Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates (distant reading .txt) 📗

We have to talk. Jakes Seafood Bar in Nags Head. 9 o’clck.

The letter writer had spelled clock wrong, which indicated the sender must have been in a hurry. Even if they couldn’t spell the word, the spell checker would have put a red line under it, and anyone paying attention would have corrected it before printing the note. I pointed that out to Watson and added, “If they had spell checker turned on, that is.”

“It’s possible not to?”

“Yes.”

Watson grinned at me. A rare occurrence. It made him look almost handsome. Human, even. “I knew there was a reason I wanted to show you this. No one else told me that. My desktop computer was set up for me, and I’ve never dared go into the settings. I’m afraid of breaking something. Same as the one at home. CeeCee fixes it if there are any problems. I assumed spell check was always on. Never assume, Sam,” he added to himself. “First rule of policing.”

“Other than that,” I said, “this doesn’t tell me much. We now know why Rich was at Jake’s when he was, but we still don’t know why he was in the Outer Banks in the first place. The note isn’t signed, meaning Rich must have known who it came from. Or he thought he knew, but it was someone other than the person who sent it.”

“Could his wife or son have sent it?”

“I wouldn’t have thought they’d have such a formal relationship, but I can’t say for sure. Why not phone or text? Did you find his phone?”

“It was on him. He’d received no calls or texts since Friday afternoon that hadn’t come from clients of his or people he worked with. Nothing from Evangeline or Ricky. I haven’t shown this note to anyone else, not yet. Please don’t mention it.”

“I won’t.”

Now that Watson was in what passed for him as a chatty mood, I asked, “When I saw him, it looked as though he’d been stabbed. Was that what he died of?”

“He was knifed in the back, yes. We’re searching for the weapon, but I’ve little doubt it’s at the bottom of the Sound or the ocean by now.”

“Not many people carry knives around with them. Certainly not the sort of people Rich Lewiston was acquainted with.”

“Which means the murder was an act of malice aforethought. The killer arranged to meet Rich at Jake’s with the intention of killing him. By the way, Jake has done an inventory of his steak and cooking knives, and all are accounted for.”

We arrived back at the parking lot and went to Watson’s car. Fluffy sniffed the tires.

Detective Watson got in his car and drove away.

About the last thing in the world I felt like doing today was having lunch with Mom and Evangeline. Yes, I wanted to have some mother-daughter time, but not with Evangeline tagging along. Not to mention Ricky and Leon Lions and Stephen Livingstone and whoever else might be invited to participate in the cheerful outing.

Connor called as I was considering joining Ronald and the gang in the marsh. Since I’ve come to live in the library, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the wetlands, but I hadn’t gotten to know as much as I should about the flora and fauna and the other creatures who are my neighbors.

“I got a call from Lisa,” Connor said, referring to our realtor. “She has word of a house that’s coming onto the market today, and she can arrange a showing for us tomorrow evening, if you’d like.”

“Book club’s tomorrow.”

“Oh, sorry, I forgot. I can ask her if we can see it around lunchtime instead. How’s that sound?”

“That should work. Let me know the address and time and I can meet you there. What did she say about the house?”

“It’s in an up-and-coming area and needs a tiny bit of work.”

“Did she actually use that word? Tiny?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s hope.” We’d agreed we didn’t want a house that needed a lot of renovations or repairs, but if the price was low enough, we’d consider it. My home-maintenance skills stop at changing a lightbulb, but Connor’s dad was a carpenter and Connor grew up helping him out, so he could do a lot of the work if needed, himself or with his dad’s help.

A friend of mine in college maintained that the most important thing in choosing a life partner is that you love each other. The second most important is that he be handy. Although, as she pointed out one evening when we were celebrating the end of exams, love doesn’t always last, but handyman skills never expire.

“While I’ve got you on the phone,” Connor said, “I ran into Butch a few minutes ago in the parking lot, and he said he and Steph are going to the Dockside Lounge Bar to have a bite and listen to the band tonight and asked if we’d like to join them.”

“Sounds like fun. I would.”

“I’ll swing by at seven.”

The call had scarcely disconnected before my phone buzzed to announce a text.

Mom: Lunch at Owens. 1:00

Me: I’d rather not

Mom: Lunch at Owens. 1:00

Me:

Mom: Please?

Me: Ok

I let myself into the Lighthouse Aerie at three. Finally, at last, I could have some time to myself.

Lunch had been uneventful. Evangeline had been surprisingly quiet and Ricky on edge. Mom tried to make polite conversation about the delights of summer on the Outer Banks, and Leon Lions joined in with his praises. Evangeline said she’d never been here before and was finding it very nice, and Leon suggested that, in that case, she might want to come more in the future.

Did that mean she hadn’t visited Leon the times she’d been here, or was he in on her attempt to lie about it?

I threw her a look, and she avoided my eyes.

Eventually Mom and Evangeline began talking about plans for the country club’s Christmas ball. Leon turned to Ricky, seated on one side of him, to ask if Ricky wanted him to act as a