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Rarity got ready for dinner at Archer’s as she thought about Jonathon’s report. Of the three staff members they’d talked to, one was avoiding the discussion of William Jully entirely. One was focused on the issue of missing money and fixing the problem. And the third was ready to throw in the tow el completely.

Marsha had the best motive to kill Jully. He’d taken part of his Agee inheritance from the charity she ran. He’d been inappropriate with patients, including Lizzy. And she took her job as a patient advoc ate seriously.

Rarity had called Lizzy’s sister and asked her to call back, but so far, no one had returned her call. She hadn’t been specific in what she wanted, so the woman might be seeing her as a spam call and ignoring the message. She’d call again after dinner.

Cindi seemed like she was in it for herself. Could she have been the one Sally was working with to clean up the Ruth Agee mess? Probably. Rarity thought that if Marsha had been part of that, she wouldn’t have told anyone about Ju lly’s actions.

Then there was McKenzie, who was motivated to keep the books clean. Would she have seen Jully as a problem to the nursing home? Someone who needed to be eliminated? It seemed over the top, but she’d been the one to witness the change of wills for Ruth Agee. Had she found out that William was wining and dining his wa y into riches?

Rarity went back and pulled out her murder notebook. Someone needed to find out more about McKenzie Jones and what she was capable of. There was something niggling at the back of Rarity’s mind. Something with Georg e and Shirley.

She called Shirley as she drove to Archer’s apartment in the building where he also had his hiking tour shop. When she answered, she got right to the point. “Who helped you with the financials to get George into the facility?”

“McKenzie was a doll. She helped file for the insurance that covers most of it. I’ve got a direct deposit for the balance coming out of our retirement account. I’m lucky that George loved investing so I have a substantial amount to work with.” Shirley paused, then asked, “Why?”

“I’m trying to put some things together. Did you and Kathy meet wit h her lately?”

“Kathy did. She wanted to know what the facility was costing, and what I was paying a month. And she did an accounting of her dad’s trust at the facility. I guess she was worried I was overspending, and I’d be living with her when I ran out of money.”

“I remember her saying she thought McKenzie was a mess. What was the result?” Rarity parked the car but stayed inside, wanting to finish this conversation.

“Oh, it was hilarious. George had over a hundred thousand in his trust account. Of course, the money wasn’t his. McKenzie had deposited several insurance checks into his account rather than to the facility account since it was in his name. And then she hadn’t made the monthly payment from his account to the facility. Kathy was horrified—she worried that George would be kicked out—but McKenzie told her it wasn’t a big deal. That it was just mo ving numbers.”

Rarity ended the call, telling her she’d talk to her later; then she called Drew. “Do you still have the file that we think is Ruth Agee’s?”

“I have it at the station. I’m home eating dinner, why?” Drew sounded tired.

“I think I saw a copy of her trust account in there. I wonder if it matches the one at the facility.” Rarity explained what she was thinking. Each resident had their own trust account that the nursing home put deposits in and then took the monthly fees out at the end of the month. The balance should stay about the same plus some interest, unless the patient had a large personal expenditure. When Rarity had reviewed the file, Ruth had about a thousand in slush funds in her account. If George’s trust had extra money in it, maybe Ruth’s deposits had been collected and saved too.

It looked like McKenzie Jones had her own slush fund, moving money from one account to another. And part of William Jully’s job had been to verify the books at the end of the month. What if he’d found McKenzie stealing money because he’d been researching Ruth’s financial status before ma king his move?

The business office manager was in charge of the numbers. Who better to manipulat e the reports?

Drew was quiet on his side of the line as she laid out her theory. Finally, when she was about to ask if he was still there, he asked, “So you think there were two foxes in the henhouse and one kill ed the other?”

* * *

Dinner with Archer, Dana, his mom, and her husband went better than she’d expected. June Ender, now June Conner, was warm and friendly. She and her husband, Tom, had a tan cocker spaniel that they’d had to leave with a friend at home when they flew out to Phoenix. So they were both fawning over Killer, who was enjoying his pampering. After a dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread, Rarity was helping June clean up the kitchen while the rest of the group got the living room ready for a gam e of Scrabble.

