by R A Wallace
“I’m just not sure if I should say anything.”
Megan was growing concerned now. “About what?”
“Your parents.”
“What about them?”
“I saw them recently.” Caitlyn paused, considering her words carefully. “They were with Erica’s parents.”
Megan was stunned. “What? I mean, maybe they just ran into them.” Still, she thought it was odd that her parents hadn’t said anything. But then something occurred to her. “I guess I’m not surprised they didn’t say anything. It probably didn’t go well. And they probably didn’t want to worry me about it.”
Caitlyn pictured what she had seen in her mind and nodded slowly. “That would make sense. They were gesturing a lot. I wasn’t close enough to hear anything.”
“Erica said her parents want her to name one of the babies after Josh,” Megan said.
“How do you feel about that?”
Megan looked at Caitlyn. “I think it’s up to Erica to name them anything she’d like. I’ll love them either way.”
Caitlyn smiled. “I’ve been thinking more that I wouldn’t mind a miniature Doug running around.”
“Your mom would probably be happier about that if the two of you got married first.”
Caitlyn laughed as she began working on another arrangement. “No doubt.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The number of people at the wake surprised Megan. Although she recognized some locals from Teaberry, there were apparently a lot of people from the other communities that considered Colin a friend. Of course, it also occurred to Megan that some might simply be curious to see all three wives together once they’d heard the story. She imagined that the gossip had spread in their communities as quickly as it had in Teaberry.
Hilary and the other wives had arranged to hold the wake at Hilary’s house. They were using the food that neighbors had been dropping off ever since Colin’s death. As they had discussed, Megan worked her way around the room, speaking with as many people as she could. She found that many were more than willing to talk about their relationship with Colin.
Megan introduced herself to a man that looked to be in his forties. He said his name was Skip Gettys. “Did you know Colin well?”
“Oh, yes. In fact, I stood up for him at his wedding.” Skip leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. “That would have been with his marriage to Alaina.”
“You’re from Ohio?”
Skip nodded. “Alaina called me and told me about the wake. We were all just stunned when we found out. Not just about his death,” Skip added.
Megan remembered that Alaina had been married for five years. “You knew him for several years, then. Did he seem any different to you lately?”
“Well, now that you mention it, he seemed pretty tense to me, yes. I asked him about it once. He said it was nothing.” Skip shrugged as he looked around the room. “I would imagine a man trying to keep three lives separate could get tense every now and then.”
The next person Megan spoke to introduced himself as Brian Chester. Megan learned that he was also from Ohio.
“Did you know Colin well?” She watched Brian carefully for his response. He looked to be around Megan’s age and his face showed extreme displeasure. She also thought he looked a little familiar, but couldn’t figure out why.
“I’m Alaina’s younger brother. She told me about the reason for this wake. I hope you aren’t supporting her crazy ideas.”
Megan glanced at Alaina. She did see the resemblance now. Megan lowered her voice, hoping to get Brian to lower his.
“You don’t think there’s anything odd about what has been happening lately?” She wondered how much Alaina had told her brother.
The look of displeasure changed to exasperation. “I think everything about this has been odd. Who marries three women? I can’t believe I actually liked that guy. I have no idea what happens now. I told Alaina she needs to get a lawyer to help straighten this mess out.” Brian gestured toward Alaina. “She’s actually trying to help the other wives with this crazy idea that Colin was murdered.”
Once Megan had extracted herself from Brian, who had continued to rail against the entire situation, she met a man named Peter Lowrie. In contrast to Brian, Peter seemed calm.
“Quite the to-do here, isn’t it?” Peter said as he looked around the room. “Your weather is much nicer here, though. The meteorologists were threatening a lot of snow at my place when I left to come here.”
“Did you know Colin well?” Megan asked.
“Mostly by reputation, though I did see him at competitions over the years.” Peter sipped at a drink and continued to watch the others in the room. “Everyone thought Colin was a wonderful singer.”
“How did you learn about the wake?” Megan watched Peter as his eyes darted around the room.
“It was on one of the message boards that I frequent. It’s for harmony singers. It keeps us up to date on the competitions that are coming up and that sort of thing.”
Megan had asked Emmet to post something about the wake. “Did you ever compete against Colin?”
Peter turned toward Megan. “No.”
Megan waited for more. When she didn’t get it, she prompted him. “And?”
Peter shrugged. “I’m not part of a group. I’m told it takes a certain level of quality and not all of us can make the cut. Sometimes the people making the selection have impossibly high standards.”
“I’m sure that choosing a singing partner for a group is very difficult,” Megan said diplomatically.
“I don’t really have time for all of that anyway.”
Megan thought for a moment. “But you keep up on the competition circuit news?”
“I enjoy listening to harmony. That’s one of the reasons why I came. I understand there is a competition here this weekend. I plan to stay for it.” Peter’s eyes returned to scanning the room.
Megan told Peter that she would probably see him at the competition the following day and continued working the room. The next person she met was Julie from West Virginia.
