“I don’t care. Text Jules too and tell him to stay put. With cops coming, we don’t need him involved in this. It could just cause trouble.” I didn’t see the need in backup with Kate on her way.

  But whatever I did, I had to keep Belle safe. I should’ve left her at the wake with our parents.

  “He said to meet us back at his place when we’re done.”

  “Okay. How are you feeling really?” I didn’t want this making things harder on her.

  “You know I’ll tell you. Look, I know stress makes things worse for me, but other than Jules being in danger, this has actually been rather fun. It’s helped keep my mind off myself and my own struggles.”

  “I’m glad. And I’m not trying to smother you, but I do need you to promise you’ll tell me if any of it gets to be too much.”

  “I promise.”

  “We’re here.” I pulled over across the street from Lee’s a couple houses down.

  We had a clear view of the front, but hopefully he wouldn’t notice us idling here.

  Lee popped out of his car, slammed the door, and ran for his front door, disappearing inside.

  “I wish we had some binoculars or something.”

  Belle chuckled. “I’ll get you a surveillance kit for Christmas.”

  “I hope I won’t need it then.” This case shouldn’t last six months.

  “It still might be fun.”

  “Maybe. Any word from Kate?” I asked.

  “Not yet. She hasn’t replied to my last text.”

  I blew out a breath. “Talk me out of going over there to get a closer look.”

  I hated just sitting here. Useless.

  Belle glared at me. “Absolutely not. They’re on their way, they were only minutes behind us and they got to speed and use their lights and sirens. Whatever he’s trying to hide, he won’t have time to destroy. And whoever is in there will show themselves when they leave. That’s the only reason we’re here. To see who is here if they leave before Kate arrives.”

  I nodded repeatedly. “Right. You’re right. I’d only make things worse if I go peeking into windows.”

  “Good. You’ve already peeked through Sally’s window and it didn’t help.”

  “True. But it helped me rule out Fred. Mostly. But I could definitely see Lee killing Sally faster than Fred.”

  “What was that that Lee said though? To Jonathan?”

  “That Jonathan might’ve crashed the wedding to kill her for her half of the inheritance. Though it seems a little premature considering both their parents are alive and well. Unless there’s something else going on in that family.”

  “Like what?” Belle asked.

  I shrugged. “I dunno. Something with the inheritance? If he found out that Sally was getting more, it could give him motive.”

  “I can’t imagine someone killing their own sibling.”

  “I could imagine killing April.” I winked at her.

  Belle made a disapproving noise. “You wouldn’t really though.”

  “Probably not. But more for you and the rest of the family.”

  “So mean.”

  “You know I love her. I just don’t get her.”

  “She’s lost right now. She has been for a while. She just needs time.”

  “What she needs is a kick in the backside.” I sat up in my seat as a familiar car caught my eye in the side mirror. “There’s Kate. Finally.”

  Belle turned to see Kate pulling past us to the entrance of Lee’s driveway, blocking his car from backing out.

  Smart. She was good.

  And I was grateful she was taking this seriously. Though she wanted answers and closure for Fred as much as I wanted it for Jules.

  Kate and Mitch, one of the other deputies who I didn’t know well, got out of Kate’s car and marched to Lee’s door.

  I rolled down my window to try and listen, but they were too far away to hear.

  Lee opened the door with a scowl and shook his head at whatever Kate said to him.

  He tried to close the door, but she blocked it with her foot. I winced. That had to hurt in those heels of hers. She hadn’t changed from her funeral clothes. But Kate didn’t even flinch, not showing a hint of pain or discomfort.

  Whatever she said next got Lee to open the door and slump his shoulders. Kate and Mitch disappeared inside, along with Lee.

  “Stakeouts aren’t as exciting as I imagined,” Belle said.

  “Nope. Pretty boring. And I have to pee.” I shifted in my seat, trying not to think about it.

  Belle groaned. “Now that you said it, so do I.”

  “Let’s give it ten minutes, and if they don’t come back out, we’ll go find a bathroom. I’m sure Kate will fill us in on what is going on here.”

  “Works for me.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “I really hope this is it. That Lee has some kind of proof of killing Sally in there so all this will be over.”

  “Me too.”

  “Then we can get back to a fun summer of magic and adventures.”

  Belle chuckled. “What do you call the past week?”

  “Well, I was hoping for a little less deadly adventures.” I’d planned for more hikes and maybe a prank or two and a lot of art.

  Not murder.

  “Speaking of magic, you need to make things right with Teddy.”

  I slammed my head back against the headrest. “I know. That prank was too far. Too mean. It seemed funny at the time. I’m going to stop at the pet store for an apology toy on the way home.”

  “Good. You two need to get along.”

  “We actually did okay yesterday. Some snark, but he was helpful. Ugh, I feel even worse now.”

  Belle shook her head. “Only you would end up having a corgi as some kind of weird nemesis.”

  “You have to admit he tries to irritate me.”

  “And you do the same to him. He’s just responding in kind. He may be incredibly intelligent and be able to talk, but he’s still a dog.”

