Tying the Knot Read online

  My pulse was quickening and I tried to pull in a steadying breath. It didn’t work. “Drew was murdered,” I said quietly.

  Luke gave me a blank stare. “What?”

  “The sheriff stopped by Mikey’s restaurant and told us that Drew had been murdered. His death is being classified as a homicide.”

  Luke’s eyes rounded. “Wow,” he finally said, expelling a long breath. He stared into the open chip bag. “Wow.”

  I swallowed a couple of times, trying to work up the courage to ask him the thing that was weighing most heavily on me.

  “That wasn’t a question.” He glanced up at me. “You said you had questions.”

  And there it was. He’d handed the opportunity to me on a silver platter, even if I didn’t want it.

  I nodded. My throat was thick, and my tongue felt like it was coated in cotton. But I forged ahead.

  “Did you have anything to do with Drew Solomon’s death?”

  TWENTY

  Luke stared at me in disbelief. “Did I what?”

  “You heard me,” I said. “Were you involved in any way?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re actually asking me this.”

  “I know.” I couldn’t, either. “But I am.”

  “Why would I kill Drew Solomon?” he asked. “I barely knew him.”

  This was a valid point, and one that I had considered at length.

  “You knew him well enough to argue and fight with him, pretty much non-stop since you met him.”

  “We did not argue non-stop,” Luke countered. He reached for a chip, then stopped. “Look, disagreements are part of the creative process, especially when you’re collaborating with others. Thor and I fight all the time and he’s still alive, isn’t he?”

  I couldn’t imagine Thor fighting with anyone. Yes, he looked rather imposing, but he’d barely said boo to anyone during his time at my house. And the way he’d reacted when he heard the news about Drew led me to believe he was a bit of a…tender heart.

  “And Niles and I would constantly go at it,” Luke continued. “Drove Thor crazy.”

  “Who is Niles?” This was a new name to me.

  Luke was quiet, his interest in the inside of his chip bag reigniting.

  “Luke?”

  He glanced up at me, and his expression told me something was wrong. My skin sprouted with goose bumps.

  “He’s our drummer.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Was our drummer...”

  The past tense he’d shifted to was not lost on me.

  I was almost afraid to ask. “Did…did something happen to him?”

  Lurid images flashed in my mind. More electrical cords. Being bludgeoned with a guitar.

  Luke rolled his eyes. “He’s still alive, Mother.”

  I cringed. I hated when he called me that.

  “At least I think he is.” Luke sighed again. “He was in New York City and was going to meet us here to perform for Laura’s wedding. But then I got a text while we were waiting to board in San Francisco. He told me he wasn’t coming back.”

  I cocked my head. “Coming back? Or coming here to Virginia?”

  “Coming back,” he repeated. “He’d decided to stay in New York. And apparently thought it was totally cool to break up the band via text.”

  “Oh, gosh.” Poor Luke. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  He nodded.” Yeah, it totally blows. Especially because we’re on the verge of something big. I can just feel it, you know? Midnight Robot is going to break the big time.”

  I nodded, even though I had no idea what he was talking about. The week hadn’t exactly lent itself to long conversations, not with all the chaos of the wedding consuming every waking minute.

  “So anyway, I panicked after getting the text. Obviously.”

  “And what did Thor have to say? I imagine he was probably pretty upset, too.”

  Luke shook his head. “He doesn’t know.”

  I cocked my head. “He doesn’t?”

  “No.” Luke’s voice was firm. “He would be a mess if he knew.”

  This, I believed. But I didn’t think it was right to keep that kind of information from him, and I said as much to Luke.

  “It’s not like I’m going to keep it from him forever,” Luke responded with an eye roll. “But if he knew right now, he’d be completely useless. And we need to be in top shape for this performance.”

  “Luke, honey,” I said gently. “It’s a wedding. A small wedding.”

  “So?” He frowned. “It’s Laura’s wedding. She’s my sister. And I want to do whatever I can to make her wedding memorable.”