“You know Nicole?” Megan asked. She guessed that Julie was in her late forties or early fifties.
Julie’s eyes flew to Nicole and she nodded. “Yes. I feel so guilty.” She gave Megan a wry smile.
“You do? Why?
“I was in their wedding. I used to envy Nicole and her marriage.” Julie leaned closer to Megan. “At my age, getting a husband isn’t easy.”
Megan smiled politely. “What about Colin? Did you know him well?”
Julie moved aside as someone passed by her then shrugged. “Well, I only knew him for about eighteen months or so. And, he was rarely in the area. He traveled for work a lot.” Julie’s eyes opened a little wider as it occurred to her that Colin was traveling for more than work. She made a remorseful face.
Megan glanced around the room and wondered who she might speak to next.
Then Julie took another step closer to her. “He did say something odd to me though, the last time I saw him.”
“Really? What was that?”
Julie frowned as she tried to remember. “It was something about watching your back. And that danger could lurk in places you never expected.” Julie shook her head. “I don’t remember exactly how he phrased it.”
“He told you to watch your back?” Megan asked.
“No, he said that he had to watch his back. He gave me the impression that he was worried about something. Or someone.”
The next person Megan spoke to was named Scott and he said he was from Ohio.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone.” Scott was a slight man who looked to be in his fifties.
“The accident took us all by surprise,” Megan said.
“That’s just it. He was so good with cars. He helped me all the time.” Scott looked at Megan earnestly.
“He did? That was nice of him.”
Scott nodded his agreement. “It was. He was so knowledgeable. You could ask him any
thing. He could have been on one of those shows on TV, where they take an old car and rebuild it. He was that good. I can’t believe he wouldn’t have blocked the car up correctly. Someone with his level of knowledge doesn’t make mistakes like that.”
Megan wondered again about the incident with the jack. As she tried to move to another part of the room to meet someone else, she bumped into someone. The woman looked so much like Nicole, she could only have been her sister. Megan introduced herself and learned that the other woman’s name was Tonya.
“I wanted to thank you. Nicole told me that you’re trying to help.” Tonya glanced over at her sister. Nicole was helping Linda put more drinks out for everyone.
She turned back to Megan. “To be honest, I don’t know what you can actually learn. But I think that having this extra time with Hilary and Alaina has helped Nicole start to heal. She’s beginning to come to terms with everything that happened.”
Megan looked at the three women now gathered by the table. She agreed with Tonya. She wasn’t sure if any of the pieces of information that she had learned today would help her to see the larger puzzle. But the three women who had been most affected by Colin did seem to be drawing strength from each other as they began to move forward.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was quitting time and Rhys was looking forward to a night off. He and Jerry were scheduled to work during the harmony competition the next day. Given what Megan had been learning, it had been decided that they should remain close. But, for tonight, he was going to take Ava and Bella out to dinner. He smiled at the thought. He’d been looking forward to it all week. Rhys stood up from his desk and turned just as Jerry walked into the room. He was holding a printout in his hand.
“You got it?” Rhys asked.
Jerry was still reading through it. He nodded distractedly. “It’s going to take a while to track all these numbers.”
“We’re just lucky the wife gave us permission to get a record of all of the calls Colin Boswell had made and received in the last year.” Rhys said as he looked over Jerry’s shoulder.
“I can get on this tomorrow, before the competition,” Jerry muttered as he continued to scan the list.
“We can divide it up,” Rhys suggested. “It’ll go quicker.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jerry said as he put the list on his desk.
“You really think there’s anything to this?” Rhys asked as they walked out of the police station.
“I don’t honestly know. But if Megan is involved, it’s worth looking into.”
***
Alaina allowed her brother to drive her back to the motel after the wake. She stared out of the window watching as they passed through the town. She had been so upset when she’d initially driven in that she hadn’t noticed how pretty it was. She heard Brian clear his throat and turned to look at him. It occurred to her that she hadn’t thanked him for interrupting his life to support her.
“Thanks for coming.”
Brian glanced at his sister for a moment before focusing on the road. “Are you okay?”
Alaina gave a wry smile. “I feel like I’m on some sort of reality show.”
Brian couldn’t help himself. “The Three Wives of Colin?” He stole another glance at Alaina.
Alaina made a face at him. He’d always been able to make her laugh. “Okay. Yours is better than mine. I came up with something where we were all stranded together somewhere.”
“And you had to compete against each other?”
Alaina thought about the kindnesses the other two women had shown her these past few days. Resting her head against the seat, she smiled tiredly. “I think we’d figure out how to work together to get away.”
***
Tonya took the seat across from Nicole and looked around. “Hilary was right. This is a nice place.”
Nicole nodded her agreement. She didn’t know why she’d agreed to go to the Station Pub & Grill with her sister when she was this tired. Maybe it was because Tonya had made the effort to support her when they’d learned of Colin’s death.
“It seems like a nice town,” Nicole said.
