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Except for the carnival rides and food trucks, the rest of the festival, including pictures with the Easter Bunny, was ending around two on Sunday. As Rarity walked with Killer into town, she was looking forward to a short day. Shirley had already told her she would work the bookstore on Monday, so Rarity planned on doing as little as poss ible tomorrow.

Of course, life never worked out that way.

Before she got to Main Street, she saw Archer walking toward her. When he met up with her, he took her tote and leaned down to pick up Killer. The dog was going crazy, jumping to see him. “Good morning, Killer. And to you as well, Rarity.”

He leaned in and kissed her, taking he r by surprise.

“Well, good morning, Archer.” She touched his face where stubble was showing. He hadn’t shaved that morning. She liked th e scruffy look.

“I thought I’d walk you in, but I guess I’m late.” He turned around and, linking her arm in his, headed to the park. “Have you had a g ood festival?”

“I’ve had a great festival. Lots of parents and kids buying books. I’m already planning for our presence next year, including upping the supply of books I bring.” She rubbed Killer’s head as Archer still held the pup. “Wh at about you?”

“Funny, I’ve booked a lot of family hikes. I guess we’re seeing the same demographic. Jack was disappointed that his all-day hike through the vortexes wasn’t booked for next Saturday, but I’m sure when we open it up online, he’ll fill the bookings.” Archer looked at her. “I guess I should start writing these observations down for next yea r’s planning.”

“I’ve already made notes for next year in my online calendar. I didn’t get this kind of sales during the fall festival. I almost didn’t get a booth for this weekend.” She paused, wondering if she should change the subject. “Edith told me about your dad. I’m sorry you and Dana are deali ng with this.”

He let his head hang and Killer snuggled closer. The dog could read emotions better than most people. And Archer was hurting. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s hard to talk about Dad. Once Grandma Ender was murdered, he changed. He used to take me on hikes and play ball, but then he stopped. He didn’t even go to my graduation ceremony. Or Dana’s for that matter. She got the worst of it. She was a daddy’s girl. Without him, she was devastated. I should have told you. I worried that you’d think I was defective or something.”

“Seriously? You thought a health condition would upset me? Cancer girl?” She put her hands on her hips in a Superman stand. When Archer laughed, she dropped the pose and took his arm. “Nothing you could tell me would make me think less of you.”

“Well, that’s where I’ve been lately. At Dad’s in Flagstaff. He made Dana and me promise to go check out Arthur’s store that day you saw us. He’s certain Arthur killed Grandma for the books.” Archer rolled his eyes. “He had this murder board thing pasted all over the wall in the dining room. It was crazy with the yarn and stuff like you see in movies. Dana took it down as soon as she got there. He’s bedridden, so he doesn’t know, and he keeps giving us notes to put on the wall.”

They were at the park in front of Rarity’s booth now. She unlocked the tent flap and put the key and the lock in a pouch on the inside of the tent. The festival organizers had people coming to take down the tents that evening. They had to be out no later than five, but Rarity thought with Archer’s help, they should be out by four. Then Rarity could go home, swim, an d order pizza.

“I’m sorry about that.” Rarity turned to Archer. “It must be hard keeping everything going. Why don’t you let Jack run the shop for a while? Spend more time w ith your dad.”

He set her tote on the table then clipped Killer onto his lead, finally setting him down. He must have needed the dog as much as Killer had wanted to see one of his favorite humans. “I hate leaving Dana alone with him all day, but working keeps me sane. Especially when I do a hiking tour. There’s something about getting outside in nature that cl ears my head.”

“I get that.” She hugged him. “Just do what you need. Can you still come to help me move everything back to the store today?”

“I’ll be here no later than three. It shouldn’t take too long to pack up my tent, but you never know about any latecomers. Then I’ll drop you off first. I’d come over tonight, but Dana’s been with Dad most of the weekend. I need to do my share.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m swimming and ordering pizza. I’ll watch a chick flick so you won’t miss out.” Rarity even knew which one she was going to watch.

He laughed and kissed her again. “You’re the best, Rarity Cole.”

Katie came in as he was leaving. “You two make such a cute couple. I hope my next boyfriend is finally my soulmate. I’m tired of k issing frogs.”

“It can take a while. I almost married one.” Rarity glanced at the handcart Katie had brought in with her. “Did you find all the books on the list? I expected you to be a little la ter than now.”

“Shirley and I went to the shop last night and packed everything up. I kept the boxes in my SUV overnight. I hope that’s all right.” She set the handcart by a mostly empty kids’ table. “We’re going to have to restoc k this month.”

“It’s a first-world problem to have. I hope we sell some of these today and that I didn’t waste your time bringing over more books. Let’s get these unpacked before people star t showing up.”

“The parking lot is already filling up. The carnival starts at nine and the kids want one more ride.” Katie grinned as she added, “At least I did when I was that age. I couldn’t get enough of the scary rides.”