  I bit back a smile. He was certainly doing that, just by insisting that his band play.

  I sobered. And by introducing a drummer that had somehow ended up dead in my bungalow.

  Luke pulled a chip out of the bag and held it out to me. I shook my head. He shrugged and popped it in his mouth.

  “I texted Yancy right after I got the message from Niles,” Luke said, after he finished chewing. “I needed to tell someone, you know?”

  I nodded.

  “She suggested I contact Drew. She’s originally from Charlottesville—did I ever tell you that?”

  “I don’t think so.” I knew very little about his new girlfriend, other than the fact that I’d thought her name was really Nancy and assumed Luke had just mistyped it in his text messages when referring to her.

  “Well, it was her idea to contact him,” Luke said. “So I did. And he agreed to play with us.” His lips thinned. “I had no idea he would turn out to be such a jerk.”

  I stared at him and his eyes widened.

  “But that doesn’t mean I killed him,” he added, his expression darkening. “I swear it.”

  My inclination was to believe him, and not just because he was my son. He’d been entirely forthcoming in our conversation, and had offered explanations that made sense.

  But I still felt that I should dig a little deeper, just to be sure.

  There was a knock on the door and Luke practically jumped off the couch. “I’ll get it.”

  Zoe Wilson was standing on the front porch, wearing sunglasses and a rather timid smile.

  “Zoe, right?” Luke said.

  She nodded. Her long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, a hot pink scrunchie holding it in place. Coupled with the black yoga pants she was wearing and pink tank top that matched the accessory in her hair, she looked like was headed for the gym.

  Except she was standing at my front door.

  I stood up and made my way toward the two of them. “What can we do for you, Zoe?”

  She lifted the sunglasses and pushed them to the top of her head. “Well, I sort of heard the news…”

  Luke and I exchanged glances.

  “Not that anyone is gossiping or anything.” Her cheeks colored a bit. “But, well, I heard about the vandalism at the church.”

  “The what?” Luke said.

  Zoe darted a glance in my direction. “Uh, the drums?”

  Luke stared at me. “What is she talking about?”

  I felt the blush creep into my own cheeks. How had I managed to forget to tell Luke about this piece of information? But I knew. I’d been so wrapped up in worrying about his potential involvement in Drew’s death that I’d forgotten to mention this very important detail.

  I shook my head. This getting older thing was for the birds, as far as I was concerned. I was going to need to start writing myself notes to keep track of everything.

  But then I’d probably misplace them.

  “Mom?”

  I blinked and shook my head again.

  Focus, Rainy, I told myself.

  “There was some vandalism at the church,” I said.

  “I gathered that.” The sarcasm in his voice rang out loud and clear.

  “The drums…they were destroyed.”

  “How?”

  “We’re not really sure,” I hedged.

  Zoe piped
up. “I heard they were slashed.”

  Luke’s eyes were on me. “Why didn’t you tell me this? Was anything else at the church damaged?”

  I shook my head. “Just the drums.”

  A muscle in Luke’s jaw tightened.

  “Anyway,” Zoe chirped, fixing a bright smile on her face. “I just wanted to stop by and see if there’s anything we can do to help. Me and Grandma, I mean.”

  “Help?” Luke repeated.

  She nodded. “I mean, I know that you lost your drummer…” She paused, her expression clouding with worry, and I wondered how she’d heard the news about Drew. “And now that the drums are ruined, there’s no way you could find someone new to play with you guys. But Grandma would be happy to provide the music for the wedding and the reception. And she just sings along to karaoke music!”

  She was tenacious; I’d give her that. Or maybe relentless was a better way to describe her.

  “Oh, we’re still going to perform,” Luke said.

  Her face fell. “How? You don’t have a drummer anymore. Or drums…”

  “We don’t need them,” Luke told her.

  Her mouth opened and then closed. She looked like she was at a complete loss for words.

