“I’m so sorry,” her friend rushed on. “I shouldn’t have left the Valley of the Dolls, but Beau never showed up. I went looking for him and…and…that’s when I found it.” Her volume dropped to a whisper without the yell. “The body. He’s one hundred percent dead, Jane. I checked for a pulse. You’re the expert in such matters. What am I supposed to do now?”
Wait, wait, wait. “Who’s dead?” Not Beau. Please, please not Beau.
The mayor approached the information table, saying, “Can you tell me where–”
“I’m on my way,” she told Fiona, ignoring him. Stay put? No. As the mayor sputtered, Jane shot to her feet. With only the walkie talkie in hand, she dashed through the cemetery, taking the same path as Conrad, her high heels clacking on the cobblestone walkway. After stumbling twice, she kicked off her shoes, uncaring when little rocks dug into her soles. “Fee? Are you there? Where are you?”
“I’m close to the original office.” Crackling. “I don’t want to leave his body.”
“Whose body?” she demanded.
“Oh! I figured out what to do. I’m calling Sheriff Moore.”Click.
Argh! SurelyJanewasn’t so annoying when she stumbled upon a corpse.
Adjusting her route, she pumped her arms to pick up speed. She flew past the statue of Muffin, the cemetery’s canine guardian, then zigged and zagged between residents, all while doing her best to avoid party goers still searching for clues.
“Sorry!” she rushed out anytime she grazed someone.
When she crossed into Eden Valley, the crowd vanished. From there, she hurried past the mausoleum and entered Paradise Ladling, an area filled with her relatives. To discourage visitors in this particular section, she’d temporarily shut off the lights along the pathway. It helped that towering trees covered in Spanish moss blocked the moonlight.
With a fresh burst of energy, Jane crested a slope.
“Whoa. Slow down there, girl,” commanded a voice from the shadows.
With a jolt, she skidded to a halt. Who the heck– “Oh! Sheriff Moore.” She pressed a palm over her racing heart as he stepped forward. “What are you doing, skulking about?”
“I wasn’t skulking. I dropped my phone, which doubled as my flashlight. But the light switched off upon impact. Considering it’s pitch black out here and I can’t navigate the winding hedgerows by memory, I decided to wait for you. I knew you’d come along sooner or later.” He tapped his temple. “That’s called using my resources.”
“Hang on.” Having left her own phone behind, she jogged to a nearby gardenia bush without flowers. Small wooden chests with flashlights were hidden in every section of the Garden. A just-in-case practice started by Grandma Lily and continued by Jane, though she’d progressed from bulbs to LEDs. There should be a chest right…here.
The ancient lid lifted with a groan, and she reached inside. Tada! With a flick of her thumb, they had light. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to locate his phone.
“I also use my resources wisely,” she said, handing over his property.
As they moved forward, he made a quick call to a deputy, requesting backup. Despite the evening chill, sweat glistened on his concern-etched face. “What did Fee tell you?” he demanded as soon as he hung up. “I spoke to her only minutes ago, but couldn’t get much out of her.”
“Only that she’d found a man’s body in this area. But I don’t see her anywhere nearby. Or the body. Do you?”
“Nope,” he said, huffing and puffing.
Well. “She must be somewhere behind the big tree.” Jane held her breath as they rounded the massive hickory in question. What was she soon to find? “Did she tell you who died?”
“Negative.”
Her stomach curdled.Who, who?Desperate for answers,Jane continued forward, scanning the darkness until she found a swath of light. Approaching an overgrown crape myrtle, voices reached her ears. Through a tangle of branches, she finally spotted her friend, leaning against another oak, holding a lantern.
Conrad knelt beside the body, using his phone as a flashlight. Oh, thank goodness! There was Beau, off to the side, whispering with his three coworkers. He hadn’t perished on her ancestral estate.
“All right. I need everyone to step back,” Conrad called as he straightened. “Now.” He stretched out his arms, prompting the group to obey. He’d gone into full GBH mode.
Sheriff Moore beelined straight to Fiona, who made a beeline for him, too. “Fee!”
“Oh, Raymond,” Fiona cried, burrowing into his big frame. “The night wasn’t supposed to end this way.”
Needing a little comforting of her own, Jane launched herself at Conrad. He didn’t wave her off but caught her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist, holding her steady. She’d reached her safe place. Which meant…
Time to focus.She had another mystery to solve.