“You what?” Romain swallowed hard.
“I got on the ferry and dropped it in the water midway to Seattle. That way I’d never be tempted to go back to you.” She smiled and closed the door in his terror-stricken face.Explain that to Rachel!
Dalton came in about five minutes later. He nodded at the full cup of coffee now sitting on the table. “Is that for me?”
“Of course. Is Romain gone?” Meg glanced out the side window that looked over the parking lot.
Dalton laughed. “He left. I think he was frustrated that he couldn’t race the engine and burn rubber in his electric car as he left. I’ll give him props that he at least tried. Did you really toss the ring?”
“Of course not. That thing is a down payment on a house. Or it can at least fill up my emergency fund. He gave it to me twice. I wasn’t going to give it back for Rachel’s sake. She got him. I got the ring. I got the better deal.” Meg handed him one of the cookies that Aunt Melody had dropped off sometime last night, when she was at the bookstore, along with milk and more sparkling water. She loved her aunt. “At least I know why he kept sniffing around here. I can’t believe he thought I would hand over the ring. Again. I’m so not the girl who left Seattle anymore.” As she spoke, they both took a seat at the kitchen table.
“That girl would have given him the ring?” Dalton broke the cookie in half.
Meg thought about past Meg. “I hate to say it, but I think she would have. He controlled our lives. He made himself bigger while he made me feel smaller. I would have thought he was right and I owed him the ring. But now he tells me that Rachel wants it and that this should be enough for me to give it back. I’m sorry. I can’t see myself doing that anymore. Rachel can design her own ring.”
“I’m proud of you for standing up to him. I worried about you when we moved you home, but when I saw what you did to the dress, I knew you’d be fine. The old Magpie was still in there, waiting to be let out.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. Then dropped it.
“I’m glad you were amused. My mom is still trying to find a seamstress who will agree to try to piece the dress together again. The problem is they’re all telling her it’s not worth the money she’d have to fork out to get it done. I’m done with that dress. If I ever get married, I’m getting a new dress. And a new ring.” She finished her cookie, then dusted off and showed her empty hands to Watson, who was watching her eat. “Sorry, boy. It’s all gone. So how do we prove or disprove that Nate killed Robert Meade?”
Happy with the subject change, Dalton pulled out his notebook. “I’ve got some ideas. We need to see where Tabitha was on the day of the murder. Or maybe that whole week. And maybe Meade was in the wrong place. Did Nate ever meet Josh? Maybe Tabitha sent him to kill Josh. Or he thought killing Josh would get him the girl.”
“You’ve done a lot of thinking on this since last night,” Meg responded as she glanced at the clock. “We’re supposed to be at the bakery at nine. If we’re walking, we need to leave soon.”
“Let’s walk. You need to calm down a little after your exciting morning.” Dalton tucked the notebook back into his pocket.
“Don’t tell me what I need. I’ve had enough of that lately.” Meg paused when she saw Dalton grinning at her. “You’re a jerk. You’re trying to get me riled up. Should we take the murder board and timeline?”
He shook his head. “Probably not. I don’t think other customers would love seeing the visuals.”
Meg giggled. “I hadn’t thought about that. Besides, what would we do if Tabitha came in and saw her picture on the board as a suspect?”
“That would be awkward.” He grabbed Watson’s lead. “Get what you need and let’s get going. You have to work tonight.”
“Don’t remind me.” Meg grabbed all she needed for the day, including Watson’s treats. She’d already stocked his dog food for his night meal at the bookstore. They were making a new routine and a new life—time to get rid of the old.
As they walked to the bookstore, she thought about the Nate and Josh theory. “So you’ve seen the two of them together at least once, Tabitha and Nate, I mean?”
“Yeah, but I don’t hang out at the bars much. I never know what shift I’m going to be working, so being at the bar late doesn’t work for me. I wonder if Junior has seen them together. We talked about how out of Nate’s league Tabitha was the first night I saw them. Let me give your brother a call.” He pulled out his phone.
Meg listened in on Dalton’s side of the conversation. First, they caught up and made plans for their next meetup. Then Dalton asked about that night. Junior talked for a long time, with Dalton adding an occasional yes or wow. Finally, he grinned at her. “Thanks, dude. You gave me what I needed. I’ll call you next week to finalize our plans.”
After Dalton hung up, he looked at her. “Not only has your brother seen him with Tabitha several times, but Nate also told him about this hot girl who was going to move him to Hollywood to get him work as a stunt guy. Junior asked about Violet, and Nate blew him off. Said they both needed to get rid of the exes so they could move on with their lives.”
“Get rid of the exes? Nate dumped Violet. I wonder if he thought he took care of Josh, too.” They arrived at the bakery, and Natasha waved them in. They all gathered around a table in the back. Meg continued her musing with Dalton. “But no, he knew Meade because of the loan.”
“I have news. Nate and Tabitha got in a fight in front of Island Diner a few minutes ago. She told him she wasn’t interested in seeing him anymore. That he was a loser and to leave her alone.” Natasha poured them coffee as she chatted. Then she joined them at the table. “Serena was there getting food before she went home to crash. She bakes for me from midnight to seven. While she was waiting for her food, she watched the whole thing. And then she called me.”
“Did they mention Robert Meade?” Meg couldn’t believe their luck. Someone had witnessed the couple turn on each other.
“Not by name, but Nate told her he’d taken care of his end of the bargain. Tabitha laughed and told him his plan was stupid and only got him out of debt.” Natasha lowered her voice as a customer came in. “Then she said he could deal with this island insanity on his own. That she was done with it all.”
Natasha left to help the customer. Dalton whistled. “I knew Nate was an idiot, but do you think he thought killing Meade at Summer Break would cause your uncle to arrest Josh?”
“I think it’s time for us to talk to Uncle Troy about our suspicions. He can talk to Nate and see if he can rattle him. The mayor will be thrilled to have Nate out of his daughter’s life. Tabitha had to be the mastermind of the plan. Nate wouldn’t be able to put this together.”
“I wonder if Tabitha knew Robert Meade. Maybe she had an outstanding loan, as well.” Dalton opened his phone and scrolled through Tabitha’s social media account. “And there it is.”
He handed the phone to Meg. It was a picture of Tabitha and Meade at a charity event for Young Seattle Writers. At the table, as well, were Lilly and Josh. “This could be how Meade knew about Lilly and Josh. Jolene said he was trying to blackmail her. And we all know that Meade liked to use the people who owed him money for favors.”
