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Authors: Elizabeth Lynn Casey

BOOK: Deadly Notions
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“Your bracelet?” She peered at Leona, the woman nearly falling out of her chair in her effort to hear as much of Tori’s conversation as humanly possible.
“Apparently this Nina person found a bracelet of mine on the library grounds. Her message said she saw the inscription on the inside and suspected it was me.”
Tori pushed her chair back and stood, her gaze skimming the top of Nina’s desk. Sure enough, a silver bracelet sat dead center with a sticky note bearing Regina Murphy’s name attached. “Oh yes, I see it right here.”
“Can I put you on hold for a moment, my dinner just arrived.” Without waiting for a response, the woman disappeared from the line, the sound of her footsteps in the background the only indication it was still an active line.
Covering the mouthpiece with her hand, Tori provided a name to go with the caller. “It’s Regina. Regina Murphy.”
“I got that, dear.” Leona’s eyebrows rose still further. “Shall we ask her which one of us she truly suspects of murder? Or do you think she imagines it was more of a
group
effort?”
“Shhh. Not now.” She pulled her hand from the phone and listened to the voices in the background. “She’s getting pizza,” she whispered.
Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, Leona lifted her shoulders momentarily. “So tell me about this meeting with Milo’s girlfriend.”
“Milo’s ex-girlfriend, Leona.” She reached for the phone cord and wrapped it around her finger. “I guess Milo thought it would be good for us to meet.”
“And?”
It was Tori’s turn to shrug. “It was awkward at first, but then it got better. She showed me the six designs she’s just completed for Spotlight Fashions. And Leona? They’re amazing. The beaded detail on the skirts, the charmeuse waists, the ruched bodices—they’re incredible. I had no idea Beth Samuelson was such an amazing designer.”
“It matters naught as long as you keep the passion alive, dear, remember that—”
Breathing in her ear brought her focus back to the phone. “Regina?”
“One minute, I’m not ready yet.”
She moved her mouth to the side and made a face at Leona.
“Where’s this relationship-wrecker staying while she’s in Sweet Briar?”
Tori tapped her fingers on the desk, her attention caught between the breathing in her ear and the challenging set to Leona’s brows. “The Sweet Briar Inn, where else? But, really, Leona, what difference does it make?”
“She’s too close.”
Regina returned to the line. “I’m here now. My dinner arrived a full five minutes sooner than it was supposed to, otherwise we’d have been done with this charade of a conversation before it arrived.”
Charade?
“That’s fine.” She glanced back toward the bracelet on her assistant’s desk. “I was just saying that I see your bracelet right now. It’s on Nina’s desk.”
“Wonderful. I’ll send someone by to get it within the hour.”
“It’ll be here.” The click of the phone in her ear signaled the end to their call and she returned the receiver to its base. “There’s certainly no love loss there.”
Leona shrugged. “We threatened her employee and now that employee is dead. Can you blame her?”
“We didn’t do it, Leona.” She sat back down in her chair and released a louder than intended sigh.
“
Someone
did, dear.”
“Can we talk about something else? Please? My head is starting to pound.”
“We’re running out of topics, dear.”
“I know.” She grabbed the cookie off her napkin and broke a piece off the end. Popping it into her mouth, she chewed and swallowed in rapid succession. “What do I do, Leona?”
Leona ran her index finger along the edge of the desk then held it upward. At its relatively clean appearance she nodded in appreciation. “Do about what, dear?”
She swallowed back the lump that threatened to render her speechless. “Milo.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about that.”
“I didn’t.”
The woman sniffed. “I see. Well, you can make your next date something special, something extra creative.”
“Creative,” she whispered.
“I realize we’re limited on culture in this town but perhaps you could call on the circle for a little help.”
“What kind of help?”
“Margaret Louise could whip up one of her culinary delights. You could borrow Rose’s china. You could—”
“Extra creative,” she repeated as images began to flood her mind.
“That’s right, dear.”
Creative . . .
“But—” She stopped, squared her shoulders and then forged ahead, the question needing to be asked even if Leona wasn’t the one to answer. “What happens if he falls for her again?”
“He won’t.” Leona’s chin rose upward. “Because we won’t let him.”
Chapter 11
She knew she was merely caving, letting Leona induced fear rule her actions, but she didn’t really see any other way. Beth Samuelson had her sights set on Milo. Of that, Tori was virtually certain. And while her mind was just as certain about Milo’s feelings for
her
, her heart was squirming just a little.
Okay, maybe a lot.
Perhaps some of it was the sucker punch Jeff had dealt her during their engagement party, his presence in the reception hall’s coat closet with a mutual friend just about as humiliating as it came. Perhaps it was a sign of even bigger confidence issues than she’d realized. Or perhaps it truly was the effects of Leona Elkin.
But, regardless of what it was, she was prepared to fight for what she wanted. And what she wanted was Milo Wentworth.
Pulling the oven door open, she backed up to peek inside. The tantalizing aroma of the beef brisket wafted through the opening. “Mmmm, perfect.”
“Do I get to know what it is you’re making?”
She smiled to herself as she lifted out the tray and set it on top of the stove. “When I call you to the table,” she responded.
The dinner had been a last-minute idea, the handcrafted invitation she taped to the steering wheel of his car close on its heels.
“Do you have any idea how cool it was to find that note like that?”
Carefully, she unwrapped the foil package that housed the brisket, the trapped heat warming her cheeks. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“I loved it.”
Point One—me.
“In fact, I was so engrossed in your note I didn’t notice the photograph Beth had slipped into the passenger seat sometime during the school day.”
