Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery) (11 page)

Kent and I had a table at the front of the restaurant by the window. It was perfect for looking outside or watching the action inside the restaurant. Though I had to admit I was more interested in looking at Kent. He wore brown pants and a blue shirt that brought out the color of his eyes.

We’d placed orders for pasta and were enjoying a glass of wine. As much as I wanted to ask about the case
, I was holding back. I knew he didn’t want to talk about that while on a date. Murder investigations weren’t a romantic topic.

At least I’d f
ound out that the police had tracked down Julian before we’d arrived at dinner. Once we’d stepped through the door of the restaurant I’d decided not to ask any more questions. Tonight would be just about us. No talk of Ross either. He was probably long gone with Charity anyway. I was glad about that too. Now I wouldn’t have to deal with him. Not until he showed up again. He always had a reason to come back around when I didn’t want to see him. The waitress brought our pasta and I dived my fork in. It would be a battle not to get the stuff all over the front of my dress. I paced the white linen napkin on my lap just in case. The pasta so far had remained off my clothing.

I traced the edge of my wine glass with my index finger as I watched Kent.

When he realized I was staring at him he asked, “What? Do I have marinara sauce on my chin?”

I chuckled. “No, you’re good. I was just wondering what you can tell me about the investigation.”

He set his fork down. “Rae, you know I can’t share details about the case with you.”

Sure, I knew that, but it wasn’t going to stop me from asking or trying to get info from him. There had to be a few tidbits he could share.

Okay, there had to be a way to get him to talk. I tapped my fingers against the table. “How about if you didn’t actually tell me anything. I could kind of guess.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up on one side.
“How would you guess?”

“
What if I asked questions and you can give me a hint. Like if you took one sip of your wine for yes and two sips for no.”

He chuckled.
“You’re something else, you know that?”

I shrugged.
“I try. So what do you say?”

He took a drink from his glass and winked.

Now maybe I was getting somewhere.

“
Do you have one person of interest?”

Kent two sips
from his glass.

“
Really?” I said. “Okay. What about several people?”

He took one drink fr
om the glass. So just like me, the police suspected several people. How would I narrow it down to one person if he couldn’t do it? Kent was trained for this kind of stuff. If I wasn’t careful he wouldn’t be able to answer anything because of too much wine. He was halfway through his glass already. I had to make my questions count.

“
Do you have any clues?” I asked.

He took another drink from his glass. I couldn’t ask yes or no questions to find out what the clue
s were. It would take too long.

Kent
set his glass down. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”

“
You’re right.” I picked at my pasta with my fork. “I’ve asked enough questions.”

“
Maybe you should come work with the police department,” Kent said.

“
You’re just making fun of me now.” I laughed.

“
I’m serious. You have a natural talent and you’re very observant.”

“You’re too kind, Sheriff Kent,” I said.

Kent finished the last of his wine.

“
That’s not fair, now I can’t ask any questions. Okay, I will stop asking questions. I guess I’ll have to wait until you all figure this out.”

Kent leaned closer across the table and touched my hand.
“I am confident that we will find the killer soon.”

As I studied his face I
knew that he truly believed what he said. For his sake, I hoped that he did find the killer soon. Kent didn’t want to have Ross and me at the top of his suspect list.

The waitress brought more wine.
Kent stared at me with his gorgeous eyes and a smile spread across his face.

“You’re being quiet. What’s
on your mind?” he asked.

What was on my mind the most was that I’d seen Julian and Connie talking. I couldn’t tell him about seeing them though
. For tonight it would be my little secret.

“I’m thin
king how great this wine tastes.” I held up my glass.

He took a drink and then said
, “Do you want to know what I was thinking?”

I smiled. “Sure. As long as it’s good.”

“I’ve been thinking about how pretty you look tonight.”

He really knew how to make m
e melt.

Kent and I discussed Honeysuckle and the good parts of living in town. How much it had grown in just the past year.
Plus he talked about the old buildings he’d recently purchased. A gas station company had wanted to tear them down and that wasn’t all. There had been talk of many uses for the land. I was glad that Kent had swooped on them and intended on bringing them back to life.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. The place was crowded so it was probably just me feeling claustrophobic. At least that was what I thought until I looked toward the back of the restaurant and spotted Connie staring right at me
. If it wasn’t Doreen stalking me, it was Connie. This was beyond weird. I had told her I was going out to dinner. This was the nicest place in town so she could have guessed where I was going.

Was she that interested in what Kent might tell me? Or had Julian and Connie planned something more sinister?
I tried to ignore the fact that she was watching every bite I took. That wasn’t easy either.

Placing my fork down on my plate, I said, “If you’ll excuse me I’m going to the ladies’ room.”

Kent helped me from the table even though I hadn’t needed any help and I made my way to the back of the restaurant. I didn’t look over at Connie and instead pretended like I hadn’t seen her. I prayed that she didn’t come to the restroom.

I’d barely gotten into the tiny
stall when the door opened. Footsteps sounded across the tile floor. I peeked down at her black flats as she stopped in front of the door. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to leave the safety of the stall.

When I opened the door I came face to face with Connie. A slow smile spread across her face.
Her eyes were a little wild. Maybe she’d had a few too many glasses of wine.

