“Mm.” Amie wracked a little more. “Did you see anything … suspicious that day? Anything unusual happen?”
“Not really.” Grayson rubbed his chin. “I might’ve noticed more if I’d known there was going to be a murder that night. I’ve been working on my powers of observation today, in case there’s another one.”
He looked around. “Ask me … um … oh! Ask me how many bouquets of flowers are in the store right now.”
“How many—”
“Seven,” Grayson cut in. He paused. “But we get those flowers every week, so maybe that doesn’t count. Ask me …”
The mention of flowers jogged Amie’s memory. “Savannah was at the grocery store that morning,” she said. “She got into an argument with a man named David. Did you hear about this?”
“Oh, yeah,” Grayson said. “Didn’t think much of it. It’d be more unusual if a day went by when Savannahwasn’tpissed off about something.”
“Who else did she tell about it?”
“She was grumbling all day about people sticking their noses into other people’s business. If anyone bothered asking her what was wrong, she’d go off about how David started yelling at her while she was talking to the flower guy.”
Amie’s stomach sank. That meant anyone could have known that Savannah and David had gotten into an argument that day.
“Anyway,” Grayson said, “I should probably get back to looking like I’m working. Oh!” He held out the clipboard he’d been clutching. “Would you like to sign up for our newsletter? You’ll be notified about new releases through text or email.”
Amie wasn’t particularly interested, but since the guy had spent so much time answering her questions, she felt compelled to help him out.
Scribbling her name and email address onto the sheet, Amie was surprised to see Benny’s name and phone number above hers. She suspected it was more likely he’d filled it out due to social pressure than a genuine love for books. In his defense, that had been her reasoning, too. It was likely Grayson would get a good amount of sign-ups solely from people who would feel bad saying no.
“Did you need help finding something?” Grayson asked as she finished.
“Oh, no. Just browsing, thanks.”
“All right. Let Raina know if you need anything.” He gave her a small salute, then wandered off.
Amie peeked around the bookshelf. Benny was still haunting the refreshments, the pitcher of iced tea sitting empty next to him. She drifted back down the aisle, looking for Raina in a way she hoped didn’t seem like she was looking for Raina.
Stopping by a display of autobiographies, she peeked through the shelf to search for her target. Raina was standing in the next aisle, her back to Amie, the jug of iced tea resting in the crook of her arm. She appeared to be scanning the bookshelf for something, but Amie recognized the other woman’s casual glances down the aisle. They were identical to the casual glances Amie had been casting less than a minute earlier. Raina was looking for someone.
Amie knew this could be her opportunity to talk to the store’s manager, but curiosity kept her where she stood. She wanted to see who Raina was looking for.
As the minutes passed, Amie began to wonder what was taking Ziya so long. She hoped she hadn’t confronted Madeline directly about Savannah’s murder. If Madelinewasthe murderer, and suspected that Ziya was onto her …
Amie’s anxiety began to spike. She was moments away from sprinting out of the store when Raina began moving down the aisle toward the counter.
Abandoning any subterfuge she’d been attempting earlier, Amie followed the manager down her parallel aisle, peeking out tosee who she was approaching. To her surprise, there was no one. Raina had twisted the cap off the jug and was refilling the pitcher.
“Excuse me” came Andrew’s voice from behind. Amie froze, then slowly turned, expecting to see the man glowering at her for spying.
But Andrew was walking over to Benny, who was standing by the door to the back room.
“Sorry, Benny,” Andrew said. “Employees only.”
The landlord’s face was pink with embarrassment. “I was looking for the bathroom,” he said awkwardly.
Andrew shook his head. “Normally I’d let you use the employee bathroom, but the police still have a section of the back room blocked off. No one can get to it right now. Sorry.”
“Sure, no problem,” Benny mumbled, moving away from the door. He shuffled past Andrew, disappearing down one of the aisles. Andrew watched him go, then entered the back room.
Amie turned back to find her view of Raina blocked by several people who had seemingly all in unison decided it was time to buy their books.
Raina must have also noticed the sudden line at the register. “Grayson!” Amie heard her call from behind the wall of people. “Register!”
