The store was still empty. Shirley would be here at two to prep for the three o’clock reading, but it looked like Rarity had some time. She picked up her phone and dialed Cara’s number.
A sleepy voice answered, “Hello?”
“Hi, is this Cara Mantle?” Rarity asked.
“Yes. Who is this?” Now the woman on the other end seemed a little more alert. “If this is a reporter, I don’t know anything about Janey’s death. So please stop calling.”
“Cara, this is Rarity Cole. Janey worked for me at The Next Chapter. I’m just calling to see if there is anything I can do. Anything you need.” Rarity prayed the woman wouldn’t just hang up.
“Oh, Ms. Cole. Thank you for calling. I’m Janey’s roommate. She was so excited to work at your store.” A sniff interrupted her words. “I can’t believe she’s gone. We’ve been friends since high school. We both hated the dorms, so we moved into this apartment. Now, I’m working for Flagstaff Memorial, and Janey, she was finishing her master’s. But you know that. I’m sorry, I’m rambling. I did that with the first reporter who called, then I just kept getting more calls.”
“I’m sorry you’re being bothered. Are you working with her sister on the funeral arrangements? I’m coming with a few of my patrons.” Rarity hoped she’d have at least one person with her. She hadn’t heard back, but at least Shirley would come with her. She hoped.
“Miss Perfect? No, Trish will be at the funeral, all dressed in black and weeping for the cameras, but she can’t be bothered with dealing with the planning or anything. Janey’s parents left her some money, and since I’m her heir according to the lawyer who called yesterday, I’ll pay for the funeral out of that.” A dog barked in the background. “And I guess I’m taking over mom duties for Whiskey.”
“I didn’t know she had a dog. She spent a lot of time with my fur kid here at the shop. I should have asked.” But, Rarity thought as she paused, I thought we’d have more time.
“Whiskey’s a rescue mutt. Part lab, part chow, part something else. He’s missing her something awful. They used to run every day. I guess I’m going to have to take up the hobby. I work nights, so Whiskey’s used to me being here sleeping most of the day.” Cara sniffed again. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what else to say. Again, I’m rambling. Thank you for making her so happy in her last days. You would have thought she won the lottery, what with the job and then that new guy.”
Rarity held her breath, then asked, “Marcus?”
“Yeah, that was his name.” Cara laughed softly. “She was head over heels for that guy as soon as she met him. She thought he was her soulmate. Now they’re looking at him for her killing? I don’t believe it. How can you get someone to trust you that deeply and have those kind of intentions? Janey was smart. She would have known. She wouldn’t even let Caleb take her for coffee, and she’d known him for years.”
“Caleb Thompson?” Rarity had seen Caleb watching Janey, but she thought they’d met after she’d hired them. Not before.
“Yeah, the guy was always following us around campus. Janey called him her shadow. He kept asking her on dates, but she told him they were better as just friends.” A loud barking sounded in the background. “Sorry, I’ve got to go and take Whiskey out. I’ll see you at the funeral. Thanks for calling. It was nice to talk about Janey to someone who knew her.”
Rarity hung up and wrote down what Cara had said. She felt bad that Cara had thought she’d called just to talk, but on the other hand, Cara would want Janey’s killer to be found. Rarity finished her notes and looked at the words. What was she doing? Did this all come down to some need to get justice? Or was there a hidden need for Rarity to go looking for the monsters in the world?
Maybe after surviving her own death sentence when she got cancer, she’d developed this vigilante need to save others. Maybe that was why the Tuesday night Survivors’ group had turned so fast into a sleuthing group. Whatever it was, this need to right the wrongs in the world wasn’t in just her blood. The others from the club felt the same way. Or had it just been that they’d been thrown into situations where they cared about the others who had been killed? Martha had been a reluctant member of the book club. Darby was a member, and it was her grandmother who’d been killed. And now, a bookstore employee.
Rarity glanced around the wood, steel, and brick interior of her building. There was one link to all of this, besides a cancer diagnosis for someone. The bookstore. She pushed the idea away as Sam walked into the store, a bag of food in one hand and a drink carrier in the other.
“What are you doing here?”
“Lunch is delivered. I need a friendly face, and we both need food. So my treat. Shall we sit by the fireplace?” Sam nodded to the open area where the book clubs were held.
“Sounds amazing. Just what I needed as well.” Rarity closed her murder notebook and her laptop and hurried over to meet Sam. Killer, having smelled the food, was already there.
Sam pulled out sandwiches. “Sedona French dips. They have pepper jack cheese and a ton of onions and peppers.”
“Sounds amazing.” Rarity sat on the couch and pulled the coffee table closer. Killer whined at her feet. “If the French fries are cool enough, I’ll give you one.”
“And if she doesn’t remember, I will,” Sam promised. She took a bite of the sandwich, then sighed. “Best food I’ve eaten for days.”
“Have you even eaten anything lately?” Rarity asked. Sam didn’t look like herself. She looked worn out and tired. “You’ve been so worried about Marcus, I’m guessing you haven’t taken good care of yourself.”
“Nailed it on the head. Drew said the same thing last night when he walked me home. He brought me a bag of cookies, and we sat and talked for a while before he went home.” Sam wiped her mouth with a napkin. “He’s a good guy. Too bad he’s trying to send my brother away for twenty to life.”
“He’s not. He’s just trying to find out who killed Janey. If Marcus didn’t do it—”
Sam interjected, “And he didn’t.”
“Okay, since Marcus didn’t do it, Drew will rule him out and find who did. You know Drew. He won’t stop at an easy but wrong answer.” Rarity gave Killer a French fry after testing the temperature by eating one first. “He gets his sense of honesty from Jonathon. Speaking of, I can’t believe he came here to help us with the investigation.”
“I think he’s a spy for Drew. I think Drew called his father and told him to watch us so Drew could work on the case without worrying about what we were doing.” Sam shrugged at Rarity’s shocked expression. “Don’t tell me the thought hadn’t crossed your mind.”