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Archer came to the bookstore as the book club ended. Rarity was finishing cleaning up with Jonathon and Sam when he came inside. Rarity felt a smile come out of nowhere when the door opened. The other two left quickly after Arc her’s arrival.

“Do I know how to clear a room or what?” Archer looked around and found Killer sleeping in the bed by the fireplace. He went over and grabbed the pup. “Anything else that we need to do before I walk you home? Dana’s with Dad. He’s asleep, but I don’t like leaving her there for long alone with him. Sometimes he ha s bad dreams.”

“You didn’t need to worry about me getting home. I’m sure Jonathon or Sam would have stayed and walked with me.” Rarity walked over and kissed him and then tucked her murder book into her tote. “And you didn’t scare them off. I think they know that alone time is precious l ately for us.”

“Well, whatever happened and why, I’m glad it’s the two of us.” Killer barked at him, and Archer laughed then clarified his statement. “Sorry, just the three of us. I would have thought you would have left hi m home today.”

“I didn’t want to ask Terrance to watch him. With Drew clearing George, Terrance is next on the list. Shirley’s going to talk to him and see why Drew even thinks he’s a suspect.” She locked up the bookstore and turned on the security alarm. “You didn’t send me a jour nal, did you?”

“No. Was I supposed to? Don’t tell me I missed something important like your birthday. But no, that’s in October. Who’s sending you journals?” He set Killer down after he’d clicked on the leash. “I haven’t been that bad of a boyfriend that others are taking my place alr eady. Have I?”

“I haven’t been interviewing any replacements,” Rarity teased. “I don’t know who sent this journal. It had a note, but no name, only an initial. And something about documenting my new journeys. I guess it could be someone who knows I’m new to Sedona. It’s a beautiful notebook. It would make a lovely diary of all the trails we’ve covered and the ones we want to hike. I’m probably thinking too m uch about it.”

“Tell me about your visit to the other bookstore. How does it feel to own a piece of literary history?” Archer’s voice came over from the darknes s next to her.

“I don’t know. That Daisy woman I asked you about, she was there yesterday. But she was weird. I wondered if they got a better offer for the book after I bought it.” Rarity leaned into Archer’s shoulder. “I don’t get how the value of expensive books is set.”

“Maybe it’s that beauty is in the eye of the beholder thing. Anyway, thanks to you, my family has two of our heirloom books back in our possession. Maybe we should loan them to you to display at the store. That way you don’t have to buy your own.”

“Sure, and if they get stolen, then both your dad and Dana will hate me forever.” Rarity nodded toward Terrance’s dark house. “He must be out on patrol tonight, or out with his friends. I wish he and Shirley were still hanging out. H e misses her.”

“Shirley needs to make her separation from George legal. It would probably save her some money and she wouldn’t have to feel bad about seeing Terrance.” Archer reached for Rarity’s keys. “I don’t like talking about divorce, especially coming from a broken home, but Shirley’s the only person in her marriage now. George isn’t the man she married anymore. It was that way for my mom when Dad went crazy after Grandma was killed. All he could talk about was revenge. Finding the people who had killed her. Mom, Dana, and I, honestly, ceased to exist for him. He never came back. Even now, he talks more about that day than any other day in my lifetime. Or at least he did last week. No w, he sleeps.”

They went inside, and Rarity set her tote down and took off Killer’s leash. “I’m sorry you’re going through this with him. What do the doctors say?”

“He’s slipping away. They were saying six months; now it’s a couple of weeks. I’m not sure he’ll even be around that long. He’s not eating and only takes water when he takes his meds.” Archer fell into a chair, his head in his hands. “I don’t want to burden you, but it’s bad. Dana sits there, not watching television. Not reading. Just listening for his next breath. We talk about our memories growing up. The things we did before Grandma was killed. After that, well, Dad wasn’t around much. Mom took on the role of sole provider, so she was working a lot. It was Dana and me.”

Rarity sat next to him and put her arm around him. “I’m so s orry, Archer.”

“We were supposed to be talking about Terrance and Shirley. I sidetracked the conversation.” Archer leaned into her. “I’m glad I can talk to you.”

“I’m here, anytime.” Rarity glanced at the kitchen. “Have you eaten? I can ma ke something.”

“Dana cooked. She’s like me, cooking and keeping busy helps her deal.” He sat up straighter. “But you’re probably hungry. I could grill something if you want.”

