“Jared? Who’s that?” Rarity hadn’t heard Katie talk about a guy, ever.
“Jared’s her boyfriend,” Darby said as she came up to the table. “I saw them kissing last night before the movie started.”
“We might need more tickets, then.” Rarity asked Katie to send her the link where she could order tickets. “I’m going to get another ten. If we decide we’re not going, I’ll give them away at the register Wednesday morning.”
“Jared and I will definitely go. He was so excited to meet Mason Pike last night. You would have thought he was a real celebrity.”
“Maybe in that world, he is.” Rarity watched as Drew and Malia came into the tent. Darby needed to talk to Drew, and Rarity was starving. At least they were at a good stopping point for lunch. Customers had dwindled off after Miranda left the tent. Probably heading somewhere for lunch.
And with a break, Rarity had time to think about what Miranda had said about Mason. Were the movie festival attendees as competitive as it appeared they were? She really needed Drew to tell her if Mason’s death was from natural causes.
Chapter 6
Drew followed her out of the tent as she took Killer for a short walk, letting Katie and Darby man the store as they finished their lunches. She didn’t say much until they were near the carnival rides. “So what do you think about Darby? Is someone stalking her?”
“I hate to say yes, but it seems that way. Too many things are happening for me to overlook them. Why is it happening? I have no clue. Maybe the perpetrator feels like they have a connection with Darby. And the other men are getting in the way. She said Marc used that same phrase when they met. Were there people around?”
“Just a few hundred or so for Marc’s talk about racing. I don’t remember thinking one person was too close to her or Marc. Now you have me worried about her.” Rarity looked back in the direction of the tent. “Maybe we should go back.”
“She’s fine for right now. People walk into these festival booths all the time. If someone’s after her, he’s going to make his move in the dark when she’s alone. We need to limit that time. Make sure someone walks her home after a shift. No working a shift by herself. And can one of her friends stay with her at the house? I know she had a few over the last two nights. We need to keep that up, or she needs to stay with you if they need to go back to their lives.”
“I think Malia and Holly will take care of that. Katie needs to go back to class next week. Maybe. She said her boyfriend is taking her to a bunch of these festival movies. I’ll talk to Darby and Katie when we get back.” She stopped to let Killer sniff a patch of grass. “So what about Mason Pike?”
“It’s looking like he didn’t die naturally. The tox screens aren’t back, but the coroner found a needle mark on the back of his neck. If I were to guess, someone came up behind him and shot something into him. Something that worked really fast. He wasn’t alone that long, was he?”
Rarity shook her head. “No, but I think the front door was open. I was sure I locked it but the deadlock wasn’t thrown when I went out to meet the paramedics. Someone could have left through that door.”
“Maybe he opened it. He might have been waiting for someone. I’ll stop by the store this afternoon and check the security tapes. I’m glad we have Dad hanging out there. At least I know no one is messing with my evidence. And they probably didn’t know you even had cameras.” He grinned at her. “I’ll probably have this one in the bag before your book club can even meet to talk about the murder.”
“I hope that’s true.” As they walked back to the tent, Killer pulled on the leash again. This time, he ran to the side and came back with a leather work glove. Rarity took it from him, looking at Drew as she did. “Where did you find this?”
Drew went over and looked at the tent. “You have an opening right here. I think it was an expander for the tent booth, but someone has loosened the Velcro that kept it together.” He leaned down and picked up a candy bar wrapper. He took a plastic bag out of his shirt pocket and put the wrapper inside. Then he held it out for the leather glove.
Rarity dropped it inside, and Killer barked his displeasure at losing his toy.
“Sorry, dude. It’s probably nothing, but I’ll get them dusted for prints. Maybe we’ve actually found a clue.”
Rarity took a breath, inhaling the smell of the corn dogs that were being cooked a row over. “You think someone was here, watching us?”
He glanced around the site, and Rarity noticed they were out of sight for both rows of booths, at least for the people walking by. “I think someone might have been standing here, watching Darby. What has that girl gotten herself into?”
* * *
At the end of the day, Rarity went back to the bookstore with Katie and Darby. Killer rode in the wagon with some empty boxes that they’d planned to use to restock the tent for tomorrow’s last festival day. As they walked, Rarity told them about what Drew had said and what they’d found. Darby was quiet.
Finally, she spoke. “You don’t think that truck almost hitting me was an accident, do you?”
“Honestly, no. Is there any way this guy from Scotland is still around? Did you tell him where you were from?” Rarity hated seeing the fear in her eyes. Darby was bold and brash and not afraid of anything. Except now.
“Maybe, probably. He was American, and that’s one of the reasons we hit it off. Strangers in a strange land kind of thing. I probably mentioned my grandma’s passing and how I was doing this as an homage to her.” She shrugged as she walked next to Katie. “You talk about yourself and your dreams on first dates. That’s how you know if you click.”
“Drew said they were looking into the incident there. Maybe that will give him something to go on.” Rarity smiled at Darby. “You just need to keep yourself safe. No hiking by yourself, and if you see the guy, scream. If you’re wrong, you’ll just embarrass yourself. But you’ll be alive.”
“You give the worst advice, Rarity Cole,” Katie said as she handed Darby a small cylinder. “Here’s something that will keep you safe. Don’t worry, I’ve got two more in my car. My folks wanted me to have protection when I moved away from home to college.”
“They sent you to college with pepper spray?” Darby held it up, trying to figure out how to work it. “This is better quality than the one I have.”
Katie nodded. “It was either that or a small handgun. I didn’t want to be caught with one at school since they are a gun-free campus. Besides, I didn’t like the idea of having one and having someone steal it. I can shoot, no problem, but what if my roommate can’t? She’d just make the guy mad if she tried to shoot him.”