  “A dog who’s running from something.”

  “It’s certainly the summer of mysteries, isn’t it?”

  “Indeed it is. And here’s another one.” My eyes widened. “What is Annie doing coming out of Lee’s house?”

  Belle’s eyes widened too. “I don’t know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  While Mitch got Lee and Annie into the backseat of the car, Kate fiddled with her phone before turning to nod at us.

  Belle’s phone dinged and she read the text out loud. “Annie and Lee have been having an affair. She got back from New York last night and decided to stay with him. I’ll come over later with more info after we talk to them a little more. Don’t get your hopes up.”

  I groaned and closed my eyes. “Great. It doesn’t sound like she thinks they did it.”

  “Do you think he cheated on Sally with Annie? Is that what Jonathan meant?”

  “Probably. But it does call their alibis into question, since they were each others.”

  Belle’s phone dinged again. “I have better news.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The photos are finally in my inbox.”

  I whooped. “Finally. That photographer was about to get a very angry visit from me.”

  “We’re supposed to meet Julian at his house.” Belle reminded me.

  “Right.” I shrugged. “Well, he’s got a printer.”

  “Don’t forget to stop at the pet store.”

  “Yeah yeah.”

  I headed in the opposite direction as Kate, not really wanting Lee and Annie to know Belle and I were involved.

  It didn’t take long for Belle and I to choose a few new things for Teddy to fight and conquer, then make our way to the outskirts of town where we now lived.

  Belle shoved the bags in my arms before we got out of the car. “Here. It needs to come from you.”

  “It did. My credit card is still smoking from how much these dumb little things cost when Teddy is just going to rip them apart.”

  “Apologies aren’t cheap.”

  “Clearly.”

  Belle opened the door for me and I dragged the bursting bags inside, calling for Jules and the dog.

  They both came trotting out of the kitchen.

  “Hey. What happened? I was starting to get worried.”

  “Sorry. We should’ve texted. It got a little weird.” I dumped the bags out onto the floor. “Here Teddy. I am sorry I tricked you into watching that movie.”

  “I haven’t been able to eat all day, I’m still so triggered.”

  I held back a snort at his unintended wordplay. “It was very mean of me. I hope you enjoy your new toys.”

  He nudged them with his nose, checking them out. “I guess they’re all right.”

  “I made sure to spare no expense.”

  Teddy looked up at me through narrowed eyes. “So you’re basically trying to buy my forgiveness?”

  “Yes.” I wasn’t going to lie or make excuses.

  He could accept the apology or not. I didn’t much care either way.

  “Fine. This doesn’t make us friends.”

  “Thank goodness.” I turned to Jules. “I need to use your computer while Belle fills you in on everything that happened today. We’re not sure, but we’re hoping you might be off the hook soon.”

  “I hope so. Thank you for trying so hard.”

  “Stop thanking me. You’d do the same if you were in my position.”

  And I kept failing, so I really didn’t want thanks until he was proven innocent.

  “Maybe.”

  I rolled my eyes and went to log onto Belle’s email in Jules’ office. I groaned when I saw how many photos were attached. It would take all night to go through them. Thankfully, the photographer had sorted them already by the timeline of the wedding, so I only clicked on the ones that were taken during the hour surrounding the time of death.

  There were still a lot. Way too many.

  After I started printing them out, I kicked my shoes off and padded down the hall to Jules’ bedroom, wanting a change of clothes, but not feeling like walking down the road to our house.

  Pictures on the top of his dresser caught my eye when I opened the top drawer. He’d chronicled our childhood, capturing so many memories of our lives together. Most were of the two of us, but there was one of my whole family and Jules taken a few years ago. He and I were looking at each other and laughing while the rest of the family smiled politely at the camera.

  I didn’t think I’d ever seen that photo, but I wanted a copy.

  There was another of Jules and Beth seated together at the piano at his grandfather’s house, looking peaceful and happy.

  At the back, there was a photo of just me, hair a complete mess, surrounded by books and papers, looking stressed but exhilarated in black and white. I didn’t remember him taking this photo, I must have been in the middle of some important scene or research.

  My dresser back home looked incredibly similar.

  A soft smile spread across my lips as I finally began to dig through his drawers. I unearthed a pair of sweatpants I thought would fit and a faded Velvet Underground t-shirt. It was an old favorite of his and he was going to be pissed I borrowed it, which made it the perfect choice.

  I closed his bedroom door and changed clothes real quick, relaxing once the dress was tossed on his bed and I was in more comfortable clothes.

  I left the dress where it was and returned to the main part of the house where Jules stood in the doorway to his office.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Jules stared at the floor. “My entire office floor is covered in wedding photos.”

  “What?” I tried to see what he was talking about, but he blocked my view.

  “You forgot to pull out the extender thing in the printer so it just spat them all across the floor.”

  I winced. “Crap. I’m sorry, Jules.”

  “We have to sort through them all anyway, right?” He turned to look at me and his eyes widened. “What are you wearing?”