“Shirley and I went down to the Garnet for dinner before Katie left. I’m good.” She leaned her head down to his. “Look at the two of us, trying to take care of the other through food.”

“Food is love.” He reached up and pulled her into a kiss. His phone rang, interrupting them. He glanced at the display. “Sorry, it’s Dana. I need to go.”

Rarity watched as he headed to the door, answering the call as he walked. He’d left his truck at the bookstore, so he had to go back into town before he could even head toward his dad’s apartment. She stood at the door watching him run up the street. Killer barked after him. She scooped up the little dog and went inside, after checking for lights over at Terrance’s house. It was still dark, but it had only been a few minutes.

“Let’s go find a movie.” Rarity locked the door as she headed back inside. Tomorrow would be soon enough to worry about the men in her life. Besides, she and Shirley were heading into Flagstaff to see what they could find out about William Jully. Focusing on one mystery at a time in her life would pro bably be best.

* * *

Katie arrived so she could man the register during Shirley’s Mommy and Me class. Killer and Rarity were in the back room, working on business plans. At least that’s what she told herself she was doing rather than hiding. Jonathon joined her after a few minutes of the class.

“I love my granddaughter, but I can’t be around so many kids at once. No wonder I took extra shifts when Drew and his sister were young. The noise.” He settled at the other end of the table. “I hope I’m not b othering you.”

“Believe me, you’re not a bother.” Rarity snuck a look toward the madhouse that was the front of the shop. “I’m thinking that maybe I’ll be a puppy parent.”

“Oh, you’ll get baby fever. Then you can make the decision. Besides, when they’re yours you have control over them. Most of the time.” He peered at his screen. “I’m having trouble with this book. It’s the same main character because I want to have a series if the first one sells, but I’m worried it won’t and I’ll have two books I can’t sell.”

“I heard from an author that he advises people to not even try to sell the first three books because you don’t know what you’re doing until book four.” She leaned back fr om the laptop.

“Well, aren’t you Little Miss Sunshine today.” He chuckled as he stood to ge t more coffee.

“Don’t kill the messenger.” she held up her cup and he refilled hers as well. “Hey, I have a question. Do you know Daisy Wellings? At least I think her last name is Wellings. She’s Arthu r’s daughter?”

“She took her last name back when she got divorced. She came back after her mother died to help Arthur with the store, at least that’s what I heard. The son, he died a few years ago.” Jonathon sat down at the table to talk.

“That’s sad, to lose a child. Even if they were older.” Rarity opened her website and started scanning for out-of-date information. It was like playing whack-a-mole.

“Nick was a problem child. He was in prison for armed robbery when he died. Wasn’t his first offense either. I arrested the kid several times when I was on the job in Sedona. I guess he was a bad apple. Daisy was a good kid from what I heard. She was living with her first husband in town before Arthur moved his shop. And I went to work in New York.” He sipped his coffee. “I haven’t thought about Daisy and Nick Wellings for a long time. I can’t remember her first husband’s name, but there was a big scandal when she was caught cheating on him. Edith would know more. She and the women’s group here in town always ha d the gossip.”

“She seemed a little off when we were talking. At least when she found out I lived here in Sedona. Maybe it brought up bad memories.” Rarity made a note about a sale that had ended. She always reviewed the website and then went to make the changes afterward. That way she didn’t m iss something.

“Well, if I knew about the affair, you can be sure most of town knew about it. She may not see Sedona as a friendly place for her. Even though it was years ago. People tend to remember the past. Even when they should let it go.” Jonathon opened his notebook and started writing. Apparently, his writing block h ad disappeared.

Rarity went back to her website review, thinking about what Jonathon had said. Archer’s dad seemed to be locked in the past with his concern over who had killed his mom. Shirley was locked into a past in her marriage. Terrance was in love with a woman who couldn’t even think of another man. Even though her husband didn’t rememb er their vows.

Sometimes life wasn’t fair. But at least she could make sure that neither George nor Terrance were charged with something they didn’t do. There had to be something in Jully’s past that had caught up with him. And the fact that he was named in a patient’s will was a great place to start. Maybe Jully had been the cause of Ruth Agee’s death.

That would be something that Sally would want to hide. Even if she had nothing to do with the situation. It had happened on her watch. She’d probably hired William Jully. This was the time that Rarity wished she was a real investigator or law enforcement so she could get the woman in a room and ask s ome questions.

