Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins Page B

department’s recycling center. How was your party?”
    I heard the pop of bubblegum and couldn’t help but wonder if Trudee suffered from jaw pain from all that chewing she did. “The party was super,” she said. “We had only one mishap when someone stumbled into the flag, but Karl came right over to fix it. He’s such a cutie-pie. I just want to pinch his cheek. Do you want me to send your check with him?”
    “Thanks, but I’ll pick it up when I come to get my decorations in”—I checked my watch—“about an hour, okay?”
    “Okay. See you then.”
    I hung up and let out a loud, “Woo-hoo!” as I danced around the shop. I gave Lottie a high five. “Bring on the bills. I’m picking up Trudee’s check in an hour, and I’m taking you and Grace out for a celebration dinner—my treat.”
    “Sweetie, that’s kind of you, but you don’t need to waste your hard-earned money on us,” Lottie said.
    “I made you a promise when I took that job, and a promise is a promise. Are you with me?”
    “Are you kidding?” She reached for the phone. “I’ll call Herman and let him know he and the boys are on their own tonight.”
    Grace was being rather quiet, so I returned to the parlor to see why, claiming I needed a refill on my coffee. She was setting out bud vases and filling them with white daisies, a worried frown on her face, but when she heard me come in, she turned with a smile. “Congratulations on the check, dear. That’s wonderful news.”
    “Thanks,” I said as I filled up the cup with her fragrant brew. “You’ll be able to join us for dinner tonight, won’t you?”
    “I wouldn’t miss it.” She put out the last vase, stuck two flowers in it, then said, “If the offer of help is still open, I’d like to take you up on it. Mind, now, I’m not entirely happy about encouraging your inquisitive nature, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”
    I nodded soberly. “I understand.”
    She heaved a sigh, as if she were resigning herself to the inevitable. “I suppose you’ll want to get started on it right away. What will you do first?”
    “Interview you. Have a seat, Grace.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

     
     
     
     
    I grabbed a tablet and a pen from under the counter and took a seat at one of the white wrought iron tables in front of the bay window. Fortunately, the shop didn’t open for another half hour, so I had some leeway. Grace poured herself another cup of tea and sat down beside me, and we began.
    “First of all, what time did Richard leave the banquet hall?”
    She raised her cup to her lips and took a sip, pondering my question. “He received a message on his phone as soon as he turned it back on, which would have been immediately after the ceremony as we were leaving the garden area and walking toward the building.”
    I wrote it down. “What did the message say?”
    “I didn’t hear it. Richard listened to it, then put the phone in his coat pocket and said a problem had come up that needed his attention. He told me he’d take care of it and join me as soon as he could. Then he started toward the parking lot and I went inside the building.”
    “What time did he come back?”
    “I didn’t check my watch, but it was after the police arrived.”
    “Let’s make a timeline,” I said, drawing a line across the page. “The wedding started at eight ten and ended right after the fireworks show, so he would have left about eight forty-five.” I marked the line accordingly. “The reception started at nine sixteen, because that’s when Pryce began the world’s longest, dullest toast. And it was around ten o’clock that Grandma Osborne found Jack’s body.”
    Grace thought a moment, then said, “I remember following everyone out of the ballroom to see what all the sirens were for, and as I stood behind the police barricade Richard came up to ask what had happened.”
    “That would make it about ten fifteen, give or take a few minutes. Did he say anything about what