  “I borrowed some clothes so I didn’t have to wear that dress any longer. Why?” I batted innocent eyes at him.

  His mouth opened and closed several times before he got any words out. “You look...you stole...that’s my favorite shirt.”

  I grinned. “I know.”

  “It looks good on you.”

  “Uh. Thanks.” I frowned, confused and surprised.

  I expected him to throw a hissy fit, not look at me like I was beautiful.

  “Belle is making tea. Want some?”

  I shrugged. “Sure. You got any snacks? I didn’t eat much at the wake.”

  “Yeah, I heard about the drama. Not just from Belle, a few people have posted about it online.”

  “What are they saying? Do they finally believe you’re innocent?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing like that. Just people gleeful over the spectacle.”

  “Of course.”

  People sucked.

  He sighed. “I got a call from the bar where I do my usual gigs and they cancelled on me.”

  I stilled and stared at him in shock. “What?”

  Jules raked his hand through his black hair. “Yeah. They said until all this died down, they didn’t think it was a good idea.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jules.”

  “I’m just worried I’m going to get the same phone call from the school.”

  That would kill him. And probably end up forcing him back into the family fold where he didn’t want to be.

  “At least there are still a couple months until school starts back up. That gives us plenty of time to clear your name of mud.”

  “I guess we should get started on all these photos then.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  We’d only gotten a quarter of the way through the photos when Kate called.

  I answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Harri. Bad news.”

  My eyes closed with hopeless frustration. “They’ve been ruled out.”

  I turned my back on Belle and Jules so I could focus on the conversation instead of their reactions.

  “Not completely, but we had nothing to hold them on. Apparently, they’ve been having an affair for a while, but they were keeping it quiet for now. Annie didn’t come to the funeral because she didn’t think it would be appropriate. They definitely both had motive, Annie even more so now since Lee and Sally were always getting back together and breaking up. But Lee swears they were together. And that Samantha was with them. We’re going to talk to her to make sure, but I don’t know what is going on, but Markle is still focused on Julian.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  Kate sighed. “Trust me, I know. I think it’s because the rest of the suspects have powerful family and friends and a lot of money. Julian is an easier target because he turned his back on his family’s money.”

  “That doesn’t mean his family will just let him go down for this.”

  “Maybe Julian’s grandfather needs to start throwing his weight around to get Markle to back off.” Kate didn’t sound like she thought it would work.

  “You know neither of them will agree to that.”

  “I know. I think it’s just...we have plenty of suspects, but no evidence. And everyone’s alibis are weak at best. And we couldn’t get a warrant for his house.”

  “Which means whatever it is he wanted to hide will end up destroyed. This is all my fault.” I should’ve looked into harder myself first.

  “No. You did the right thing.”

  “Maybe. But because of me, it’s going to be destroyed especially now that he’s tipped off you guys are looking into him.”

  “He was on his way to destroy it anyway. You had no other options unless you went the illegal route which helps no one.”

  “So what now?” I asked.

  “Keep digging. If you find anything, let me know.”

  “We’re going through photos now from the wedding.”

  Though so far, what was supposed to have all our answers was a big pile of wasted paper and ink.

  “Perfect idea. I’ll put in a phone call to get the same ones sent to us. We really should’ve thought of that. We got the professional ones sent over, but I forgot about the candids from the guests.”

  “Yeah, the photographer did good work on them. She had them printed off and scanned and prettied up along with time stamps. I just wish Mauve was going to be able to enjoy them.”

  “Maybe one day, once the horror fades.”

  “Yeah. If one of our best friends isn’t in jail.” Tears pricked my eyes at the thought.

  “I don’t think it’s going to go that far. Like I said, we have no solid evidence. A jury would never convict if it even made it to trial.”

  “It won’t stop his career and future from being ruined.”

  “No. Especially not in a town this size. We’ll figure this out. Keep working from your end and I’ll keep working mine and hopefully one of us will finally catch a break.”

  “Sounds good. Talk to you later.”

  “Good luck.”

  “You too.”

  Jules, Belle, and Teddy all stared at me in expectation and curiosity as I hung up the phone.

  I sighed before recapping Kate’s side of the conversation for them, frustrated and wondering if these photos were a waste of time.

  I’d spent so much time counting on them to solve everything, but so far there was nothing helpful.

  Jules rubbed his neck and tried to shrug it off. “Once this is all over, I think I might start campaigning for whoever is running against Markle.”

  “Oh, we’re absolutely doing that. I’m going to talk to my aunt if I have to. She’s not always the most helpful, but even she has to admit he’s made an utter mess of this.”

  “We haven’t done much better.”

  “True.”

  This case was starting to feel impossible to solve.

  I grabbed the next pile of photographs, narrowing my eyes on each one, trying to find anything that might help us.

  But it was all smiling strangers and townspeople and mostly Mauve and Will and the rest of our family. Even though Sally was in the wedding party, there were few of hers, so we hadn’t been able to figure out a timeline yet.

 

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