Like all those cop shows on television where the guilty party confessed because they knew they’ d been caught.

Wishes and horses, she thought. Another error on the website caught her eye. At least she was productive as she avoided the shop filled with moms and babies and thought about killers and their victims.

That sounded bad, especially together. Rarity decided to focus on the we bsite changes.

When Shirley came back to find them, she sank into a chair. “Those babies were so vocal today. I’m surprised Killer didn’t start barking with them durin g story time.”

“Killer’s afraid of kids. They move too fast.” Rarity glanced under the table where Killer was sleeping in his bed. “So your cla ss went well?”

“Katie’s still out there dealing with the line for next week’s book.” Shirley rolled her shoulders. “I suppose we should go get her something to eat bef ore we leave.”

“I can get her lunch when I go out for mine,” Jonathon piped in. “I need to stretch my legs anyway. Are you two heading to F lagstaff now?”

“I’m ready if Rarity is.” Shirley looked over at Rarity, who was closi ng her laptop.

“I should have left Killer home; I don’t want to bring him along and leave him in the car.” Rarity stood and stretched.

“If you’re coming back here, leave him with me. I’ll walk him when I go get lunch and watch him while I’m writing. He’s not a bother.” Jonathon snapped his fingers, and Killer went over to him. “Unless you d on’t want to.”

“I’m fine with it if you are. I don’t want to mess with your writing time.” Rarity tucked her laptop into her tote and grabbed her wallet. “We’ll be back soon.”

“As long as you’re here by five. Drew’s taking me to dinner tonight. The women took off for Tucson this morning.” He closed his laptop and moved to the door leading to the shop. “I told Edith I wanted to hang around for this i nvestigation.”

“You could go home and do egg hunts,” Rarity reminded him.

“And again, there’s another reason why I’m staying here. At least until Drew heads for Tucson for Easter.” Jonathon winked. “There’s a method to my madness. This way Edith can go crazy with baby’s first Easter stuff, and I don’t have to look at pink dresses every five minutes.”

Killer followed him ou t of the room.

“Well, I guess we’re good until we get back, then. Do you want to grab lunch in Flagstaff after we talk with the nursing home?”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll drive; I brought my Suburban today.” Shirley went on a tangent about the cost of gas and how she needed to buy a new car. “Kathy asked if I wanted her to go shopping with me, but I think I’m going to ask Terrance. I told Kathy about our friendship and she seems okay with it now.”

“She’s probably glad you have someone to talk to,” Rarity added as they left the building.

Shirley didn’t answer until she’d gotten into the car, started the engine, and then looked over at Rarity. “I think I’m falling in love with Terrance. If George was gone, I could understand my feelings. But why would my heart be so fickle?”

Rarity didn’t have a good answer. “Terrance is a good man. If you tell him you need to wait , he’ll wait.”

Shirley nodded and then eased the car into traffic. “My luck, George will outlive us all. Which I hope he does, but on the other hand… See, even talking about it ma kes me crazy.”

“Then let’s talk about something else.” Rarity thought a moment and then said, “So tell me what you know about W illiam Jully.”

By the time they got to Flagstaff, Shirley had gone over the times she’d met Jully. “He was the one who told me I couldn’t come every day. I guess Sally wasn’t going to say anything, but Jully said that Lizzy kept freaking out at night when I came t o see George.”

“You were coming in the evening on days you didn’t work, right?” Rarity was beginning to see a pattern with Jully. “Maybe he didn’t like family in the facility when he w as in charge.”

“Marsha Graves, the social worker, would know.” Shirley pointed to an older station wagon with faded paint in the parking lot. “And it looks like we’re in luck. She’s here. She told Sally that she wasn’t going to Jully’s funeral because of her shifts here.”

“Let’s go see if she’ll talk with us. She might even give us a tour of the facility since you two are acquainted. And she knows the George situation.” Rarity didn’t know if anyone would talk bad about William Jully because of the liability it put on the facility. But if anyone knew his effect on and treatment of the patients, the facility social worker would. She might even be able to give them a good understanding of what happened that made Ruth Agee ch ange her will.

And pigs would fly, Rarity thought as they entered the front doors. Institutions stood behind their bad actors because they worried about lawsuits. Ruth Agee didn’t have anyone to worry about her. George was different. He had all kinds of people who had his back. People he didn’t even know . Or remember.