Luke took the to-go container from the bag and opened it, lifting the juicy burger from the tray. “Heard some talk at the diner while I waited.” He took a bite, then fished for napkins in the sack to wipe burger juice from his mouth.
I raised a brow as I reached for a fry. “Oh? About what?”
“Walter Shuman and Rich Stevenson. A couple of older guys at the counter were talking about the case. One of them mentioned how they were surprised Walter up and sold everything. I guess the antique store wasn’t the only property he unloaded recently. Then the guy speculated that Walter and Rich were in it together and killed Moira.”
My eyes rounded. “Did he say why he thought that?”
Luke shook his head, chewing another bite and swallowing before he responded. “The other guy cut him off and told him that was dumb. He said he knew Rich back then, and the guy washead over heels in love with Moira. That was all I caught before my order was ready.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting. Sure makes you think, doesn’t it?”
He nodded.
My phone dinged from my pocket, and I took it out to look at the text. It was from Claire.
“Oh, well, that’s ironic,” I said, reading the message.
“What?” Luke glanced at me with a quick frown.
“Claire said she’s been digging deeper, and Walter’s name keeps popping up in her searches. She wants me to call her later.” I clicked the screen off and looked at Luke, feeling like we might be on to something. “Ozzie’s going to hate us, but we should probably all get together with him again soon and share what we’ve learned.”
Luke chuckled. “I think he just needs to accept that nosey busybodies are a way of life up here.”
“True,” I said with a short laugh. Small-town life meant everyone knew everything, and no one stayed out of anyone else’s business. A murder investigation wasn’t going to stop that. “So, did you ever meet Rich? I’ve seen him around town, but I don’t really know him well. He rarely comes in for coffee.”
“I’m sure I’ve seen him around, but I don’t think I’ve actually talked to him.” Luke stuffed a fry into his mouth. “I asked my dad about him, though.”
“Oh yeah?”
He nodded. “He said Rich mostly keeps to himself, but he’s friendly.”
“Did they ever work together?”
“No. Dad said Rich works odd jobs and never ran with a crew. From the way he talked, I’m betting Rich might once have had ambitions about starting his own construction company, but Moira’s disappearance derailed his dreams.”
That made sense. Losing someone you loved could alter a lot of things about a person’s life. From what I’d learned about Rich Stevenson, I was growing more certain he didn’t have anything to do with Moira’s death. It sounded like he loved her.
“Yeah.” I propped my chin on my fist, thinking about how life would have been different for Rich if Moira hadn’t met such a terrible fate.
Luke finished the last of his fries and closed his to-go box. “I better get back to work. This evening, we can talk to Claire. I’m interested to hear about what she found out about Walter.”
Sitting up, I nodded. “Me too. And whether any of that information is about other properties he owned and sold.”
Pushing to his feet, Luke held out a hand, helping me up. He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.
“Call me later?”
With a bright smile, I brushed a piece of his wavy blond hair away from his forehead. “Yep. Maybe your stew can be tomorrow’s lunch, and we can have dinner again?”
A wicked grin spread over his face. “And dessert.”
The shiver that went through me at the heated look in his eyes was enough to make my knees shake. “I like that idea. I’ll bring the whipped cream.”
He leaned in, nuzzling my neck behind my ear. “I like chocolate better.”
I had to clutch his t-shirt to stay upright when my knees threatened to buckle. Silently, I cursed him for putting those thoughts into my head. Now I would spend the rest of the day wondering how he would eat that chocolate.
CHAPTER 20
