then asked softly, “Suzanne, if you’re not here to ask for my help, why are you at my place long past your bedtime? You don’t think I killed him, do you?”
“Of course not,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean that people won’t be asking you questions, especially when they find out the two of you were dating.”
“Are you going to tell anyone about it?” she asked nervously.
“They won’t hear it from me, and you shouldn’t even have to ask, but you know how people in April Springs can be. Do you have an alibi for this morning? Were you at the diner the entire time?”
“No, I slipped out the back door to see James,” she admitted.
That wasn’t good news, but we still might have an out. “What time was that?”
“A little before eleven,” she said.
“When were you back behind the register?”
“It couldn’t have been more than five minutes later.”
“Are you absolutely certain about the time?” I asked.
“Of course I am. It couldn’t have been later than one or two minutes after eleven that I was back, and the time stamps on the receipts will show that I was at the register by then. We each have a different code when we sign in so I know who to blame if something goes wrong.” And then she got it. “I still can’t believe that you’re asking me for my alibi.”
“It’s not so much for me, but I want you to be sure when Chief Martin comes by here. It won’t take him long to find your phone number in the back of that journal. James didn’t exactly hide it. I’m guessing he’ll be out here tonight, so I can’t stay. He’s already upset with me, but I promise that it’s not going to stop me from digging into this. I can’t believe how James and I left things. I yelled at him about that stupid smoke from his fire pit getting into my donut shop, can you believe it? That’s the memory I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.”
“Actually, he thought it was kind of funny,” Trish said softly.
“What? Did he say something to you about it?”
Again she nodded. “James said that he was going to build a bonfire next time just to egg you on. Suzanne, he cared about you. That little spat you had didn’t bother him at all.”
“Is that true, or are you just saying it to spare my feelings?”
I saw the whisper of her smile, oh so fleeting, in the moonlight. “Yeah, that sounds exactly like me.”
“Okay, point taken. Listen, don’t be upset when the chief shows up here. He wants to find out who killed James just as much as anyone else does, including you.”
“I can’t believe that,” she said.
“Don’t sell him short. I know that you cared for James, but the chief takes it personally whenever someone’s murdered in April Springs. There are a great many people looking into this.”
“Just not me,” she said.
It was clear Trish didn’t just want to help me; maybe she even needed it. “Okay, maybe you can help. Off the top of your head, who might have done it?”
“Besides Rebecca? You could talk to Murphy, and there’s always his family in Pinerush.”
“You knew about them?” I asked.
“James thought I had a right to know just how crazy he really was trying to get rid of a fortune,” she said with the hint of another smile. “He told me the whole story out here two nights ago. It was really hard for me to believe that he was that rich, and I thought that he was kidding at first.”
“Why did he come clean with you so quickly?”
“I asked him that, and he said that he wanted me to know that the money was never going to be an issue, that he was happier being a poor blacksmith than he’d ever been as an heir to the Pinerush fortune. I told him that I’d sign any document he asked me to, as long as we could keep seeing each other.”
“I’m so sorry, Trish. I didn’t have any idea that you two were that close. I’m surprised, to be honest with you.”
“It just kind of snuck up on us, to tell the truth. We were just friends, and
“Of course not,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean that people won’t be asking you questions, especially when they find out the two of you were dating.”
“Are you going to tell anyone about it?” she asked nervously.
“They won’t hear it from me, and you shouldn’t even have to ask, but you know how people in April Springs can be. Do you have an alibi for this morning? Were you at the diner the entire time?”
“No, I slipped out the back door to see James,” she admitted.
That wasn’t good news, but we still might have an out. “What time was that?”
“A little before eleven,” she said.
“When were you back behind the register?”
“It couldn’t have been more than five minutes later.”
“Are you absolutely certain about the time?” I asked.
“Of course I am. It couldn’t have been later than one or two minutes after eleven that I was back, and the time stamps on the receipts will show that I was at the register by then. We each have a different code when we sign in so I know who to blame if something goes wrong.” And then she got it. “I still can’t believe that you’re asking me for my alibi.”
“It’s not so much for me, but I want you to be sure when Chief Martin comes by here. It won’t take him long to find your phone number in the back of that journal. James didn’t exactly hide it. I’m guessing he’ll be out here tonight, so I can’t stay. He’s already upset with me, but I promise that it’s not going to stop me from digging into this. I can’t believe how James and I left things. I yelled at him about that stupid smoke from his fire pit getting into my donut shop, can you believe it? That’s the memory I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.”
“Actually, he thought it was kind of funny,” Trish said softly.
“What? Did he say something to you about it?”
Again she nodded. “James said that he was going to build a bonfire next time just to egg you on. Suzanne, he cared about you. That little spat you had didn’t bother him at all.”
“Is that true, or are you just saying it to spare my feelings?”
I saw the whisper of her smile, oh so fleeting, in the moonlight. “Yeah, that sounds exactly like me.”
“Okay, point taken. Listen, don’t be upset when the chief shows up here. He wants to find out who killed James just as much as anyone else does, including you.”
“I can’t believe that,” she said.
“Don’t sell him short. I know that you cared for James, but the chief takes it personally whenever someone’s murdered in April Springs. There are a great many people looking into this.”
“Just not me,” she said.
It was clear Trish didn’t just want to help me; maybe she even needed it. “Okay, maybe you can help. Off the top of your head, who might have done it?”
“Besides Rebecca? You could talk to Murphy, and there’s always his family in Pinerush.”
“You knew about them?” I asked.
“James thought I had a right to know just how crazy he really was trying to get rid of a fortune,” she said with the hint of another smile. “He told me the whole story out here two nights ago. It was really hard for me to believe that he was that rich, and I thought that he was kidding at first.”
“Why did he come clean with you so quickly?”
“I asked him that, and he said that he wanted me to know that the money was never going to be an issue, that he was happier being a poor blacksmith than he’d ever been as an heir to the Pinerush fortune. I told him that I’d sign any document he asked me to, as long as we could keep seeing each other.”
“I’m so sorry, Trish. I didn’t have any idea that you two were that close. I’m surprised, to be honest with you.”
“It just kind of snuck up on us, to tell the truth. We were just friends, and
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