“Thank you for all you did in finding Marilyn’s books. That must have been weighing on Caleb’s conscience as he started to pass over.” June rinsed the plate Rarity handed her. “I already knew about the affair, but I never told the kids. I didn’t want them to think badly about their dad. Besides, Caleb was wrecked over the part he played in her death. Daisy and Nick were our friends, and all three of them deceived me. That’s why I moved home to California. I felt betrayed. The kids were both living their own lives. There was nothing to keep me here.”

“I didn’t find the books. Daisy dropped them off at the bookstore for me to pass on,” Rar ity explained.

“I know, but you figured out the whole story. All Caleb told me about was the affair. He never told me about his deal with Nick. How can you steal from your own family?” June looked around the kitchen. “Anyway, thanks f or your help.”

“No problem.” Rarity paused as her phone rang. It was Lizzy’s sister. “I’m sorry, I need to take this.”

“Don’t talk too long. Scrabble is a competition sport in our family.” June waved her off and went to start t he dishwasher.

Rarity stepped out on Archer’s balcony around the top floor of the buil ding. “Hello?”

“Is this Rarity Cole? I understand you’re calling about my sister?” Constance asked. “Are you the bookstore owner? I think we met right before we left town.”

“Yes, that’s me. I’ve got a friend who is related to one of the patients at Sedona Memory Care. I was wondering why you took Lizzy out. I don’t want to tell her it’s safe if there are issues.” Rarity he ld her breath.

“All I can say is I’m not sure about the facility. I’m not going to bad-mouth Sally because she was supportive and I know that Lizzy can be a handful. But that man who died, Lizzy was positive he was going to marry her. She’s a little na?ve regarding romance. I know he was always asking her for money because she would call me. I put money in her account and it would disappear. Lizzy swore she never saw it. I don’t know if that office girl was helping Jully take that money or not, but that’s when I started looking for something else. Then Mike got an offer here in California and it seemed like the best for all of us.” She paused. “If I had a friend, I’d tell her to keep a close eye on the money. The place seems clean and the nursing staff are wonderful, but that’s all I’m going to say. I can’t have Sally suing me fo r defamation.”

“The office girl, you mean McKenzie Jones?” Rarity held her breath again. This might be the final clue to tie McKenz ie to William.

“That’s her. She gave me her card when I left, in case we had any questions,” Constance said with a laugh. “At least any questions that weren’t about Lizzy’s missing money. That, she blamed on that Jully guy. And Sally backed her up. I’ve got to go. We have dinner reservations.”

And with that, the call was over. Archer came to the window to see if she was done. She held up a finger and made one more call. She might have taken Terrance off Drew’s lis t of suspects.

Driving home, Rarity went by the nursing home. She pulled into the parking lot and saw the BMW parked in a handicapped zone. It didn’t have handicap plates, but sometimes they had that hanging tag. She got out of the car and took a pictur e of the plate.

“What are you, the parking police?” a woman’s voice asked from behind her. Rarity turned to find McKenzie Jones standing there, a box in one hand and a plan t in the other.

“Sorry, my ex-fiancé had a car just like this and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t in town. Stalking me.” Rarity crossed her fingers behind her back. Lying didn’t come naturally.

“Oh. Well, I’m happy to tell you that it’s my car, not your ex’s, so you can leave now.” She opened the trunk and put the box with several others.

“Are you packing up and leaving your job? Shirley said you were so helpful when she had to place George here.” Rarity watched as she closed the trunk then put the plant in the back seat with several others and a few suit jackets. It was obvious that McKenzie was leaving Sedona Memory Care and under the c over of night.

“I got a better offer in sunny California. I just hate to disappoint Sally. I told her I was going on a vacation. I’ll email her tomorrow and give her some excuse. She hates hiring. Which is one reason she kept William on so long. This way, I’m forcing her to replace me. Anyway, I’ve got a few more boxes, s o I better go.”

“Have a great life in California. Where are you going to be? My sister lives in Santa Barbara near the ocean. It’s so beautiful out there.” Rarity didn’t have a sister in California. And her fingers ached from crossing them.

