Jenn was busy texting. “Tracey Jefferies. She’s the co-lead with me.”
Valerie shared a glance with Nico. This would have been a perfect way to get to Tracey and ask about the photo. Too bad. “Do you need a hand?” asked Valerie, wanting to help anyway.
Jenn touched her arm in thanks. “Another time.”
With a wave, she was gone, leaving Valerie and Nico alone on the sidewalk.
“Did you notice she didn’t mention David when talking about why none of them would have helped out Malcolm?” she asked. “Only that he was upset at the accusation.”
“I did.”
Valerie drew a line in the air. “One point for Team David.”
“Her only defense of Penny was just that she loves Roger,” Nico pointed out. “Hardly a sure thing, seeing as she also loves her family, money, and the Badgerton name.”
“I’ll give you half a point.” Valerie admired a cute floppy hat in the window of the Serenity Boutique. “It doesn’t seem like Malcolm’s family misses him much apart from Penny.”
Nico shrugged. “He was a miserable man and ill for a long time. In some ways they got used to him not being there before he was gone.”
“I saw that sometimes at Ad Astra. Often the family felt guilty to have done so much of their grieving while the person was still alive.”
“It’s hard to know how you’ll react in that situation,” said Nico.
Valerie nodded. “Lots of feelings to navigate.”
They set a meeting time and place; then Nico left Valerie at the bookstore to run his errands. She was poking around the thrillers when she heard her name. It was Dalia, dressed in a retro striped jumpsuit. “I thought that was you! What are you up to?”
“Nothing in particular.” Valerie was happy to see a familiar face. She glanced down at the book in Dalia’s hand, the same one she’d given Blair. “Oh, I read that!”
“Did you like it?”
“I did, but don’t ask me for details. I’m bad at avoiding spoilers.” She generally got overexcited when talking about books she liked, and had learned to preemptively warn people.
“We’ll have a book club of two when I’m done.” Dalia gestured out the window. “I was going to get some ice cream. Want to come?”
“I never turn down ice cream.” They briefly debated soft serve or gelato before deciding the day called for root beer floats. Ten minutes later, they were on a bench breathing in the faint smell of gas from the boats and watching people walking around the marina.
“This is the life, isn’t it?” Dalia asked. “I love the sun. I could be part lizard.”
“How did you decide to move here for the summer?” Valerie scooped root beer slush from the side of the ice cream and let it melt on her tongue.
“I knew the people renting the cottage, and someone backed out,” said Dalia. She fished a visor out of her bag and fixed it over her eyes. “I’d kicked out my roommate at home and that had been messy so I wanted a break from the city. Sublet the place and up I came.”
“You told your roommate to move out?” Valerie could never.
Dalia wiped her mouth. “She was terrible and there were consequences.”
“Wow.”
Dalia laughed. “Not your style?”
Much in the same way darkness let the truth out, so too did the lazy warm sun. “I hate confrontation.”
“God, me too,” said Dalia fervently. “My stomach gets all tight and I get shaky after.”
“Yeah!” Valerie watched a long black bird swoop down. A cormorant, that’s what Nico called it. “You did it though.”
“My mother always says if you can’t do it calm, do it scared. It’s not like avoiding the issue makes it better. Hey, are Blair and them coming up to visit you?”