They quickly unpacked the additional boxes. If Rarity had judged the sales potential for Sunday right, she might not need much help getting things back except for the tables, chairs, and display setups. She was going to have a good month. Maybe even some money to put back in her emergency fund that had been sucked almost dry due to the need for an air conditioner last year. She needed to make sure she had enough to cover the next emergency. Lik e a leaky roof.

Katie handled the customers as Rarity did some internet research on Arthur Wellings. There wasn’t much there. He wasn’t on Facebook or any of the social media sites. He had a business presence, and he posted sales and newly acquired rare books. Including the copy of The Hobbit she’d bought. Tomorrow she’d take it to the university, as the professor she’d hired for an estimate wanted to see the book. Which reminded her that she needed to have someone build a case to display it in the bookstore. Or maybe she should keep it at the house. So many decisions for one book.

Archer’s dad thought Arthur was involved in Marilyn’s murder. Maybe she could talk to him about the bookseller’s interactions with Marilyn. It was worth a shot. She made a note i n her calendar.

Then she opened her email. William Jully’s prior position at a Tucson nursing home had been listed in his bio. She looked up the nursing home and found its administration email addresses. Admissions would probably be a marketer, like Cindi, and not helpful. But if she could get the social worker, maybe that person would be more open about why William had left. Rarity carefully crafted an email, letting them know that William had died and wondering if they had contact information for other facilities where he’d worked since he didn’t seem to have fami ly in the area.

Rarity read the email again and then hit Send. The social worker’s name wasn’t listed, only the title in the email address. The message seemed to hit the right notes. Friendly but curious. She might get some information on William Jully that could lead to a reason he’d been killed, besides George’s jealousy. Or Terrance defendi ng his friend.

The tent was starting to get busy, so she tucked the murder book and her laptop away. She might have some big news for Tuesday night’s gathering. Or at least she could list off the things she had done, so they wouldn’t all be doing the same things and g etting nowhere.

* * *

Shirley had shown up after church to help, so by the time the festival closed at two, they were in a good place to start boxing up the unsold books. Rarity grabbed the leftover cardboard and headed out to the recyc ling dumpster.

Sally Ball, the administrator for Sedona Memory Care, was heading toward Rarity. She smiled and waved, but the woman didn’t acknowledge her. Sally was on the phone and walking fast. One of the boxes slipped out of Rarity’s hand, and she stopped to pick it up and adjust the rest of the cardboard. As she juggled everything, Sally s trolled by her.

“I hated doing this, but it’s gone. Protecting the facility is my only goal at this time. You need to make sure your working files are clear too. I hate to see you have issues,” Sally said into the phone as she pa ssed by Rarity.

Rarity looked up when she didn’t hear anything else. Sally was gone. What had Sally been talking about getting rid of? Something about William Jully? Or was there something else she was hiding? What was she protecting the facility from?

She’d have a lot to talk about on Tuesday night. Maybe Shirley would h ave some clue.

When she got to the oversized recycle bin, there were stairs leading up to the opening. There had been a lot of cardboard from the festival. Including a lot of empty candy boxes. She started to throw her boxes into the bin, but then she saw the manila file folder. She set down her boxes then reached in to grab the folder, holding on to the side of the bin and hoping she wouldn’ t fall inside.

Her fingers grazed the file and she stretched a little farther. She felt herself falling forward as she grabbed the thick file. Fear gripped her as she felt her balance shifting. Sh e was going in.

But as she tipped forward, strong hands surrounded her hips and pulled her back onto the metal landing of the stairs. She turned and looked up into Jonathon’s concerned face. “Thanks. What are you doing here? I thought you were in Flagstaff.”

“I came back early this morning to help Drew with a project. What did you drop into the bin that was so important you’d risk being trapped in there?” Jonathon glanced inside the recycle bin. “You know, I used to find bodies in dumpsters like this when I worked the New York job.”

“I’m not sure.” Rarity nodded toward the file. Then she told him about the conversation she’d heard—well, at least Sally’s side of the phone call. “She was coming from this bin area, so when I saw a file, I thought maybe it held s ome evidence.”

“If it does, you know Drew’s going to be upset with you for not calling for help.” Jonathon grabbed the cardboard and tucked it all into the recycling bin. “Let’s go back to your tent. I’d rather not be seen out here reading that file if it’s important. Plausible deniability sometimes works with my son. I don’t want to be kicked out of using his house as my Sed ona crash pad.”

When they got back, Shirley was alone in the tent. All the boxes had been packed and all but one of the tables and chairs folded up. She was on one of the folding chairs, crocheting as she waited, and Killer was still sleeping in his bed. “I see you found her.” Shirley smiled as she looked up from her pattern. “I sent Katie home when Jonathon agreed to help load Archer’s bus. She’s workin g on a paper.”

“Sorry, I should have taken Killer with me so you could have gone too.” Rarity set the file on the table. “Let’s hope the papers I found are the current setup pages for the festival and not what i t looks like.”

“There used to be a tab, but it was ripped off,” Jonathon added as he pointed at the folder.

“Here goes nothing.” Rarity met his gaze, then op ened the file.