“Oh, it’s San Diego. Near the border. Hot, dry, and ocean views,” McKenzie called back as she hurrie d to the door.

Rarity went back to her car. McKenzie Jones was making a run for it. She placed another call to Drew. He was going to stop taking her calls soon, but she hoped he picked up now. Before McKenzie got in her car and drove away with the money she’d stashed.

* * *

The next day, Drew stopped by the bookstore. He came up and leaned on the counter while Killer tried to get his attention. He scooped up the little dog in his arms and then stared at Rarity. “I don’t know how you do it. We looked at McKenzie but at first glance, she looked clean. She doesn’t have a record. No violence. She see med harmless.”

“I take it she didn’t have a date in Flagstaff the night William was killed?” Rarity closed out her monthly accounting work. She could do a profit and loss st atement later.

“No, the security cameras saw her coming back around midnight in that new car she’d bought with the residents’ money. She’d been skimming from Lizzy, but when William found out, he approached her and told her he was going to get her fire d,” Drew said.

“But he was doing the same thing,” Ra rity protested.

Drew shook his head. “Not quite. William was getting the residents to give him the money. McKenzie was taking it. She skimmed from the personal accounts as well as the business payments. Besides, getting rid of her cleared the way for his ill- gotten gains.”

“I guess there can only be one fox in a henhouse.” Rarity was glad it was over and both bad actors were out of Sedona Memory Care. “Di d Sally know?”

“Yes. Or at least she knew about William’s activities. I think McKenzie told her, thinking she could cover up what she’d been doing and blame him. Sally admitted throwing away Ruth Agee’s file. I think the facility’s getting a whole new administration section.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ve got a meeting with the home’s corporate lawyers. They want to limit the charges to McKenzie and try to keep everything out of the news. We’ll see. Anyway, thanks for the information. I would have found it anyway, but you sp ed things up.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Rarity called after him as he left the bookstore. The Tuesday Night Sleuthing Club struck again. She needed to bring in pizza to the next meetin g to celebrate.

* * *

Later that day, Rarity was alone in the shop when the bell over the door rang, and she looked up to see Kevin walking into her shop. He grinned like they were long-lost friends. “Rarity! I finally found you here. People around here are pretty tight lipped about locals. I finally had to look up new businesses in the area since you left St. Louis. When I saw the name of the bookstore, I knew it had to be you. The Next Chapter. You always did love books.” He glanced around to see if they were alone. “But every time I came in, you weren’t working. You’ve got a sw eet deal here.”

“Kevin, what are you doing here?” Now that she knew he’d been the person she’d been seeing, her next thoughts went to why he had tracked her down. “Are you in town for a convention?”

“No. I came to find you.” He stepped closer, and Rarity heard Killer’s low growl. Kevin looked down and saw the dog behind the counter. “Y ou got a dog?”

“I did get a dog. I have a whole life here and although it’s been nice to see you, I’m busy.” Rarity reached down to pick Killer up before he decided to snap at her former fiancé. The dog had good senses about people. “So say your pi ece and leave.”

“Rarity, I wanted to tell you I was sorry. I came back, but you had already moved out and left your job. I couldn’t believe it. You loved that job. I asked around and someone said that you’d moved to Arizona to be closer to that friend of yours.” Kevin leaned on the counter. “I’m not the same without you. I sent you a journal when I was in Denver last week. I took a chance that someone at the bookstore would know you a nd pass it on.

“I love you and I want you to come back to St. Louis with me. We can buy a house in Chesterfield. You can go back to marketing, and I’ve got a new position with a local law firm. We’ll find someone to take the dog.” Kevin reached for her hand.

“I love my dog.” She moved her hand away quickly, like his hand was a snake. A headache pounded in the back of Rarity’s head. “I have a house here. I own the bookstore. I have friends and a life here. I don’t want to move back to St. Lo uis with you.”

“Rarity, I don’t think you heard me. I know I made a mistake letting you leave. I love you. I can’t imagine a life without you.” He reached out again, to touch her arm, but Killer growled and, this time, sho wed his teeth.

“Look, I know this is a shock, me dropping in. What if I take you to dinner tonight?” He pulled out a card and wrote on the back. “This is where I’m staying. I’m not leaving town until you say yes.”

