by R A Wallace
None of them could bring themselves to believe that the kind, gentle, funny man could ever lead such a duplicitous life. And yet, here they were. Alaina parked her car in front of Hilary’s house and sat there for a moment, collecting her thoughts. The last time the three wives had been together, they had argued incessantly. They had just learned that their husband had not been the man they thought they knew. Their emotions had been raw.
Alaina wanted to avoid that this afternoon. At least for herself. She would like to leave this meeting with her head held high, knowing that she had opted to take the high road. Screaming at the other women would solve nothing. Taking a deep breath to fuel her resolve, she got out of her car and walked to the front door.
***
Nicole Boswell sat quietly in a comfortable chair in a room that held pictures of her husband with another woman. Try as she might, Nicole couldn’t bring herself to blame the other woman. Indeed, looking just at the math, Nicole was the other woman. After all, Colin had married the other two women before her.
She still couldn’t believe that any of it had happened. She had no idea how to move forward from here. She knew that some small part of her felt relieved when Linda had called her about meeting this afternoon. Maybe together, they could begin to make sense of what had happened. Not only in reference to Colin’s death, but also to their future. How were they planning to deal with it all?
Nicole was pulled from her reverie when Megan returned to the living room with Alaina following her. The three wives looked at each other with a small measure of distrust evident in their faces. Nicole had no idea what to say to break the tension. From the look on their faces, neither did Hilary or Alaina.
Megan looked around the room during the silence that followed. She still wasn’t sure what Hilary was hoping to gain from the meeting, but Megan had promised the women that she would try to learn what she could of the circumstances. She broke the silence and explained to them everything that she had learned. By the time she was done speaking, the distrust that she had seen earlier was gone. It was replaced with something that looked like resolve.
“You’re saying it wasn’t an accident?” Alaina asked.
“How could it be?” Hilary asked. “How else would you explain the notes?”
“And the other things Megan said. About someone following Colin too closely?” Nicole added.
Alaina nodded. “And the phone calls that people overheard.”
“What should we do?” Nicole asked.
Hilary took a deep breath as she considered it. “The harmony competition is this weekend,” she said slowly.
“What about it?” Alaina asked.
“Colin would have been in the competition,” Hilary said absently as she continued to think the situation through.
“He would?” Nicole asked. She looked in surprise at the other two women.
Hilary drew her brows together. “He didn’t compete when he was…when he was with you?”
Alaina and Nicole shook their heads.
“He sang all the time,” Nicole said.
“That was what attracted…” Alaina halted then began again. “I really liked his singing.”
“I wonder why he didn’t compete when he was with either of you?” Hilary muttered.
“Maybe he was worried that he would be found out?” Megan suggested.
The others turned to her.
Megan shrugged. “Well, think about it. He couldn’t have a different wife with him every time he showed up at a competition. Someone would have noticed.”
Megan drew her brows together and thought about the notes. “Then again, maybe someone did.”
“I know who you are!” Nicole said excitedly. “That’s what the note said. Someone figured it out.”
Linda had been watching the women quietly. She was surprised to see that they were working together to figure out the mystery around Colin’s death.
“You think someone figured out that Colin was married to all of you?” Linda asked.
Nicole shrugged. “What else could it mean? Didn’t one of the notes say I’m watching you? That must mean that someone did, and that they’d been following him around.”
“Who could have figured it out?” Linda asked.
There was silence while everyone considered it.
“Maybe someone from one of our towns? That makes sense, doesn’t it? It would have to be someone he knew, right?” Alaina said slowly.
“Or someone from the harmony circuit,” Hilary said slowly. “Those competitions could be pretty cutthroat, even when there wasn’t much of a prize. The contestants took all of that very seriously.”
Megan agreed. “Even the competition this weekend. It’s only bragging rights if they win, really. I mean, they’ll get to make some public performances in town afterward, but that’s really it.”
“And all of the contestants take it very seriously,” Linda added. “Some of them practice for months in advance for it.”
Nicole blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m not sure how this helps us.”
Hilary looked around the room. “Can we all agree that his accident was no accident?”
Alaina and Nicole nodded. Linda looked to Megan.
“It appears as though someone was threatening Colin in some way, perhaps to expose him. He would have taken that very seriously. He appeared to be upset on more than one occasion prior to his death,” Megan said. “He was also heard saying something about money.”
“You think he was being blackmailed?” Linda asked. “By someone who’d found out about what Colin was up to?”
“It might have been someone from one of our communities, or maybe the competition community.” Hilary looked at the other women. “There is a competition this weekend, here in Teaberry. It isn’t a major competition, but it does draw in a lot of spectators who enjoy harmony. People usually come from all over.”
“You think the killer might come to the competition?” Nicole asked.
“How would we figure out who it was?” Alaina said in a frustrated voice. “Someone would have to ask them questions.”
The three wives looked at Megan.
“It would be better if Megan could talk to people from our communities too,” Nicole pointed out.
