Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews (read aloud txt) 📗

The hint of a smile curved his lips. Curiosity brightened his eyes. Was his question for me? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Willy glanced at Anna May before turning his frown to me. He looked as confused as I felt. “I’m sorry.” His laughter was nervous. “I thought you and Spence Holt were dating? You were with him at Fiona’s signing, and I’ve seen you in here with him a couple of times. Am I mistaken?”

Attending a book event with a friend meant we were dating? If we split a peach cobbler, would that mean we were engaged? Things were different in the South.

That was when I noticed the eerie silence surrounding the café. Disconcerted, I scanned the nearby tables. Conversations had stopped. No one was looking at me, yet I sensed I was the center of everyone’s attention. Even Anna May, Etta, and Dabney seemed to be holding their breaths.

With a sense of heightened awareness, I returned my attention to Willy. Was this the way reality television show participants felt? I was waiting for a director to yell, “Cut! She needs more makeup. A lot more makeup. Don’t skimp.”

“Spence and I are friends. We’re not dating.” I detected a collective sigh of disappointment all around me. Was I imagining things?

“I’m sorry. My mistake.” Willy didn’t look as though he believed me. He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his dark green trousers and rocked back on his heels. “How’s your investigation going? Have y’all found any leads?”

I shook my head. “I wish I had some progress to share with you. Have the deputies given you any updates?”

His shoulders lifted and fell with a sigh. “No, they haven’t given me any reason to hope they’ll solve this case any time soon. In the meantime, I’m having to leave town without completing the arrangements to have Fiona’s body shipped back to Beaufort.”

Was the cause of the delay Bobby’s opposition to Willy’s claim on Fiona’s body?

“The deputies will solve the case soon. They haven’t found anything yet, but I’m hopeful they will.” I didn’t know why I felt compelled to defend Peach Coast’s finest. The deputies were stubborn and prideful—at least, Jed was.

“Marvey’s right.” Anna May brought Willy a cup of plain, black coffee and his change. “The deputies may not have much experience investigating murders, but we’re lucky to have them. They’ll get to the bottom of this just as fast as they can. Don’t you worry.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Willy accepted his coffee and stepped away from the counter. I heard the skepticism in his voice.

“You mentioned you’re getting ready to return to South Carolina. When?”

Willy sipped his coffee. “I’m leaving tomorrow. The deputies have finally verified my information, including when I checked into the hotel.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I would’ve thought the deputies would check that information first.”

“Me too, but I suppose they’ve been busy.” He shrugged. “And I was trying to arrange transportation for Fiona’s body.”

I checked my watch. “I’d better get to work. Have a safe trip home.”

Willy smiled. “It was nice meeting you, although I wish it’d been under happier circumstances.”

“Me too.” I exchanged a wave with Anna May, who was waiting on a customer, then turned to leave.

As I made my way to the library, I glanced over my shoulder in the general direction of Willy’s hotel. How long would it take to drive from the hotel to the bookstore—and back?

Chapter 29

“As we were beginning to suspect, Fiona wasn’t who we were told she was.” I didn’t even try to mask my frustration when I joined Jo and Spence for lunch Monday afternoon.

Spence was hosting us at the conversation table in his office at the newspaper. We’d ordered our usual sandwiches, soups, and iced tea. During our meal, I’d caught Jo and Spence up on everything Bobby had told me about him, Betty, and Fiona. They’d been as surprised as I had.

“Betty has a lot to answer for.” Jo leaned back on her chair and sipped her iced tea.

“No doubt.” I shrugged my eyebrows. “But she’s not our main concern right now. You are.”

Jo continued, looking from me to Spence and back. “Although, I can’t understand what Fiona was thinking. I can’t see myself sitting quietly by while someone spreads vicious, hateful rumors about me. She must’ve been crazy in love with Buddy.”

Spence set down his glass of iced tea and looked at me. “That’s a good point. What would you do for love?”

Confused, I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in love.”

Jo laughed. “I’ve fallen in and out of love at least a dozen times.”

Spence shifted on his seat at the matching circular table to face her. “You said if you were Fiona, you wouldn’t have allowed Betty to spread lies about you.”

“No, I would not.” Jo sounded quite adamant. “That kind of slander would not only destroy you personally, but it’d damage you professionally.”

“That’s true.” Spence gestured toward her with his bottle of iced tea. “We build our businesses on the backs of our good reputation. If that reputation is tarnished, our business takes a hit.”

Jo spread her hands. “Look at how the rumors I killed Fiona are affecting my store. And most people don’t believe them. Daily receipts are down almost forty percent. Online sales are down too. People aren’t even coming in for a cup of coffee. And that’s despite my defending myself.”

No wonder Jo looked like she wasn’t getting any sleep. I directed my question to Spence. “Do you know whether the gossip about Fiona hurt Nolan and Fiona’s accounting firm?”

Spence looked thoughtful as he shook his head. “Nolan’s business seems to be doing well. There are only a handful of accounting practices in Peach Coast, but Nolan’s is the largest. He’s handled my family’s accounts for years.”

Jo nodded. “Nolan handles my accounts too.”

I swept my gaze across Spence’s office as I considered what he and Jo had said about Fiona’s firm. “Maybe people like the idea of having someone rumored to