“I thought so too.” Tonya looked at the drink options on the menu. When the waiter stopped to take their drink order, Tonya placed it for both of them. She watched the waiter walk away and fanned herself dramatically.
“He could carry me out of a burning building any time,” Tonya said with a grin.
Nicole rolled eyes at her. “I don’t think I’m quite ready to have anyone carry me anywhere.”
Tonya set down the menu. “I must admit, you’ve been handling all of this pretty well.”
Nicole sighed. “Well, I’m not sure there are a lot of other options.”
“What are you hoping for tomorrow?” Tonya asked.
Nicole considered it. She was so tired, she wasn’t too sure of anything at the moment.
“The others seem pretty convinced that something was going on with Colin.”
Tonya studied her sister. “And you?”
Nicole met her sister’s gaze. “I don’t like the position Colin has put us in. But it does sound like he was being harassed and that he felt threatened.”
“Do you believe he was murdered?”
Nicole let out a sigh. “I hope not. But I agree that the possibility exists.”
Tonya thanked the waiter for their drinks, then asked for a few minutes to look at the menu.
“Do you think one of the other wives did it?” Tonya asked when they were alone again.
Nicole thought about the behavior of the other women over the past few days and shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t.”
“Then who? Who else would have hated Colin enough to kill him?” Tonya watched Nicole cradle the wine glass in front of her.
Nicole shrugged. “I didn’t know about his other two wives. I’m not sure I’m the best one to ask who Colin may have annoyed.”
Tonya glanced down at the menu in front of her. Then she had another thought. “That woman that was asking me questions. What was her name? Megan?”
Nicole nodded.
“Do you think she can figure out who may have killed him?”
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”
***
Megan could hear the others laughing in the living room as she pulled a bottle of wine from the refrigerator. She added it to a tray that already held a platter of snacks that she had on the counter, then turned when she heard Dan come into the kitchen.
“Need help?” Dan walked over to Megan and pulled her into a hug.
Megan smiled into his chest. “How did you know I needed a hug?”
“You looked like it. Is anything wrong?”
Megan raised her head. “Did my parents mention to you that they spoke with the Bennets?”
“Would that be a problem if they did? They grew up together. Maybe they were talking about Erica?”
“Yeah. I guess. It just surprised me when Caitlyn told me about it.” Megan smiled at Dan. “You’re probably right. There’s nothing to it.”
Dan leaned down and kissed her. “Have you heard anything from Lauren or Erica today?”
Megan watched him pick up the tray and began following him back to the living room. “No, and we would have if anything was going on. They’re going to text us.”
Her parents were watching the weather broadcast on the television when they returned to the living room.
“Do you see this?” Sharon asked as she pointed to the television. “It’s snowing like you wouldn’t believe in Colorado already.”
“It’ll be over here before you know it,” Eric said, nodding to his wife. “Good thing we came up early this year. We’ll be gone before it makes it this far east.”
***
Lauren held her breath and waited it out. She was breathing normally again when Justin entered the room.
“My mom will be here soon. How are you doing?” Justin looked at his wife with a practiced eye. He didn’t work the
maternity ward at the hospital, but he’d been present during the births of both of their children.
“I’m good,” Lauren said calmly. “There’s still plenty of time. It probably won’t be tonight.”
Justin nodded. “Still, better safe than sorry. The kids will have fun at my mom’s tonight.”
They heard Mia and Noah excitedly talking in another room.
“She must be here. Are you coming out or do you want to stay here and rest?”
Lauren gave him an indulgent smile. “I can make it to the living room.”
Justin walked behind her down the hall. At another time, he might have mentioned that her waddle had gotten wider. They had been married long enough that he knew now was not the time to bring it up.
“You two have fun at Grandma Bev’s tonight.” Lauren reached her mother-in-law and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Thank you for this.”
Bev smiled back at her fondly. “You take it easy. These two will be fine. I can keep them tomorrow night too.” Bev looked down at her grandchildren. “Come on, you two. We’re going to make some popcorn, sit by a fire, and watch a movie.”
Lauren chuckled as she listened to her children arguing about princesses as they left the house.
***
Erica checked her phone and sighed loudly.
Brad came into the room and stopped when he heard her. “Nothing yet?”
Erica shook her head. “They aren’t returning my calls.”
Brad walked over to the couch. He lifted Erica’s feet a little as he worked his way under them to sit down. Then he rested her legs on his lap and began rubbing Erica’s feet.
“They’ll deal with it eventually.” He had hoped her parents would have come to their senses by now. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Erica jumped a little and brought her hand up to her stomach. Brad watched her hand for a moment, then focused on her face.
“You okay?”
“Must be more of those Braxton hicks things.”
Brad continued to watch Erica. He thought about calling Lauren or Justin to ask for their opinion, but he knew that Lauren was due any time. He didn’t want to bother them, and he didn’t know who else to ask. He’d tried calling Erica’s parents on his own, to get them to see reason. They weren’t returning his calls either. He couldn’t believe they were distancing themselves from Erica now.