A High-End Finish(58)
It was Jane’s turn to shut me up. “Wait. To be fair, it wasn’t Lizzie who said it. It was Mac.”
I scowled at her.
“It’s true,” she insisted.
“I need more wine.” I grabbed the wine bottle and refilled my glass, then Jane’s. I took a sip, then waved her on. “Okay, go ahead and tell me what you heard.”
“Mac came into Paper Moon yesterday and right away he hit it off with Lizzie and Hal. He stuck around talking to them for an hour. So finally Hal tells him about the two murders that happened recently, and according to Lizzie, Mac laughed and said something like, ‘Don’t you think it’s an interesting coincidence that I just happened to move here and murders started happening?’”
I sipped my wine while I considered Mac’s words. “Okay, I can see how that would freak Lizzie out a little. But it was obviously just Mac’s sense of humor.”
“I think so, too,” Jane said, “even though I don’t know him as well as you do. But, Shannon, listen. Once Lizzie told me what he said, I thought about it. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you can’t trust anyone right now. Not a soul.”
“Why not?”
“For all the reasons we’ve already talked about. Someone in town is using your tools to kill people. They’re trying to make you look guilty. Why? I keep asking myself what their motive is, but I can’t figure it out. And who? I haven’t got a clue.” Jane shook her head and gave a complete body shiver. “It’s crazy and frightening to consider that somebody around here has it in for you, but they do. That’s why I don’t think you should trust anyone right now.”
“Not even you?”
“Well, of course you can trust me.”
“Really? You were pretty angry about Jerry Saxton attacking me. You’re a loyal friend to me, so what was to stop you from tracking him down and bashing him over the head, just to let him know he couldn’t go around assaulting your friends and get away with it?”
She stared at me with her mouth open. After a long moment, I smiled. And so did she. And then we started to laugh.
“Oh, my God, what a ridiculous conversation,” she said, leaning against the island counter.
“You started it,” I claimed, and that made her giggle all over again.
After we sobered up, she faced me. “You’re right, you know. I may have been angry enough to kill those two jerks on your behalf. But I would never turn around and try to make you look like the guilty one.”
I smiled at her fondly. “I appreciate that.”
We both went back to work on dinner, but after a minute I stopped and looked at her. “Jane, I trust Mac. He’s smart and he makes me laugh. I’m happy he’s going to be living on my property for as long as he wants to stay. I don’t expect him to take care of me or anything, but having him around might discourage this horrible killer from coming after me.”
“Nobody’s coming after you,” she said, and I noticed her face turning pale. “For God’s sake, Shannon.” She grabbed the wine bottle. “I need more wine. How about you?”
“I just poured you more wine.”
She glanced at her full glass. “Oh.”
I chuckled. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Damn it, I’m scared to death for you!”
I grabbed a dish towel and wiped my hands clean. Then I walked over and enveloped her in a big hug. We all seem to need more hugs lately, I thought. “Thank you. I’m scared, too, okay? If I told you everything that Chief Jensen said to me after we found Wendell’s body, you’d be even more afraid for me than you are now. But I’m going to get through all this. And I really appreciate you staying here with me for a few nights.”
“I don’t mind staying with you. We’re having fun, right?”
“Well, mostly,” I said, drowning the last piece of chicken in the egg mixture. “Except when I go into major conniptions thinking Lizzie believes Mac is a cold-blooded killer.”
“Oh, what’s a major conniption between friends?” Jane said lightly.
“Damn straight,” I said, forcing myself to match her breezy tone.
As she pulled out more ingredients for the salad, she began to whistle her grandma’s favorite song, “Put on a Happy Face.”
Fake it till you make it, I thought, and determinedly hummed along with her. It wasn’t easy because Jane was truly tone-deaf, but after a few minutes, I was surprised to find myself putting on a happy face.
The next morning, Mac brought me a check for the full amount of rent. By noon, he had moved his belongings into the garage apartment.
I still couldn’t believe that the great MacKintyre Sullivan wanted to live in one of my little guest suites over the garage, but I wasn’t about to complain. In fact, I was thrilled. Not only did I have a reliable tenant paying rent for at least a month and maybe longer, but I also had someone living on the premises who made me feel completely safe. The fact that he was crazy gorgeous was a big bonus.
After lunch, I walked up to the town square and grabbed Lizzie for a quick discussion. We walked out the back door of the shop and stood in the small parking lot.
“What is it?” she asked. “Something’s wrong.”