Borrowed Time

by Elizabeth Spann Craig

  Luna said, “You mean because Scott was hitting on Felicity?”

  “Exactly. Scott, of all people, knew Kyle had always carried a torch for Felicity, ever since we were kids. I mean, Kyle did see someone else for a while in high school, but then he was back to mooning after Felicity not long afterward. Not that Felicity pays attention enough to realize that.” Kelly snorted. “Her mind is always somewhere else. Maybe business, these days. Anyway, I could see Kyle’s blood pressure going up every time Scott sat next to her or talked to her.”

  Luna said, “And yours too, right? I mean, that was your boyfriend acting that way.”

  Kelly said, “But it wasn’t unusual behavior for Scott and it didn’t mean anything. He was just trying to get under my skin, that’s all. Kyle might have seen it differently, though.”

  I said, “And I’m guessing you think he’s responsible for telling the police you came back to the house?”

  “I don’t really know what to think. But I could see Kyle telling the police for a few reasons. For one, he’s the kind of guy who could possibly fold under pressure. If the police were really pressing him for information, I can see him blurting it right out, even though he knows, of all people, that I’m the last person who’d have killed Scott. Besides, if he saw me arriving, he probably saw me leaving, too. I stormed back out of there just a few minutes later.”

  “Why did you come back?” asked Luna. “Did you forget something at the house?”

  Kelly gave a dry laugh. “Scott texted me to break up with me. Can you believe it?”

  “What?” Luna’s eyes bulged. It still totally sounded to me like something a middle school kid would do to his first girlfriend.

  “That’s what I said. I wasn’t going to let that pass with a texted reply, believe me. I hopped back in the car and drove as fast as I could back over to Grace’s house. I stormed to the pool, figuring he was still there and sure enough, there he was.” A mixture of pain and residual anger were in Kelly’s eyes.

  I said, “What did Scott say?”

  “Nothing. Actually, he kind of looked surprised. Maybe he thought I’d take that lying down and just let the relationship end and was surprised that I had come back over. Maybe he was just shocked to see how mad I really was. I mean, he’d seen me angry plenty of times, right? The two of you saw me angry with him last weekend. But I really saw red this time.”

  “What happened?” breathed Luna as if half expecting Kelly to say she whacked Scott over the head with the champagne bottle.

  “Like I said, Scott didn’t say a word. I ranted at him for three or four minutes straight, telling him he needed to treat me better and stop acting like a spoiled brat. Then I told him under no circumstance would I consider our relationship over and done with—not while he was that drunk, and not via text message. He opened and closed his mouth a few times and then watched me stomp back out of the pool room and head for the driveway.”

  “So he was alive when you last saw him,” said Luna.

  “That’s right. And no, initially I didn’t want to tell the cops I’d gone back to Grace’s house after I’d left. Can you blame me? Scott and I had been fighting all weekend and then he suddenly ended up dead—apparently right after I’d returned to Grace’s house. I was going to be their top suspect.” She gave another dry laugh. “I probably am, anyway. But yes, he was totally alive when I saw him. Not just alive but in the pool and trying to swim. If I hadn’t heard he was murdered, I’d have just assumed he’d drowned . . . he wasn’t being really coordinated after all he’d drunk.” The last words came out in a sob.

  As Kelly struggled to regain control, Luna reached out and gave her a hug. “I just hate that the last time I saw him, we were arguing with each other. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that. At least Roz and I always got along really well. I don’t know what I’d do if she and I had been on bad terms before she died.”

  Luna agreed. “You two always seemed to get along so well.”

  “We never had cross words between us,” said Kelly. She looked at her watch. “I’m sorry. Luna, you’ve just lost your cousin and here I am needing all the support. And the two of you have got to get ready for work. Thanks so much for coming over . . . I think I’m okay now.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Luna, peering at her as if there might be tell-tale signs on Kelly’s face.

  “I am. I’m just going to make a pot of coffee, take a long shower, and get ready for my day,” she said firmly.

  “You won’t take the day off?” I asked.

  “No, I need the distraction. I really need some normalcy, period. I feel like I’ve stepped through the Looking Glass or something. I want a regular day.”

  So Luna promised to check in on Kelly later and she and I headed out.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Thanks for going over there with me,” said Luna as I drove away from Kelly’s house. She gave me a sideways glance. “What did you make of all that?”

  I sighed. “Well, she did come right out and admit she was back over at Grace’s house. Kyle had already told me that after film club yesterday.”

