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Rarity left Killer home later when she came back from her break that evening to work with Katie. The dog looked worn out, and he didn’t even lift his head when she grabbed her tote. The afternoon had been almost as busy as the morning. Rarity had asked Shirley to stop by the bookstore tomorrow and fill a box with kids’ books before she came to work the booth. Shirley had warned her that with Easter coming up, there would be a lot of demand for children’s books, but Rarity hadn’t realized how much demand. Next year, she should plan to have a children’s author come in and sign at the booth. Or maybe several.

She made a note in her phone app to check into the idea next week. Maybe there was a festival still coming up this year that she could match with an author signing. She’d talk to Katie when she got to the tent. Lost in thought, she almost missed seeing Terrance out on his porch, waving at her. She stopped at the walkway and waited for hi m to join her.

“Can I walk with you to town? I’m heading to work at the home to finish up the repairs on the security system. Now that no one’s actively messing with it, I’m almost finished with my work there. Of course, I’ll come back in monthly to do checks, but I think I worked myself out of a full-time job.” He glanced back at Rarity’s house. “Where’ s the big guy?”

“I left Killer home. Being outside all day wears him out.” Rarity thought about the security system issues. “Question, do you think Jully was the one messing wit h the system?”

“It’s the fresh air.” Terrance reached for her tote bag, and she gave it to him. It was old fashioned, but Terrance was an old-fashioned guy. “As far as Jully, I don’t have any proof, but like I said, somehow, I’m not having to redo all my work every day since he was killed.”

Rarity digested the information. Of course, telling Drew would put another bull’s-eye on Terrance’s back. Instead, she didn’t look at her friend and asked, “So how are you doing?”

“I’m not in jail. That’s a good thing,” he said as they paused for a car to drive by. “I guess I should be grateful. George is stuck in the locked ward. He’s going crazy in there. I went by and they let me visit him since I seem to be able to calm him down. He wanted to see Lizzy. He’s worried that something is going to happen to her like that other woman.”

“Lizzy went out to dinner with her sister the other day. They were talking about her leaving the facility.” Rarity turned to Terrance. “You’ve met her, right? Do you think she needs to be in a memory care unit? According to Shirley, it’s ha rd to get in.”

Terrance didn’t answer for a few minutes. Finally, he shrugged. “I don’t see the same type of memory issues in Lizzy that I do in George and the other patients. But I’m not a doctor. I don’t know what the criteria for admission are or the symptoms of the diseases they deal with. I do know that woman can throw a fit with the best of them. I’ve had several girlfriends who had the same ability.”

“I’m wondering how she got into the facility and if she can leave anytime.” Rarity paused as a bike spe d around them.

“Those my dear, are questions above my pay grade.” They were at the edge of the park. He handed her tote back to her and pointed toward the east. “I’m going this way unless you need me to deliver you t o your booth.”

Rarity took her bag and smiled. “I think I can find my way. Be careful. There are a lot of people out and about this weekend.”

“Same to you.” He glanced at his watch. “How long will you be here? Do you need an escort home since you left without yo ur guard dog?”

“He’d love hearing you call him a guard dog.” Rarity laughed at the image. “But I’ll be fine. I close up the booth at seven tonight. Then I’ll be back tomorrow. Books make great Easter gifts.”

“I’ll be at the home until ten. Text me when you get home. I’ll worry.” Terrance kissed her on the cheek then headed o ff to his job.

“You and every other male in my life right now,” Rarity mumbled as she made her way through the crowd. The town council had brought in a local carnival with rides and food trucks. The local teens were out in force. She kept getting waves and “Hi, Ms. Cole” from a lot of the kids who were in the store’s book clubs. As she walked, she realized how many people she knew this year compared to the last festival she’d participated in. She was becoming a local herself.

When she got close to the tent, she saw that Cindi had been replaced by the nurse she and Archer had talked to the night they’d taken the dogs around to visit the patients. She waved as the woman looked bored out of her mind. “Hi, I’m Rarity Cole. We were at the nursing home with the puppies?”

“Oh, I knew you looked familiar. But then again, a lot of people do. Cindi’s on a break for dinner if you need information. I’m supposed to hand out these flyers and hand sanitizers to anyone who even looks this way. I’m not as social as Cindi.” She stood and walked over to where Rarity stood. “I’m Lee Marks. I know, it’s a boy’s name.”

“It’s pretty. So you’re filling in?” Rarity wondered if she even talked about work due to th e privacy laws.

“Yeah. Sally asked me to come here first before I went to the facility. She’s paying my night shift nurse salary for me sitting here. I guess there are worse ways to make a buck.” She rolled her shoulders. “The facility is finally getting back to normal now that Jully’s out of the picture. Worst junior administrator ever. You could never find him when you needed a decision but if you made it without him? You were always wrong. I’m so gl ad he’s gone.”

