watch TV, right?”
“Happens a lot,” said a second woman. “Saw on the news one time where this groom threw his wife off a cliff on their honeymoon.”
“Yeah, I saw that. Hope he’s sittin’ in a jail somewhere.”
“Me, too.”
“The man must’ve had a cold, cold heart,” the first woman said, “just like whoever committed this crime.”
“I don’t see Lance bein’ that person, even if he did have a dozen reasons for wantin’ her gone.”
A sigh. “Could just as easily been one of her other men.”
What other men? I took my hands away from the computer and leaned toward the voices.
“Ace McKinney’s ’bout as cold as they come,” raspy voice said.
“That’s ancient history.”
“To us, maybe not to him.”
The women began walking, their footsteps on the tiled floor and their voices fading away from me.
Dang it. I had good intentions of ignoring this topic, but now my curiosity had kicked up. I stood to follow the women and keep up with their conversation, then stopped myself.
Write, Sabrina. Ignore the gossip.
I turned back to the computer, but couldn’t quite grasp the rhythm of the story. My thoughts kept going back to what I’d heard. Did Lance Devlin have a dozen reasons for wanting his wife gone? Did Crystal have other men, as in lovers? What kind of ancient history did she have with Ace McKinney?
As I struggled to get more words on the page, eight o’clock came quickly. I had managed to write several pages and was glad for the draft to work on later. A buzz of people in the hallway alerted me to the end of Griffin’s meeting. I packed up my laptop and returned to the auditorium, where I scanned Scouts and grown-ups who had either attended the meeting themselves or come to pick up the boys. Several women, butnone were paired up. I had no way of knowing if they were the same women I’d overheard. I didn’t recognize anyone.
As the last of the Scouts filed out the door, Griffin said his good-byes to a man I presumed was the Scout leader and headed my way.
“How’d it go?” I said.
“Pretty well until the kids veered off topic a bit, talking about safety in general and the lady who got killed. Whole town’s gossiping, and the kids are no exception.”
“Yeah, I heard some gossip, too.”
“Let’s go somewhere, and you can tell me all about it,” he said.
Outside, Griffin retrieved his yellow Lab, Angie, from a friend who dog-sat for him while watching the baseball game. I’d seen Angie with Griffin many times, but had never met the dog up close and personal. Angie sniffed my hands and must have decided I was okay because she trotted by my side as we walked toward my car. I told Griffin I’d brought coffee and milk, in case he preferred one or the other.
“I know a perfect place for our cupcake break,” he said. “A place we won’t hear any more gossip, and it’s one of Angie’s favorite spots.”
“Sounds great,” I said.
We decided to take both vehicles, and I followed Griffin a few miles down the road to a turnoff I wouldn’t have noticed just driving by. The dirt road led off the main highway to a pond next to a grove of trees. A rowboat tied to a small dock rocked slightly in the evening breeze. Griffin pointed out a picnic table shaded by the trees, and I brought out the cupcakes and drinks. Angie took off after a bird sitting by the pond.
“How do you know this spot?” I asked after we’d settled at the picnic table and I’d poured us each a cup of coffee.
He smiled. “Property’s part of my late stepfather’s ranch. Won’t be able to enjoy it much longer, though. His kids decided to sell. Claim they love the place, but nobody’s in a position to buy out the others.”
“What a shame.” I sat sideways on the picnic table bench and put my feet on the bench to hug my knees. “Sunset must be spectacular from here.”
“You’re about to see for yourself.” Griffin peeled the paper off a cupcake. “These look great. You having
“Happens a lot,” said a second woman. “Saw on the news one time where this groom threw his wife off a cliff on their honeymoon.”
“Yeah, I saw that. Hope he’s sittin’ in a jail somewhere.”
“Me, too.”
“The man must’ve had a cold, cold heart,” the first woman said, “just like whoever committed this crime.”
“I don’t see Lance bein’ that person, even if he did have a dozen reasons for wantin’ her gone.”
A sigh. “Could just as easily been one of her other men.”
What other men? I took my hands away from the computer and leaned toward the voices.
“Ace McKinney’s ’bout as cold as they come,” raspy voice said.
“That’s ancient history.”
“To us, maybe not to him.”
The women began walking, their footsteps on the tiled floor and their voices fading away from me.
Dang it. I had good intentions of ignoring this topic, but now my curiosity had kicked up. I stood to follow the women and keep up with their conversation, then stopped myself.
Write, Sabrina. Ignore the gossip.
I turned back to the computer, but couldn’t quite grasp the rhythm of the story. My thoughts kept going back to what I’d heard. Did Lance Devlin have a dozen reasons for wanting his wife gone? Did Crystal have other men, as in lovers? What kind of ancient history did she have with Ace McKinney?
As I struggled to get more words on the page, eight o’clock came quickly. I had managed to write several pages and was glad for the draft to work on later. A buzz of people in the hallway alerted me to the end of Griffin’s meeting. I packed up my laptop and returned to the auditorium, where I scanned Scouts and grown-ups who had either attended the meeting themselves or come to pick up the boys. Several women, butnone were paired up. I had no way of knowing if they were the same women I’d overheard. I didn’t recognize anyone.
As the last of the Scouts filed out the door, Griffin said his good-byes to a man I presumed was the Scout leader and headed my way.
“How’d it go?” I said.
“Pretty well until the kids veered off topic a bit, talking about safety in general and the lady who got killed. Whole town’s gossiping, and the kids are no exception.”
“Yeah, I heard some gossip, too.”
“Let’s go somewhere, and you can tell me all about it,” he said.
Outside, Griffin retrieved his yellow Lab, Angie, from a friend who dog-sat for him while watching the baseball game. I’d seen Angie with Griffin many times, but had never met the dog up close and personal. Angie sniffed my hands and must have decided I was okay because she trotted by my side as we walked toward my car. I told Griffin I’d brought coffee and milk, in case he preferred one or the other.
“I know a perfect place for our cupcake break,” he said. “A place we won’t hear any more gossip, and it’s one of Angie’s favorite spots.”
“Sounds great,” I said.
We decided to take both vehicles, and I followed Griffin a few miles down the road to a turnoff I wouldn’t have noticed just driving by. The dirt road led off the main highway to a pond next to a grove of trees. A rowboat tied to a small dock rocked slightly in the evening breeze. Griffin pointed out a picnic table shaded by the trees, and I brought out the cupcakes and drinks. Angie took off after a bird sitting by the pond.
“How do you know this spot?” I asked after we’d settled at the picnic table and I’d poured us each a cup of coffee.
He smiled. “Property’s part of my late stepfather’s ranch. Won’t be able to enjoy it much longer, though. His kids decided to sell. Claim they love the place, but nobody’s in a position to buy out the others.”
“What a shame.” I sat sideways on the picnic table bench and put my feet on the bench to hug my knees. “Sunset must be spectacular from here.”
“You’re about to see for yourself.” Griffin peeled the paper off a cupcake. “These look great. You having
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