  “We were able to work things out,” I told her, trying to break the news as gently as possible. It was more than clear that she had not been expecting this response. “But thank you so much for taking the time to come by, and to offer to help. It’s really very sweet of—”

  She let out a strangled cry of frustration and then, as Luke and I watched, whirled around and stormed down the steps.

  Luke let out a low whistle. “That didn’t go over well, did it?”

  I didn’t say anything, but silently, I agreed with him.

  It hadn’t gone over well at all.

  In fact, nothing was going well.

  And I didn’t know what to do about any of it.

  TWENTY ONE

  Zoe didn’t get far.

  As she raced toward her little Miata, Sunny and Billie appeared at the far end of the driveway.

  I said a silent thank you to whatever divine spirit was responsible for keeping them safe on their walk around my property. Neither looked any worse for wear. Billie was still upright, slowly pushing her walker in front of her, and despite a face flushed red from the heat and sunshine, Sunny looked like she was enjoying herself.

  I wondered again about what kind of ailment Billie was suffering from. She moved slowly, but other than that, she seemed to be in perfect health. And it didn’t look like she depended on this Sunny person for anything other than companionship.

  Zoe eyeballed the two of them—probably wondering if either of them was the person standing in the way of her grandmother performing at the wedding—and then continued toward her car.

  But the passenger door opened, and Mabel herself got out, gripping the side of the door to help pull herself into a standing position.

  “Velma, is that you?” she hollered in Billie’s direction.

  Billie stopped walking, and even from the distance I was at, I could tell she was confused.

  She shuffled a little faster, her walker leaving puffs of dusts as she rolled it along the dirt walking path that paralleled the driveway. I didn’t blame her for keeping off the drive; repairing the cracks and small potholes in the asphalt had been on my To Do list for nearly a year, but I kept moving it to the bottom of the list in terms of importance.

  “Velma?” Mabel yelled again. She was now fully outside the car, shading her eyes so she could get a better look at the two women walking toward her.

  “Grandma, that isn’t Velma,” Zoe said impatiently. “Velma moved to Virginia Beach, remember?”

  By now, Billie and Sunny were within twenty feet of the car.

  “Do I know you?” Billie pushed her walker even closer to Mabel, a friendly but confused smile on her face.

  Mabel studied the other elderly woman. They were a striking contrast, Mabel with her white curls and frail frame and Billie with her flaming red hair.

  “I must have made a mistake,” Mabel said. “Thought you were someone else.” She stuck out a hand. “Name is Mabel Wilson.”

  “Billie Applegate.”

  Mabel motioned to Sunny. “This your granddaughter?”

  Sunny shook her head, smiling. “Just a friend.”

  “You look alike,” Mabel said. “The hair.”

  Sunny just nodded. “We’ve been getting that a lot lately.”

  “This here is my granddaughter, Zoe.” Mabel put a hand on Zoe’s arm. “She’s staying with me for the summer.”

  Zoe offered a tight smile, looking toward the house—and me—as she did so.

  Mabel and Billie chatted for a few more minutes while Zoe stood there, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

  “Do you think they’re going to stand in the driveway all day?” Luke murmured.

  I’d almost forgotten he was standing next to me.

  “No idea,” I told him.

  Mabel shaded her eyes again, this time turning toward the front porch. “Rainy,” she said loudly.

  I waved.

  “I need to pee,” she said loudly.

  Zoe snapped to attention. “I can get you home, Grandma. We can be there in five minutes.”

  Mabel frowned. “You think a bladder this old can wait five minutes?”

  Luke and I had both moved onto the front porch, inching forward while the impromptu meeting took place in my driveway.

  I descended the steps. “Of course,” I said to Mabel. “I can show you inside.”

  “I’ll show her,” Zoe snapped, grabbing her grandma’s arm.

  Mabel wrenched her arm out of Zoe’s grip. “I am not an invalid. Yet,” she added. “I can get into the house just fine, thank you.”

