Jack narrowed his eyes, and she backed away from him. “Um, I mean …”
“We just want to know why you killed Cordelia,” I said, watching intently for her reaction.
The fake sincerity she’d shown just minutes before disappeared, replaced by what looked like sincere indignation. “I told you I did not kill Cordelia! I wanted to take back the money she stole from me, and I was willing to steal those artifacts if there was no other way to get it, but I’m no killer!”
“You just wave guns around for fun?” Jack’s voice was pure ice.
“I … That was wrong of me. I admit it. But I didn’t kill anybody! I wasn’t even in town Tuesday!”
“She’s telling the truth,” Duck shouted. “She was with me in Orlando. We went to Disney all day and stayed in town that night at the Wee Duck Inn, just west of there. We have photos and receipts and everything from the trip! And I bet the motel people can tell you they saw us, too.” He started to turn around, but then shot Jack an anxious look. “Is it okay if I open the truck door to get something to show you?”
“Tess, please watch him. If he looks like he’s going for a weapon, Henrietta will be very sorry.”
“No weapon, I promise.” As I watched him carefully, Duck opened the truck door and reached for an envelope lying in the middle of the bench seat. He turned and handed it to me. “See? We have proof.”
I pulled out the large, glossy photo inside the envelope. It showed Duck and Henrietta, arms in the air and mouths open in screams, on one of the park’s many roller coasters. The photo was date- and time-stamped Tuesday at three p.m. There was no way that Henrietta could have been in town to kill Cordelia unless the picture was fake.
I showed it to Jack. “It’s probably true. They were at the park.”
“See? I told you,” Henrietta began, equal parts relief and indignation in her voice. “I can send all the receipts and the photos and everything to the sheriff for proof, too.”
“Send it to her? Why not just give it to her?”
Her eyes shifted away. “Well. There is that technical parole violation …”
Just then, the sound of sirens reached us.
“You called the cops on us?” Henrietta was outraged. “But I just told you—”
“Yeah. You told us now. But when you came to my house, you wouldn’t give me any evidence that you’d been out of town,” I pointed out. “Also, as you say, there’s that minor matter of the parole violation.”
She suddenly looked scared, for the first time since I’d met her. “Are you going to press charges? About the gun and all.”
“Yes,” Jack said.
“No,” I said. I looked at him and shook my head. “She’s in enough trouble. I don’t need to add to it. Besides, I made the woman an omelet.”
Jack closed his eyes, probably praying for patience. I admit the omelet thing made no sense, but I was tired and ready to be done with Henrietta, Ish, Cordelia, dangerous artifacts, and everything else. Pressing charges would just drag me into it further.
“Henrietta and I fell in love,” Duck said with dignity, braving Jack’s glare to go stand next to her and put his arm around her waist. “We’re going to go on a trip around America and visit all the best roller coasters.”
“But what about the motel?”
He grinned. “I sold that to some out-of-town guy just last week. Signed all the papers yesterday and already have the money in my bank account. I’m rich, Tess!”
I had to smile at his enthusiasm. I’d always liked Duck. He stopped by the shop a few times a year to look for decorative items for the motel, and he always asked after Uncle Mike and Aunt Ruby.
“I hope you know what you’re getting into with her, Duck,” I said, shaking my head. “Are you sure you want to be involved with someone with this kind of past?”
He thought about that for a moment and then nodded. “Well, Tess, the thing is, people have a right to second chances. Your young fella had a violent past, too. And you love him anyway, right?”
I nodded. It wasn’t the same at all—Jack hadn’t been a criminal, but a soldier—but I saw what he was getting at.
“Well, there you go,” he said.
Henrietta leaned her head on his shoulder and said something, but I didn’t hear it, because that’s when Andy drove up.
After that, matters were out of our hands, and I was happy about that. Andy drove off with Henrietta in cuffs in the back seat, Duck followed them in his truck, and Jack and I turned around and headed for the bakery.