On the left was a note page with medical notations by day and time. The name on top of the page had been blacked out, and the signatures were a blur. “Not m uch to go on.”

Rarity flipped through all the notation pages on the left; they had all had the name blacked out. Then she went to the right side. Tests, x-rays, blood work. Physical therapy and occupational therapy notes. Even the social worker’s observation of mood and activities had the patient’s name blacked out on the top. Any mention inside the notes only said, patient .

She looked up at Jonathon and Shirley. “This has to be Ruth Agee’s file. What is in here that’s so incriminating to the facility that Sally had to go to the trouble of throwing it a way off-site?”

“She probably thought that since it was the festival, it would get lost with the other garbage. But why did she throw it in recycling? Doesn’t someone go through that?” Jonathon frowned as he turned pages.

“The garbage bin was right next door. She was on the phone; maybe she didn’t notice the difference.” Rarity pointed out S ally’s mistake.

Shirley tucked her blanket into her bag then came around to look at the file. “This has to be from Sedona Memory Care, though. See the watermark on the note pages? That’s their crest. It changed a few years ago when they were bought out by a group out of Phoenix. They had to change what forms they used to be consistent with the corporation rules. Everyone was mad because they had to redo any notes in the last three months, while the merger was in place, on the new paper and in th e new format.”

“So Sally did throw this away.” Rarity heard a noise at the front of the tent. Archer and Jack stood there, watching them.

“Is this a bad time?” Archer glanced at his watch.

Rarity closed the file and reached for her tote. “Nope. We were checking something out. Jonathon, I’ll read this at home and then call you to come get it, or I could drop it o ff at Drew’s.”

“I’ll be in Flagstaff tonight. I need to pick up Edith and the girls from the egg hunt and we’re staying over and having dinner. I’ll come get it tomorrow when Edith and I get back.” He nodded to Archer. “Where’s your bus? Let’s get this taken care of fast. I’ve got to get back to the girls.”

Packing up and then unloading at the bookstore didn’t take much time at all. Shirley had walked over from her church, so Jonathon drove her there to pick up her car. They all hit the bookstore at about the same time. On the bus with Jack and Archer, Rarity listened to Jack talk about his vortex hike next Saturday.

“You were right, dude. Most of the people today were young and if not single, they at least didn’t have any rug rats. Not that I’m opposed to kids, I just hate having them on hikes. They’re always whining and when they get tired, accidents happen. I’m al ways on edge.”

He went on to tell a story about a kid hanging back and then getting off trail. “The parents didn’t even notice until we were about twenty minutes past when he went off trail. I’ll never hike with kids in the group without a follow- up guy again.”

“Did you find the kid?” Rarity didn’t like where this stor y was leading.

Jack laughed. “Sure, but going back to find him made us late for the next tour group. Luckily that one didn’t have any kids. I could re lax a little.”

Archer met Rarity’s gaze in the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes. Apparently, he’d heard Jack’s story before. Jack had been more worried about being late than a lost kid? It takes all kinds, Rarity thought as she let the comment she had been going to say fall away.

You never bit the hand that was feeding you. Or in this case, helpi ng move boxes.

The unloading didn’t take long, and Rarity took the extra time while she had Shirley and Jonathon to put the tables and chairs away. The boxes they put into the back room on the table.

“I’ll get that unpacked and shelved first thing tomorrow,” Shirley said, sitting down on the bench to wave a fan in front of her face. “At least I know I don’t have to go home and do my dancercise video today. My heart is pumping and I’m sweating, just not wit h the oldies.”

“I should have turned on some music to get us going.” Rarity grabbed a bottle of water. It wasn’t just Shirley who was fe eling the burn.

“I’m hitting the gym as soon as we’re done. CrossFit waits for no man.” Jack held up his arm in a bod ybuilder pose.

“I’m swimming, then soaking in the hot tub afterward.” Rarity stretched her arms, one after the other. “My n eck is tight.”

“I’m driving to Flagstaff to a hotel where I’m stretching out on the bed until it’s time to take the girls to dinner,” Jonathon said. “You all are too active for me.” He leaned down and patted Killer as he slept in his bookstore bed. “This guy’s got th e right idea.”

“Well, thanks everyone for the assist.” Rarity picked up her tote. “Let’s go claim some of this weekend f or ourselves.”

Jonathon stopped her as she was locking the door. “I can drive you and Killer home be fore I leave.”

“That’s okay. It’s a nice day, not too hot for the little guy.” Rarity waved Jonathon away. “Go be with Savannah. I’m sure she wants to tell you all about toda y’s egg hunt.”

“She is always babbling about something,” Jonathon said as he walked tow ard his truck.

Shirley paused by the door, watching the departing bus that held Archer and Jack. “If you were being nice to Jonathon so he could get on the road, I can drop you off at home.”

“I’d rather walk, but thanks for offering.” After Rarity put her keys away, she followed Shirley’s gaze. Archer had said goodbye and that he’d try to call tonight sometime. It depended on how things went. Rarity wanted to give him his space. Besides, she didn’t have much choice in the matter.