  Zoe looked like she was ready to scratch my eyes out.

  “Right this way,” I said sweetly to Mabel. I might not like her granddaughter very much, but I’d always enjoyed seeing Mabel around town.

  “I’ll be right back,” Mabel said to Zoe. She must have noticed her granddaughter’s expression because her brow furrowed. “Are you alright, honey?”

  Zoe gave a stiff nod.

  Mabel’s lips pursed, and she suddenly looked concerned. “Oh, dear. You aren’t okay, are you?”

  “I’m fine,” Zoe said.

  “You’re upset,” Mabel said. “About your boyfriend’s death.”

  My mouth dropped open. I had no idea what they were talking about.

  “Ex-boyfriend,” Zoe clarified.

  “Still…” Mabel clucked her tongue. “I know you said earlier that you were fine, but I can tell this is really bothering you. Were you that sweet on him, honey?”

  “No.” Zoe’s voice was forceful. “We broke up a while ago. I’m fine.”

  “I’m of the mindset that once we love someone, we always love them,” Mabel said. Her eyes watered. “And, goodness, have I loved a lot of people in my life. Friends, children, grandchildren…”

  Zoe looked like she would welcome it if the ground suddenly opened up and swallowed her whole.

  Despite her nasty attitude, I felt a twinge of sympathy for her. I didn’t know how close she had been to this boyfriend, but I was sure the news had rattled her. And maybe that explained some of her behavior. Perhaps she’d decided to throw herself into helping her grandmother in order to take her mind off of this loss. And when that didn’t materialize, she’d acted out. The fuel was already there. She was emotional about this individual’s death…and it had come out as angry outbursts directed at me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Zoe. I hoped she knew I was being sincere. “Did this happen recently?”

  Mabel answered for her. “Just today,” she said. “And right here in town.”

  I frowned. Zoe wasn’t from Latney, and I wondered if this had been someone she’d met over the winter break, when she’d come to stay with Mabel several months ago. Maybe that was the reason that they’d broken up, a
holiday fling that couldn’t last once Zoe went back to school.

  My gut pinched. Two deaths in Latney in one day was definitely big news. I wondered why we hadn’t heard anything about this, especially since I’d been in to see Declan only an hour or so earlier. He was usually in the know about things like that, and he hadn’t seemed overly preoccupied when Connor and I had stopped by.

  Scratch that, I thought. He had been preoccupied.

  With the vandalized drum set.

  I glanced at Zoe. She looked slightly off, almost as if someone was slowly draining the color from her face.

  “Are you alright?” I asked her.

  She gave a half-nod.

  I didn’t believe her. “Do you need a drink or something? Maybe a place to sit down?”

  This time, it was a half-shake.

  “I think she should come inside,” I said to Mabel. “She looks like she’s going to faint.”

  Mabel nodded. “Maybe so. Maybe being here is just too much for her.”

  “What?” I had no idea what Mabel was talking about.

  Mabel waved a hand in the air. “You know, with everything that has happened.”

  I voiced what I had just been thinking. “What do you mean?

  Mabel’s eyes narrowed. “She’s here on your property,” she said. “And this is where her ex-boyfriend died. That might be too much for anyone, don’t you think?”

  TWENTY TWO

  “My property?”

  For one horrified moment, I thought another body had been found somewhere on my little farm.

  How in the world had I not known about this?

  A better question might be, how in the world had Sheriff Lewis not shown up and promptly arrested me?

  But then it dawned on me.

  “You dated Drew?” I asked Zoe.

  Weakly, she nodded. Her color had come back a little, and she no longer looked like she was ready to crumple to the pavement.

  “Like, recently?”

  “No.” Her voice was small. “It was a while ago.”

  I had so many questions. I wanted to know how long they’d dated, and how close they’d been. And I’d wanted to know why they’d broken up.

  Because I was starting to draw some lines…some lines that didn’t look good for Zoe.