Hilary chewed her lip. “If I had known that before, I would have asked her to do that at the funeral.”
“But the people Colin knew from our life in Ohio weren’t there,” Alaina pointed out.
“Or mine in West Virginia,” Nicole added.
“What about a wake?” Hilary said suddenly. “You could invite the people from your communities.”
Alaina and Nicole shared a look, then shrugged. It was worth a try.
“When would we have it?” Nicole asked.
“The competition is Saturday. What if we hold the wake late on Friday? That way, anyone who would have been at the competition will still be able to make it to both?” Hilary looked around the room at everyone.
“I’m in,” Alaina and Nicole said at the same time.
Megan took a deep breath. Then she nodded. But she wasn’t doing anything until she talked to Jerry again.
“Oh!” Alaina exclaimed as she looked at Nicole and Hilary. “It just occurred to me. What if there are more of us?”
Chapter Twenty
He slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around her to nuzzle her neck. “This is my favorite time of the year.”
Sharon laughed. “You always loved turkey.”
“Actually, I think my favorite is the stuffing, but yeah.” Eric released her and leaned against the counter to watch her as she worked. “You don’t cook like this in Florida.”
“I don’t think we could eat a turkey this large with just the two of us.” Sharon continued to ladle some of the juice from the turkey pan. “Okay, ready to put this guy back in the oven until everyone else gets here and it’s time to carve it.”
She moved out of the way so that Eric could do the heavy lifting.
&nb
sp; “Do you need help with the potatoes?” Eric asked after closing the oven door.
“No, I’m good. Megan should be back soon.”
Eric removed the oven mitts from his hands. “That sounds like her truck now. Should we tell her?”
Sharon considered it for a moment, then shook her head. “No. Let’s wait and see how it goes.”
Megan smiled when she entered the rear door into the kitchen. “Oh, that smells great.”
She took her coat to the hall closet, then returned to begin working in the kitchen. After glancing around, she realized that her parents already had much of the work for the dinner completed.
“Thanks so much for everything. Dan should be here soon also.” Megan checked the potatoes on the stove with a fork. They were cooked, they just needed to be mashed. The stock from the turkey giblets was done and her mom had already ladled a little of the juice from the turkey to add to it. She just needed to strain the stock and add the juice and corn starch. Megan had made a salad and the rest of the cold foods, such as the cranberry relish, the previous evening.
“Does that mean it’s time to open the wine?” Eric asked hopefully.
Megan nodded. She could use a glass. Dan arrived before Eric finished pouring. As the four of them worked to get the dinner to the table, Megan explained her day. They were seated at the dinner table when she finally finished.
“Do you think it’s wise?” Dan asked. “Trying to draw out someone like that?”
“I was about to ask the same thing,” Eric said as he passed the tureen of stuffing to Dan.
“I did speak with Jerry, so he knows about everything.” Megan held the mashed potatoes while Dan spooned some onto his plate. Then she passed the bowl to her mother.
“How was your day? Did you have a chance to visit with any of your friends before you came back to work on dinner?” Megan glanced at her parents. She saw them share a look, but her attention was interrupted when Dan passed her the gravy. When she looked back at them, both of her parents were looking at her.
“We did. We ran into Cy Douglass. He was telling us that a new cat he just adopted had kittens. He’s hoping to find homes for some of them.” Sharon smiled brightly at her husband.
Eric shook his head and turned to Dan. “I keep telling her we aren’t taking any to Florida with us.”
Dan smiled but wisely stayed out of the discussion.
“He also mentioned that he thinks someone has been out at his farm when he wasn’t there.” Sharon ladled gravy on her food, then set the gravy bowl down.
Megan remembered what Rhys and Jerry had told her about Cy calling them out. Something pulled at her brain but then her mom started speaking again.
“Anyway, we’re hoping to catch up with more people tomorrow. And, of course, we’ll see a lot of people on Saturday at the competition.” Sharon held her fork poised over her plate. “This dinner is awesome, but I can’t wait until breakfast tomorrow.”
Dan looked around the table at all the amazing food. “How can breakfast top this?”
“Megan makes her stuffing strata with the leftovers. That was always one of my favorite parts.”
Dan turned to Megan. “You use the stuffing as the bottom layer for the strata? That does sound interesting.”
“Sometimes she uses stuffing for her meatloaf, too,” Eric said.
Dan thought about it. “That sounds good, too. I like it when she puts the leftover stuffing in the scrambled eggs in the morning with anything else we have left over like potatoes, bacon, or sausage. It’s like a breakfast scramble with everything in one pan.” He looked over at Megan and grinned. “You should have made more stuffing.”
“When do your guests start arriving?” Eric asked.
“Friday evening,” Megan said. “We’ll have a full house for the weekend, but you know everyone. They’ve stayed here before.”
“Do the same couples stay here for the competition each year?” Dan asked.