Rarity saw Lee’s face turn crimson.

“I mean, I don’t wish anyone dead. But William Jully was a bully from the first day he graced us with his presence. The guy had a huge ego. And he pushed all his work off on me. Night shift supervisors aren’t supposed to file the shift summary. He was supposed to do it. But he always had some excuse.”

“Sounds like you didn’t like him at all. Did the other nurses feel that way too? ” Rarity asked.

“Most of us. Some of the younger ones thought he was charming. But he was trying to get their attention. Everyone’s looking for a man to whisk them away, especially from this job. I know that’s a fallacy.” She nodded to a woman who was heading their way. “Looks like I’m on. Thanks for stopping by.”

“One more question, do you think George could have killed Mr. Jully?” Rarity figured it wouldn ’t hurt to ask.

This time, Lee laughed. “You’re joking, right? According to what I heard, Jully was overdosed. George wouldn’t know how to either get the drugs or find a way to administer them. He’s lucky he knows how to put on his pants some days. They’re barking up the wrong tree thinking George did it. Or Terrance for that matter. He’s su ch a sweetie.”

“Miss, can you answer some questions for me? I think my husband is trying to put me in a home. Can he do that?” The elderly woman set her purse on the tabl e with a bang.

“Thanks for your help,” Rarity nodded toward the other woma n. “Have fun.”

“I hope Cindi gets back soon.” Lee pasted on a smile before she t urned to help.

When Rarity got back to the tent, they didn’t have a lot of customers, so she sent Katie off for a dinner break. She walked through the tent, checking stock and making notes for Shirley’s stop at the bookstore tomorrow to restock. As she was at the edge of the tent, she heard footsteps. “Welcome to the Next Chapter, mobile edition. Look around and let me know if I can be o f assistance.”

“Thanks but we’re only looking,” the woman’s voic e called back.

Rarity finished her task and then crossed back to the table. She started an email to Shirley on what to pick up when someone dropped a book on her table. She looked up and realized it was Lizzy from the nursing home. An older woman and man stood behind her, waiting. “Is this it?”

“I’ve been waiting for this biography to come out for years. She’s so inspiring.” Lizzy pulled two twenties from a pink wallet to pay for the popular pop queen’s tell-all book. She looked back at the couple, who were still watching her. “They don’t think I’ll read the book, but they don’t know every thing, right?”

Rarity was at a loss. Tizzy Lizzy was well enough to be out in the community. This was the version that Malia saw at the Garnet. Rarity decided to play along. “Oh, is there something the y don’t know?”

Lizzy nodded as she took her change and a receipt. “I’m getting married. All I have to do is wait for Billy to come get me. He we nt on a trip.”

“Congratulations.” Rarity tucked the book into a bag. “My regular store has a lot of books on wedd ing planning.”

Lizzy saw the older woman coming toward them. “We’re eloping. But shh, i t’s a secret.”

The woman put a hand on Lizzy’s shoulder. “Honey, are you ready to go? Mike wants to grab some dinner over at the Garnet before we go back and get you settled.”

“I don’t need to go back. How many times do I have to tell you that,” Lizzy muttered, then turned and stomped out of the tent. The man, Mike, followed her.

Rarity still had the bag with the book. “She forgot this.”

“My sister is a little scattered these days.” The woman smiled but Rarity could see the weariness in her eyes. “Thanks. I visit your store a lot. So much more fulfilling than shopping for books online. I like spending time with actual books.”

“Me too,” Rarity said with a laugh. “I guess that’s why I bought a bookstore. To surround myself with stories. I’m Rarity , by the way.”

“Constance,” she replied, looking toward the tent opening. “I better go catch up. Mike’s good with Lizzy, but she can be tricky. I don’t want her running off.”

After they left, Rarity wondered if the conversation about her leaving had been to pacify Lizzy at dinner. Constance seemed tired of handling her sister for the day. Rarity wondered how hard it would be to rein the woman in all the time. And who did she think she was eloping with? The next time she saw Lizzy’s sister, she’d tell her about the wedding Lizzy was planning.

Rarity finished up the email to Shirley then opened her search engine on the laptop. Ruth Agee was the name of the woman whom George thought had been killed. She searched the name again, with too many hits, then narrowed it down by adding Sedona to the search. This time, she got a lot of hits besides the obituary. Maybe she’d typed it wrong the last time.

The first was her obituary that Rarity had found before. Ruth and her husband had opened a chain of coffeehouses and she’d been bought out. She’d been rich after that and had lived in Sedona for decades before she entered Sedona Memory Care. She’d outlived her husband, three kids, and any other relatives. The obituary stated that she was cared for by friends and found family at Sedon a Memory Care.

Rarity wondered exactly where her money had gone. She knew that a lot had gone to the library, but how much had she given to William Jully? And why? She opened her calendar and put a note on Sunday to talk to Drew or Jonathon about Ruth. Since she’d lived here a long time, they had to know her and the family. Or maybe her attorney. There had to be some sort of law against targeting elderly people to get them to chan ge their wills.