She stopped, mid-fork-poke. “Photograph?”
“Yeah. Just some picture from a school formal we went to together my junior year.” His voice hitched a bit indicating he’d risen from the sofa and was walking around the living room. “Gosh, we looked so gaga over each other.”
“
Gaga
, huh?” she mumbled beneath her breath. “Isn’t that wonderful.” Taking a step back once again, she reached into the oven a second time, this time to retrieve a tray of piping hot dinner rolls.
Point One—Beth.
“It was, at one time. But, whatever, enough about that now. Anything new on the Ashley Lawson front?”
She set the tray of rolls on a hot plate then lifted the lid from the homemade mashed potatoes, transferring all to the china serving dishes she’d retrieved from the cabinet above the refrigerator. “No, not really, except I got a call from Regina Murphy yesterday.”
“What about?”
Slicing a few pieces of butter from the stick in front of her, she plopped them onto the potatoes and mixed them together, adding a sprig of parsley to the top. “She dropped a bracelet out on the grounds during Sally’s party the other night. She wanted to claim it.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense.”
She shifted the brisket to a cutting board and began slicing. “Of course she took the opportunity to let me know my friends and I are killers.”
“All of you?”
“Essentially.” Piece by piece she moved the brisket to a delicately flowered serving platter. “Okay, Milo, you can come to the table now.”
“Music to my ears.” His footsteps sounded on the wood floor as he moved from the living room to the eat-in kitchen. The second he rounded the corner she felt the butterfly brigade take flight in her stomach just like always. “Whoa, candles?”
She looked at the table and nodded, her gaze riveted on the flames that danced atop their wicks. “I just felt like doing something special for you tonight.”
He crossed the kitchen and pulled her into his arms, his breath warm against her forehead. “You do special things for me all the time.”
“I hope so, I really do.” She stepped from his embrace and pointed at the table. “Take a seat. Everything is ready.”
Peeking over her shoulder, he inhaled deeply. “Mmmm, that smells delicious. My mom would love this.”
She smiled at the mention of Milo’s mom. It had only been a little over five months since she’d met Rita, yet in that time they’d grown close, brought together over their shared love for Milo and solidified thanks to their similar easygoing, people-pleaser personalities. Learning of their shared interest in sewing had simply been the icing on the cake.
“When will Rita be here again?”
“A few weeks. She wants to come for Heritage Days this year.”
Steeling herself for an answer she didn’t want to hear, she placed the brisket platter on the table and returned to the counter for the potatoes, rolls, and carrots. “Do you think Beth will still be here then?”
He grabbed hold of the serving platter and forked a few pieces of brisket onto his plate. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible. She mentioned the other day that she can work remotely from just about anywhere.”
She placed the butter on the table then grabbed the wine bottle she’d placed in the center. At his nod, she poured the wine into the crystal goblet she’d set beside his plate. “Does your mom know Beth?”
“She does.” He handed the platter to Tori and then reached for the potatoes. “They met a few times during that year we dated. Beth met my father, too.”
“Oh.” For a moment she warred with the desire to ask the one question that still remained on her tongue, curiosity winning out in the end. “Um, was your mom sad when you broke up?”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rising and falling in short order. “I guess. She never really said much either way. But I can tell you this, she never gushed over her the way she does you.”
Tori grinned.
Point Two—me . . .
“I’m glad.”
Pausing his fork just shy of his mouth, he studied her closely. “You’re not worried about Beth, are you?”
She blew a rebellious strand of soft brown hair from her face only to watch it fall, undaunted, against her forehead once again. “I’m trying not to be, Milo. I really am. It’s just that Leona . . . Well, let’s just say she has a way of playing on insecurities I wasn’t aware I really had.”
He set his fork on his plate and reached for her hand, his touch calming her nerves instantly. “You’ve got nothing—absolutely nothing—to worry about, Tori. Putting my long gone romantic feelings for Beth in the same camp as my feelings for you is like trying to say hamburger and filet mignon are one and the same.”
Blinking against the sudden moisture in her eyes, she squeezed his hand in response. “I’m sorry, Milo. I really am. I’m not sure why I let Leona get in my head like that.”
His fingers left her hand in favor of her face. “This stuff with Ashley Lawson has thrown you for a loop, that’s all. When a person is stressed about one thing, silly things tend to balloon up as well. It’s human nature.”
She cocked her head to the left and studied him, his amber-flecked brown eyes a perfect compliment to the dimples she saw growing in his cheeks. “What? What’s so funny?” she asked.
“It’s kind of nice knowing you care so much.”
Turning her head, she caught his fingers with her own and planted a kiss on their tips. “Don’t let it go to your head—”
The ring of his cell phone cut her short and she released his hand. Rummaging in his pocket he pulled out the silver device and checked the screen.
“It’s Beth.”
Point Two—Beth.
“This will only take a second, I promise.” He tugged the phone open and held it to his ear. “Hey, Beth, what’s up?’
The familiar voice poured from the phone, this time so shrill and so loud it was impossible for Tori to miss. “It’s Beth. I need you to come quick. Please.”
He sat up tall, his hand tightening around the phone as he met Tori’s gaze across the table. “Beth, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Someone just tried to kill me.”
Tori, too, sat up, the woman’s words striking a sense of fear in her.
“What did you just say?” Milo repeated.
“I—I said I think someone just tried to kill me.”
“What happened?” he snapped.
Sniffling was followed by the woman’s throaty, yet broken voice. “I—I w-was walking through the parking lot of the inn just now and I heard footsteps behind me.”

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