“I guess you’re staying indefinitely, then. I’m not interested in rekindling our relationship. I didn’t leave you. You left me when I was going through cancer treatments because I wasn’t fun. That’s not the type of man I want to be involved with.” She nodded to the door. “Unless you want to buy a book on how to be a better partner for your next victim, I think you should leave.”

“So you’re involved with a hiking instructor? I hear things. Is that Sedona-speak for a physical trainer?” He set his card down on the counter. “At least have dinner with me. No pressure. I’d like to catch up before I leave. I’v e missed you.”

Rarity watched him leave the bookstore. She glanced at the card. She hoped that he was staying in Flagstaff. At least not in Sedona where she’d have to see him every day until he heard what she’d told him. Even if she wasn’t dating Archer, she’d never g o back to him.

But there were some things she wanted to tell him. Maybe dinner wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Killer barked as she set him down. “Don’t worry, I’m no t going back.”

He looked like he didn’t believe her as he went to find his bed by the fireplace where he could watch the door better. He’d probably bite Kevin if he came back into the shop.

She smiled at the three-pound guard dog. At least someone had her back.

* * *

The early May day was perfect for a hike to Montezuma Well. It was about ten miles from the more famous Montezuma Castle. The rock formation had been an Indian community built into the side of the mountain years ago. Now it was a popular tourist spot, even if the actual caves weren’t open for visitors to go into. It had taken Archer several weeks to get permission to fulfill his father’s last wish, to be part of the Arizona landscape he’d loved all his life.

As they passed by the entrance to the national park where the castle was located, Archer turned toward Rarity. “We’ll stop there on the way back. Shirley’s been talking about going there for weeks. I’m glad your book club decide d to join us.”

Drew and Sam were in the small convoy heading to the hiking trail to the well. Jonathon and Edith had come up from Tucson to help Archer say goodbye to his father. They were right under the maximum fifteen people allowed by their permit, but this had been important to Archer, and therefore, his friends were there to be with him. Jack, his assistant at the shop, was driving the bus. Edith and Jonathon had brought their car, as they were heading home after the ceremony.

The gang was back together, with a few additions. Dana and her boyfriend, Tyler, sat up in the front, talking to Jack. Tyler was interested in taking several hikes before they went back home. Dan a seemed quiet.

Rarity knew she was feeling the loss of her father. They were working with a rare book expert on setting up an auction for the books. From what Rarity knew, neither of the Ender children would have to worry about money for a while. Archer was planning on paying off his building and probably buying a new van for his h iking business.

“Hey, did Kevin finally leave Flagstaff?” Archer put his arm around her as he pulled her closer. “Or do I need to go give him some e ncouragement?”

“He left me a message last week that he was going back to St. Louis. He gave me a long plea on how much he needed me. I’m glad I had the chance to say all the things I wanted to that night at dinner. I know he didn’t believe that I didn’t still love him, but I wanted him to know how much his indifference hurt during my treatment. By the time dinner ended, I was ready for him to disappear back into my past.” She laid her head on Archer’s shoulder. “He wasn’t there for me. Not when I was at my lowest. Why should I be there for him when I’ m at my best?”

“Well said.” Archer kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad I don’t have to go kick him out of my territory. Or worse, pe e on his leg.”

She giggled, then Jack announced their arrival. The bus parked, and as the group climbed out, gathering near the trailhead, Rarity heard a snap behind her. She turned to look and saw a doe with three babies in the clearing ahead. They were watching the newcomers with big eyes. Family was everything. The family you were born into and the family you built. That was what Kevin never understood. She’d built her own family here in Sedona. A group that would stand by her through t hick and thin.

“Are you ready?” Archer asked as she watched the family of deer walk out into the woods and over the hill.

“I should be asking you that.” Rarity turned back and looked at her group. Dana was right behind them with the box that held Caleb Ender’s ashes. The man might not have lived a perfect life, but he’d loved his children. And they were setting him free today.

An eagle cried from the sky as it passed over the solemn group as they made their way to say goodbye and start a new future. One in a world withou t Caleb Ender.