It was probably George rambling about things that didn’t matter, but it might be something. George was convinced that William Jully had been going into people’s rooms at night. And Jully had tried to get George moved. Was it because of his medical condition or mental status? Or was there another reason? Was George too observant?

Rarity wondered if the probate that Holly had found had been completed yet. She went to the website that Holly had sent her and started searching. She hadn’t been successful in finding an updated record before Katie came back into the tent with two large beverage cups.

“It’s still so hot this evening. I thought you might like some strawberry lemonade.” Katie set the cups on the table. “What are you working on? Something for t he bookstore?”

“No, I’m looking up a will to see what happened to someone’s estate.” Rarity took the cup and took a big drink. “This is so goo d, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I had a good afternoon, but it started slowing down just before you got here.” Katie came around and sat on the chair next to Rarity. “Did someone you know die?”

“No, I’m looking at someone who died at the nursing home a few months ago. George, Shirley’s husband, thought her death was suspicious.” Rarity kept working, then realized that Katie hadn’t responded. She loo ked up at her.

Katie bit her lip. “Look, I don’t want this to sound uncaring, but George has memory issues. Maybe he’s not the best source of informati on right now?”

“Maybe,” Rarity agreed. “But what if he told you something important and you ignored it because he was in a memory care unit? You’re right, it might be a wild goose chase, but I’m not a private investigator or a member of law enforcement, so I have time to chase the weird theories. Like this. And we’re not busy righ t now anyway.”

Rarity realized those were famous last words because right then, people flooded into the tent. She closed and tucked the laptop away. As she stood, a young child pushed books up on the table. Her mom stood behind her, laughing. “Winnie bought every book she didn’t have already on animals. She loves any kind of animal. Thank goodness Easter only comes once a year or I’d go broke.”

As Rarity rang up the purchase, she tucked a flyer into the bag reminding Winnie about the preschool book club that Shirley ran once a month. Winnie was probably already a member, but it never hurt to remind people. “Good readers make great students. It’s all about an inquiring mind. Do you want to be a zookeeper or a vet, Winnie?”

“I want to have a horse farm and ride all day.” Winnie grabbed the bag and looked at her mother. “And Mommy can live there and co ok me dinner.”

Her mother tucked her credit card back into her purse. She pushed a wayward curl out of Winnie’s face. “And where wil l Daddy live?”

“He has to work, so he’ll live in our old house.” Winnie hugged the bag to her chest. “Can we get frozen bananas now?”

Winnie’s mom nodded and then turned back to Rarity. “Thank you for opening your store in Sedona. We used to drive to Flagstaff to that used bookstore. I had to make do with what he had on hand. Having you so close now is a godsend.”

Rarity and Katie stayed busy for the rest of the evening. When seven came, Rarity closed up the portable register and tucked the machine in her tote. Katie was closing down the front canvas panels. They closed with a padlock and a key that the festival organizers had provided for each tent. It wasn’t totally secure since anyone could cut out an opening in the canvas, but besides the books, there wasn’t anything of value left in the tent overnight. Rar ity made sure.

As she was walking out, she ran into Archer, who was helping Katie with the canvas. Rarity held up the lock. “Katie, do you have everyth ing you need?”

“Hold on a second,” Katie said as she ducked into t he tent again.

Archer took her tote and almost dropped it because of the weight. “What? Are you taking an encyclopedia home with you tonight?”

“It’s my laptop, the register, and the cash box. I don’t feel comfortable leaving the register here. Drew said at the last festival his guys caught some kids trying to break into one of the tents.” She held it open as Katie came out with her backpack. “Are you ready? I’ll see you tomorrow at noon. I think it’s going to be crazy in here after the egg race.”

“I’m bringing one of my papers to edit in case it slows down. If not, I’m going to have to work some late hours before Monday.” Katie glanced at Archer but didn’t say anything to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” Rarity watched as Katie disappeared into the crowd t oward her car.

Archer took the lock from her and slipped it between the last loop of the ties. “Do you have everything? Whe re’s the rat?”

“Killer is at home, and I’m going to tell him you called him that. But, yes, I have everything.” Rarity looked at him, wondering about the question and answer. It felt like so much more than what she needed from the tent. Instead, she felt like she was answering for her life. Was she happy? She had been until Archer told her he was rethinking movin g in together.

After they started walking toward her house, she turned to him. “Archer, I need to know. Are we st ill a couple?”

He stopped and turned toward her. “Why would you even ask that? Because I needed to slow down a bit, you think we’ re broken up?”

She smiled and started walking again. Relief washed over her. “No, I asked you that not because of what I think. Archer, the Sedona gossip train is saying that we’re no longer a couple. I didn’t want to be the last one to know if it was true.”