Megan nodded. “Two of the couples are from out of town. They just like to spend the weekend here. They stay for the competition, eat at the restaurants, and then do some shopping.”
“The other couple used to live here years ago, Martin and Gabby Varney. We went to school with them,” Eric said.
“Varney. I remember that name,” Dan said as he reached for the turkey platter again.
Eric watched Dan load his plate up again. “I used to be able to eat like that.”
Sharon pushed her plate away. “I need to call it quits for now. I’ll keep nibbling all night though.” She picked up her wine glass and cradled it with both hands as she looked across the table. “It was worth the drive from Florida. If we could trust the weather, we’d come later in the month.”
Eric turned to Dan. “We tried that the year I retired. But we got stuck in a snow storm on our way back up.”
“We missed Thanksgiving altogether,” Sharon added.
“I had a lot of leftovers that year,” Megan said.
***
Megan peered out the kitchen window as she washed the pots and pans. Once she rinsed them, her mom dried them and put them away.
“This is the part about Thanksgiving that I don’t miss,” Sharon said as she made a face.
“We’re almost done,” Megan said absently as she watched for the men. “They’re taking their time out there tonight.”
Sharon glanced toward the window and smiled to herself behind Megan’s back. “I’m sure they’re just waiting until the dishes are done before coming back into the house.”
“Dan has been out there a lot lately, working in the barn. He says I’m not allowed to ask questions because it’s too close to Christmas.”
Sharon bent to put another pot into the cupboard, then straightened and leaned against the counter as she waited for the next pot.
“Sounds like a good problem to have.”
Megan thought about the many nights her first husband had left her alone to chase after other women. “Good point. Dan is the opposite of Josh, though.”
Sharon narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “That he is. We’re so glad that Dan finally convinced you to give him a chance.”
“I think I just needed a lot of time to heal.”
“Josh was a handful. No offense, but anyone could see that.”
“Well, not everyone.” Megan rinsed the last pot and set it in the other sink. Then she pulled the plug on the first one and let the water drain.
“Yes, his parents were always blind to him also.”
Megan shrugged. “He was their only son.”
Sharon nodded slowly. “But not their only child.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Caitlyn lifted the flower arrangement and examined it critically. The arrangement contained some of her most favorite flowers, and she took extra pleasure in making it whenever anyone ordered it. When the bells on the door rang, she set it down and poked her head through the doorway into the front room.
“Back here,” she called to Megan.
Megan walked into the workroom in the rear a moment later. She unzipped her coat and leaned against a counter to watch Caitlyn continue working.
“Dan said he has everything ready for you tomorrow.”
“Excellent.” Each year, Anderson Florist was responsible for decorating the stage where the harmony contestants performed. Caitlyn used a mix of cut flower arrangements from her shop and potted mums from Dan’s stock. The potted flowers were auctioned off after the contest and the cut flower arrangements were given away as part of the raffle winnings.
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” Megan asked. Caitlyn had texted Megan and asked her to stop by.
“I’ve been hearing some rumors about Colin Boswell and his three wives.” Caitlyn looked up at Megan. “That still boggles my mind.”
Megan agreed.
“Anyway, it reminded me that I did once fill an order from Colin for another woman. I didn’t really think about it much at the time.”
“Do you still have the record?” Megan asked.
“Yeah. We keep everything on the computer. It was for someone named Nicole.”
Megan gave a sigh of relief. “That’s his third wife. I was worried that you were going to tell me a name I hadn’t heard of yet.”
Caitlyn’s eyes flew to Megan. “You think he had more wives?”
Megan shrugged. “The three I know about were wondering the same thing.”
Caitlyn realized her mouth was still open. She closed her mouth and shook her head. “Are you working on the puzzle? I mean, I thought his death was an accident.”
Megan explained what she had learned so far.
Caitlyn considered it as she continued to work. Finally, she said, “I hope Jerry agreed with all of that.”
“He still isn’t certain there’s been anything illegal, but he’s willing to be involved in case there was.”
“Do you think Erica will go back to work once the twins are born?” Caitlyn stopped moving and looked at Megan.
Megan hadn’t actually considered it. She’d just assumed that Erica would. “I can’t imagine her staying away from police work. Can you?”
“Not really, but I’ve never asked her either. And women have been known to change when they have children,” Caitlyn pointed out.
Megan knew that was true.
“How is she doing anyway? Do you know if she’s close?” Caitlyn began working on the arrangement again.
“I expect both Lauren and Erica to go any day now. Lauren is much farther along in her pregnancy, of course. But Erica lasted longer than her doctor thought she would, given that it’s twins.” Megan watched Caitlyn set the finished arrangement aside then begin to pull out more materials from the cupboards that lined the walls around the room.
“I can’t wait to see the babies. But, that was only part of what I wanted to tell you.” Caitlyn set the materials down on the island in the center of the room where she did all of her work. She played with some ribbon while she hesitated.
Megan drew her brows together. She had rarely seen Caitlyn at a loss for words. “What?”
