“Ex-wife. Besides, what’s going on in my personal life is not your concern.” Trish pushed back her hair. “As soon as I get this money back, he’ll come crawling back to me.”
“Oh no, he broke it off with you? Don’t tell me he’s trying to go back to his wife? I feel so bad for you. Not.” Rarity saw the door start to swing open. Hopefully it was Jonathon and not a kid or their mother coming for the event. “You had to realize it was going to happen, right? Men never leave their wives for the flavor of the month.”
“You witch.” Trish pointed the gun at her, and Rarity dove behind the counter. She saw Killer lying there and hoped a random bullet wouldn’t hit him. She should have run for the back room instead. She was getting set to do just that when she heard her name being called.
“Rarity, are you all right?” Noises were coming from the front of the bookstore. She prayed it wasn’t any of the customers, or worse, the kids for the book club.
She peeked around the counter from her place on the floor, hoping she wouldn’t be staring into Trish’s gun. Instead, she saw Trish being led out of the bookstore by a deputy. Her gun and Marcus’s coat were on the table that Jonathon usually occupied. Rarity glanced upward and saw Drew come closer and kneel down to meet her gaze.
“Drew?”
“Yes, it’s me. Are you okay? Where’s Killer?” He glanced around the area. “I don’t see him. Did you leave him at home?”
“No, he’s right here with me. He hid from her. I guess he could tell she wasn’t much of a dog lover.” She stood up and dusted off her jeans. “How did you know?”
“Dad called me. He heard voices but saw that the closed sign was still up. It felt wrong, he said. So he peeked in and saw you with a gun pointed at you. He guarded the door and called me. Apparently, there’s a bunch of kids out there waiting to get inside for the club. I’ve got what I need. I’ll take a few pictures here, but then you can probably open in about thirty minutes. If you want to. No one’s going to judge you for not opening today.”
“Besides the kids who are waiting for the club to start. The show must go on, right? I’m not the one who will be in front of the kids. I think I can handle some sales. Shirley’s having such a great day with this Sedona’s Grandmother label, I’d hate to cut it short.” Rarity walked over and picked up Killer. She turned him from side to side. “Are you okay, boy? I was so worried I’d given away your hiding place.”
He whined, then licked her face.
She pulled the little dog closer. “I know, I love you too.”
By the time Shirley got back, most of the police had left, including the one who was dealing with the yelling and screaming Trish. Shirley looked around the bookstore. Rarity was sitting at the table with Jonathon and Drew.
“What’s going on? Drew, I saw your truck out front. Do you have news about the murder?”
“Yes. We found the killer.” He smiled at Shirley. “Congrats on being Sedona’s Grandmother. It’s a fitting title.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” Shirley blushed as she patted the newspapers in her tote. It looked like she’d bought more than just the one she’d said she was buying. “So where did you find the killer?”
Drew pointed to the floor. “Right here. And she gave us a full confession. We’ll have to get another one when we get to the station, but at least I have a recording to work from.”
“A recording?” Rarity didn’t realize Drew had been recording the exchange.
He nodded. “Yep. Dad had his recorder going from the time he got off the phone with me. We still have some missing information, mostly why she thought it was necessary to kill her sister.”
“Money. It’s always money. I wish someone would fix the world and make money obsolete.” Rarity leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Then she leaned forward. “It’s after nine thirty. Are we doing the book club or not?”
“I’m fine to run it, if that’s okay with you. I don’t want to disappoint the kids. I might be old, but I have enough gumption to do this. I hate that she came to our happy place.” Shirley squared her shoulders and turned to face Rarity. “Is it okay for me to run it?”
“Sure. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Rarity rubbed Killer’s back. She might never let the little dog out of her arms ever again.
Chapter 24
Rarity pulled her coat closer. She was glad she’d listened when Archer had nixed her first choice of a cute sleeveless bubble vest as her overcoat. The cave temperatures must have been hovering near freezing. She stepped closer to Archer as he paused in front of the lava river tunnel they were getting ready to step inside. The cave was amazing and scary at the same time.
He put an arm around her and turned toward the others. “Okay, so here we go. The tubes circle around, and we’ll come back out here, but don’t wander off. I’d hate for you to take a wrong turn and your flashlight go out. It’s dark in here.”
“I hate the dark,” Sam complained as she gripped her flashlight tighter. “Maybe I should go back to the entrance.”
“No way. This is the one and only time I’m doing this, and you’re coming with me. Someday we’ll tell the story to my kids, and they’ll want to know that Aunt Sam wasn’t a scaredy cat.” Marcus grinned at his sister. He was back to his fun, over-the-top personality. The one Rarity had seen that night at the party.
Sam took a step forward, but Archer held up his hand. “Hold on a second. Shirley? Jonathon? Are you two ready for this?”
“I just talked to a group of kids yesterday. Don’t play with me. I can do anything. I’m Sedona’s grandmother.” Shirley grinned.
Jonathon nodded toward Shirley. “I’m with her.”
“Okay, then. We’re putting the past behind us at this point.” Archer met Rarity’s gaze. “We’re putting our fears, our insecurities, and our negative words on a shelf here on the wall. Then when we come back, they will all be gone. They will have sunk into the stone. We’ll walk out of here as positive, optimistic people who care for our environment.”
“And social issues,” Malia added.
Archer smiled. “Yes, those as well.”
“We should say something about trusting each other,” Marcus said, looking straight at Sam.
“And something about understanding when others are in a tough spot,” Sam shot back to him.
“Okay, so with that, I think we’ve finished the ritual. Just think positive thoughts, and this should work. If something happens, just call out to the next person in line. Then we’ll all stop and make the next decision together.” He glanced around the crowd. “Now, are we ready?”