“You look tired. Is the investigation getting to you?” Archer sat next to her on the couch. She hadn’t heard him come into the living room. He pushed back his wet hair. “I talked to Drew when I was driving the bus back to storage. He’s frustrated with everything. His dad keeps second-guessing his actions, Sam’s still not talking to him, and now Marcus says that as soon as Drew tells him he can, he’s moving back to California.”
“Which means Sam’s going to blame Drew for Marcus not staying.” Rarity closed her eyes. “I am tired of this whole thing. The drama everyone seems to have in their lives is making me freak out. Seriously, this is nothing, and everyone’s trying to make their lives the issue. A woman is dead. That’s the issue. We should be focusing on who killed Janey, not whose feelings are getting hurt.”
“Before this week, I would have put money on Caleb. He just looks like a stalker. Especially when he was around Janey. I only met him a few times, but he was suspect number one in my book.”
Rarity turned and looked at him. “Because of the way he looked at Janey?”
Archer shrugged. “That and the vibe he puts out. He’s all not a care in the world, then you see flashes of something under that carefree attitude. Like he was wearing a mask.”
“Well, I guess I only saw the mask. I knew he was in love, in lust, in something for Janey, but I thought it was just one of those attractions.” She stretched her neck. “I can’t believe tomorrow’s Monday. Having Saturday events makes the weekend go really fast.”
“You might want to close on Monday and give yourself a full two days off,” Archer said. “Of course, I do my paperwork on Mondays, so I’m still in the office. There’s just not walk-ins since the sign says closed.”
“I kind of do that anyway, with opening late on Monday. Not very many people walk in, but I’m there if a tour bus hits town.” She took his hand in hers. “Who would have thought I’d be missing my Monday-to-Friday routine with corporate America?”
“Running a small business isn’t for the weak. We work all the time, and when we’re not working, we make lists of things we should be doing when we are.” He squeezed her hand. “Do we have enough leftovers for a taco dinner?”
“Of course, but I’m making mine a taco salad.” She stood and pulled him to his feet. “Want to help?”
“I was going to handle it and just bring you a beer so you could relax.” He leaned in and kissed her. “You’ve had a busy week.”
“I’ve had a crazy week. Helping you with dinner is a spot of normalcy I’d like to enjoy.” She followed him into the kitchen and opened the fridge, handing him things as she found them. “I’m getting used to having you around all the time. I’m going to miss you when this is over and you go back to your apartment.”
He didn’t say anything. When Rarity looked up, he was watching her. “What?”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.” He leaned into the fridge with her. “Did you make any Spanish rice?”
* * * *
The next morning, she swam while Archer made breakfast. She’d told him to go and do his work, but he said he could log in from his laptop and do most of what he needed to get done here. Then he’d walk her to the store, where Jonathon would be waiting to work on his book.
After they finished breakfast and did the dishes, she called Sam. “Hey, I’m just checking in. Did that woman ever come in for a necklace last week?”
“Oddly enough, no. I called her on Wednesday and told her when I’d be in the shop, but she never showed. Customers are flakes like that. That’s why you need to get them committed when they first fall in love with a piece. If they have time to think, they may not buy.” She sounded okay. Not excited, but not sad either. “I’m glad you called. I wanted to tell you that I won’t be at the Tuesday book club until this is all settled. I don’t want to stop you guys from talking freely. And any discussion around Marcus just makes me mad.”
“Are you sure?” Rarity had her planner out and marked Sam’s name down near the book club. “Everyone knows your situation. They understand when you get upset.”
“They might, but I don’t. And I don’t want to be yelling at Shirley for her just stating a theory or her opinion. It’s not fair to the group.” She sighed. “Besides, Marcus will be leaving as soon as this is settled. He’s going back to California. He says Arizona is just too small-town for him.”
“I’m sorry, Sam.” And Rarity was truly sorry. It seemed like whether or not Marcus killed Janey, he was going to be disappearing from Sam’s day-to-day life soon. “Have you talked with Drew?”
“Not recently. I know I need to call, but I’m not sure what to say. Besides, he still has Marcus as a suspect. Until that changes, I can’t even look at him without listing off all the reasons my brother couldn’t have killed anyone.” Sam murmured something to someone, probably Marcus, in the background. “Look, I’ve got to go and get breakfast made. Thanks for calling, and I’ll talk with you soon.”
When Rarity hung up, she saw Archer playing with Killer and pretending not to watch her. “That was Sam. She’s not coming to book club until Janey’s murder is solved.”
“That’s probably for the best. I bet it’s really hard for her to hear people discussing it.” He gave Killer a rub on the head and walked over to her. “I’m sorry this is hard on the two of you.”
“I don’t understand why she won’t just talk to me. We used to talk about everything.” Rarity stepped closer and let Archer wrap his arms around her. She felt the tears starting to well up. “We’re best friends. Or we were.”
“Give her some time and space. She’ll come back. She’s dealing with a lot,” Archer said as he rubbed her back.
Finally, Rarity stopped crying and stepped away from Archer. She glanced at the clock. “Let me go wash my face and put my makeup back on. I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”
“No rush.”
When she came out, she saw him finish a message on his phone. He tucked it away in his jeans. “Are you late?”
“No, my new assistant is early. I told him to go get us some coffee, and I’ll be there soon.” Archer grabbed his backpack. “I’m going to teach him invoicing and scheduling today. Or at least what I do. He’ll probably have a new system set up for me by next week.”
“Oh, I should text Jonathon and tell him we’re on our way.” Rarity reached for her phone, but Archer shook his head.
“Already done. He’ll be there before we are.” He handed her the tote. “Anything you need to put in there?”