she’d find the killer.
“I’m here to serve. At least until sometime next week. Edith and I were invited to a party in a couple of weeks, and she hates to go to those things alone.” He nodded to her plate. “Eat. We’ll figure this out. I’ll buy milkshakes for the drive back to Sedona. Just don’t tell Edith. She thinks I’m not going to fit intomy suit soon.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want Edith to be mad at me.” Rarity finished eating as she watched her friends, minus a few, enjoy their meal and conversation. Thank goodness she’d moved to Sedona. Otherwise, she’d be spending this afternoon doing laundry, watching movies, and working on her latest project. Even when Kevin had been in her life, she’d spent most of her free time alone. He’d been too busy with his work, golf, and friends to spend time with her, except of course, at night. She’d felt lonely a lot then. Now, all she had to do was step outside and chat with her neighbor if she needed adult, non-caninecompanionship.
After everyone finished eating, Rarity boxed up four plates of food. When Jonathon looked at her, she shrugged. “Archer will be here soon. And I’ve got avisit to make.”
Holly and Malia left first, after the rest of the food had been repackaged and divided between the people who wanted leftovers. Shirley wanted to make sure everyone had food before they left. Jonathon put his food into the fridge so he could take it home to Drew for their dinner. Shirley was the only one who didn’t takeany leftovers.
When Rarity asked, she shrugged. “I like cooking. And I’ve got to go spend some time with George. He’s not fond of cold fried chicken. Can you imagine? So we never went on a picnic, even with the kids. He had us eat at home either before or after. Or on rare occasions, we’d stop at a drive-in. The kids wouldbe in heaven.”
Soon, it was just Rarity and Jonathon. He grabbed Killer’s leash. “Do you have a bag forthose dinners?”
“You want to come with me?” Rarity tucked enough food for two into a canvas bag and grabbed her phoneand house keys.
“I’m not letting you go alone.” Jonathon stood at the door with Killer, waiting.
Chapter 12
Rarity and Jonathon didn’t talk much as they walked the few blocks over to Sam’s house. Her car was in the driveway, and there were lights on in the living room. Rarity glanced over at Jonathon, who was standing behind her on the steps. “Heregoes nothing.”
“Rarity, Sam loves you. You two are more like sisters than friends. So just play it cool. Don’t ask about Marcus, just offer the food. Maybe she’ll invite us in.” Jonathon smiled. “It’s just a Sunday afternoon visit. That’s all.”
Of course, it wasn’t just a Sunday afternoon visit. Sam had been ignoring all of them, trying to protect her brother. But if he didn’t do it, Drew wasn’t going to charge him. Sam had to know that. Rarity realized she kept saying that, yet Marcus was still on the suspect list. She shook off her doubts and knocked on the door.
Sam opened the door, dressed in gray sweats. Her hair wasn’t brushed, and she looked like she’d been sleeping. “Oh, hey. Sorry I didn’t get over to your house for the meeting. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Marcus is a night owl.”
Rarity held up the bag. “I brought sustenance.”
“Tell me Shirley made some sort of dessert.” Sam reached out for the bag and looked inside. “Cherry pie?”
“Yep. And fried chicken from the Garnet, a salad, and a quart of Archer’s white chicken chili.” Rarity relaxed a little. Her friend seemed fine, if abit frazzled.
Jonathon asked, “Can we come in?”
“Oh, Jonathon, I didn’t see you there. Of course, come in. Marcus is in the guest room sleeping. He has a totally different schedule than me, and I’ve been trying to spend as much time with him as possible, before...” Sam let the sentence drop off as she held open the door and waved them inside. “Let me put this in the kitchen, and I’ll be right out. Have a seat.”
Rarity looked around and moved a quilt off the sofa, folding it as she did. There was a man’s jacket on the wing chair next to the sofa, and she moved it as well. Empty soda cans and coffee cups filled the small table. Killer found a piece of pizza crust under the sofa, and Rarity took it from him and put it next tothe soda cans.
Sam came back into the room with an empty trash bag. “Sorry about the mess.”
Rarity watched her friend gather the clutter, and she picked up coffee cups and took them into the kitchen. Sam wasn’t a great housekeeper, but her place had never looked like this. She set the cups on the counter and opened the dishwasher. It was filled with dishes. She called out to Sam, “Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?”
“No, sorry, I haven’t run it yet today,” Sam called back.
Rarity opened the cabinet under the sink and filled the detergent pouch. Then she started the dishwasher, leaving the cups on the counter since the sink was filled with dirty dishes as well. Sam hadn’t started the dishwasherfor a few days.
Rarity got a dishcloth and ran hot water over it. Then she added some liquid dish soap. She went out to the living room and washed off the coffee table Sam had just finished cleaning off. “There. Now you can sit with us and talk for a bit.”
“I was waiting for Marcus to wake up before I cleaned. I didn’t want to wake him. He’s been through a lot,” Sam explained as she sat on the couch. Killer jumped into her lap and licked her face.
Neither Rarity nor Jonathonsaid anything.
Sam began to cry. She stroked Killer’s fur as tears fell down her face. “I can’t believe my life has turned into this. Drew stopped Marcus from flying out of here last week. Now he has a car parked outside all the time. I’ve been trying to get Marcus to realize he’s just doing his job, but he thinks Drew is out to get him.”
“Sam, this isn’t sane. You need to stop protecting Marcus and go back to your life. He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.” Rarity rubbed her friend’s shoulder. “Did you get my message? You’ve got customers who want to buy things. You need to getback to work.”
“I know. I’ll be there on Monday, I promise.” She glanced over toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “I just wanted to let Marcus settle a little before I wentback to work.”