“I thought that was you. Fancy seeing you he
re,” she said.

This woman was truly off her rocker.

“It’s a small town so it’s not that big of a coincidence.” I turned off the water.

She moved over in front of the long mirror. “I suppose not.”

She pulled out red lipstick from her purse as I washed my hands. What did this woman want? She didn’t speak as she covered her lips with the bright lipstick. Goosebumps broke out on my arms. I knew she was watching me out of the corner of her eye. I had to break the silence so that I could get out of the tiny room.

I grabbed a paper towel. “So you asked
about Julian. Do you know her?”

Connie
smiled, but didn’t look at me. “I’ve heard about her.”

Okay
, so she wasn’t answering my question. I knew she was lying to me now.

Why was
Connie acting so funny about knowing Julian? That made me suspicious. I felt like they weren’t being truthful with any of us. But why would either Connie or Julian want Luke and Darcy dead?

I tossed the paper towel in the trash. “Well, I’d better get back to my date.”

I tried to sound casual as if I wasn’t wondering if she could be a murderer. Being in this enclosed space with her was making me uneasy. I’d been gone from Kent long enough.

Connie turned to face me. “Did you learn anything else about the murders?”

She really wasn’t going to let that question go. I refused to answer that though. “It was nice to see you again, Connie.” Even I knew that I hadn’t sounded sincere.

“
You look really pretty tonight,” she said as I was walking toward the door.

Connie
knew how to get me to stop and talk to her again. I couldn’t be rude and ignore the compliment.

“Thank you,” I said
as I glanced over my shoulder.

“Where did you get that dress?”

I released a deep breath and stopped. I turned to face her again. “It was a gift from my mother for my birthday. I’m not sure where she got it.”

“Well, if you happen to find out, do let me know. I would love to have one like it,” she said.

“I’ll make sure to let you know.”

I turned to leave
again when she said, “I think Julian did it because Darcy was secretly dating Luke.”

I froze on the spot. What would make her say that? I turned to face her again.

“Darcy was dating Luke? I thought they were competitors?” I asked with shock in my voice.

“They were at first, but I guess their rivalry turned to love
—or lust. Whatever you want to call it,” she said with a wink.

I couldn’t believe what she’d
just said. How would I find out if it was true? If it was then this would definitely give Julian a reason to want both Luke and Darcy dead. I hadn’t been sure how Darcy had ever thought she could compete with Luke Lexington anyway. Maybe that was why she’d started dating him, because he would be less competition that way.

I should probably tell Kent about this latest news. He was probably getting ready to come look for me anyway.
But before I left I had to ask Connie just a few more questions. Kent would have to wait just a little while longer. I wasn’t sure if Connie would share any more details, but I had to ask anyway. She seemed erratic with what she wanted to talk about.

“
So you do know Julian?” I asked.

Connie
shrugged. “I don’t really know her.”

I wanted so badly to tell her that
I’d seen her at the distillery, but I knew it would be the wrong thing to do.

“How do you
know Darcy Parish was seeing Luke?” I asked.

“Julian told me. I ran into her earlier,” she said.

I stared at Connie. I sensed that she knew I knew she was lying. There was no way I’d be able to get the truth out of her though. I’d have to find another way. That wouldn’t be easy.

“It was nice talking to you, Connie, but I have to get back to my date. He’ll be looking for me.”

She smiled widely. “Have a nice evening. Be careful out there.”

That made a chill run down my spine. Was that a warning or was I just jumping to conclusions? Maybe I was being paranoid. I hurried out of the bathroom and didn’t look back to see if she was following me.

When I reached the table, Kent said, “I was getting worried about you.”

“I ran into someone I knew,” I said.

That was the truth.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

I nodded. “Definitely.”

Kent left cash on the table and then we headed for the door.
I wasn’t ready for the date to end, but I was ready to get away from Connie.

Kent and I strolled down the sidewalk until we reached his ca
r. The evening was beautiful with endless twinkling stars in the pitch-black sky. A breeze had finally stirred the hot air, making being outside not so uncomfortable.

“It’s a beautiful night, how about we walk back to your place?” Kent asked.

I nodded. “That sounds great.”

His hand had brushed my arm and my skin felt as if it was on fire. Kent’s spicy masculine scent made my skin tingle.

Fireflies glowed in the night, putting on a pretty little light show. I was glad that on the walk home Kent didn’t ask about Connie. I worried that he’d seen her staring at us. Luckily, we just discussed movies that we’d recently seen.

When we reached the
house, Kent walked me to the door. Was tonight the time when he’d ask to come inside? I wanted to take things slowly with him. There was a lot of history between him and Ross, and I didn’t want another relationship like the one I’d had with Ross. Not that Kent was anything like my ex, but I didn’t want to take any chances. We stepped up to the door and I turned to face him.

Without saying a word, he leaned down and k
issed me softly on the lips. His touch warmed my body and I could easily become lost in his arms. After a few seconds longer, he leaned back and a sweet smile slipped over his lips.

“I guess I’d better go. I have to be up early in the
morning. I’ll call you.” He touched his index finger to my lips.