  Luna said, “So I guess Kyle probably told the police about Kelly. Do you think Kelly’s right? Kyle told the cops to deflect attention from himself?”

  “I don’t think he said anything about it. It must have been somebody else. He was adamant he didn’t want to tell the police about Kelly returning to the party.”

  “Okay. Although it really sounds like Scott cheated Kyle out of the money he deserved when he bought him out,” said Luna, frowning.

  “Does that sound like Scott?”

  “It sure does. He was always kind of sly with money that way. I remember back in high school, he had a reputation as a card shark. He’d play poker on the weekends and made a lot of money.”

  I said, “But it sounded like Kyle wasn’t even that upset about getting the short end of the stick when Scott bought him out. It sounded like he might have been more upset over the way Scott was paying attention to Felicity.”

  “Yeah. But he shouldn’t have been. It was pretty obvious to me that Scott was only doing it to get under Kelly’s skin. Every time he sat down next to Felicity or started a conversation with her, he always glanced over at Kelly to see what her reaction was.”

  I said, “But maybe Kyle saw it as a betrayal. Did you remember him always having a crush on Felicity?”

  Luna snorted. “Everybody knew that. For ages.”

  “Except Felicity?”

  “There are none so blind as those who will not see,” quoted Luna loftily.

  I hesitated and then asked quietly, “Can I ask you something about Roz?”

  Luna glanced over at me. “Sure.”

  “Grace mentioned being worried about her drinking. She said something about Roz packing her own alcohol for the party.”

  “What?” Luna snorted. “No way. Why would Grace say that?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t have any idea. She seemed to believe it, though.”

  “Maybe Roz just brought some extra alcohol along to contribute to the party in case Grace got low. Not that it was needed. Anyway, no, Roz didn’t have a drinking problem. Did she drink too much the night Scott died? Definitely. I saw her slug down those two glasses of champagne. But she was just blowing off steam. That definitely wasn’t a normal thing for her.”

  I dropped Luna by her house and then headed home so I could do a few things before going to the library. My head was spinning and I needed to focus before work. Once I got home, Fitz came immediately over to love on me as if he could sense I needed comfort. I sat down with him and a cup of Irish breakfast tea on the sofa and softly stroked him for about thirty minutes while he purred loudly. Then I ran a brush through my hair, touched up my makeup, and Fitz and I left for the library.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a busy enough morning to distract me much from my thoughts and it seemed to be quiet in the children’s area, too. I kept busy by shelving books and putting requested book
s on the hold shelf. I did have one research request that kept me occupied for about forty minutes—a deep dive finding information on a patron’s mother’s medical issue—but still the minutes crept by.

  At eleven o’clock, the library door swung open and I was surprised to see Grace Armstrong standing there. Well, surprised and not surprised at the same time. I hadn’t really been expecting her to drop by the library, but it made sense that she’d try to get in contact with Luna or me about Roz’s death. She’d want to find out more information about what happened and she’d have realized we were probably at work.

  Wilson, who seemed to always have some sort of radar when it came to library trustees, or apparently donors, immediately popped out of his office. He straightened his already-perfectly-straight tie as he strode over.

  “It’s so good to see you,” he said smoothly, holding his hand out to Grace.

  She smiled at him and shook his hand.

  “Ann and Luna said you received a tour the last time you were here. Would you be interested in hearing some of the ideas I have for using your kind donation?” asked Wilson.

  Grace seemed to be an expert at politely bypassing things she didn’t want to do. “You know, that sounds like a great idea, but I’d like to do it another time, if that’s all right with you. I was just dropping by to see if Ann and Luna were available for lunch again.”

  “Both of us?” I asked. It was already unprecedented that Luna and I had both been away from the library simultaneously for the weekend party, the lunch, and Scott’s funeral. Ordinarily, the library would want to have either the children’s librarian or me available.

  A crease of irritation appeared between Wilson’s eyebrows as he looked at me. “Certainly, both of you, if that’s what Grace wants.”

  I was trying to adjust to this new, alternate reality as Grace said quickly, “Of course, if it’s not convenient . . .”

  “It’s more than convenient. After all, it’s been a very quiet day here at the library. Enjoy your lunch, Ann. Take as long as you need. I’ll let Luna know.” Then, straightening his tie one last, unnecessary time, he hurried off to the children’s section.

  Grace chuckled. “Why do I get the feeling that you and Luna don’t usually have lunch together?”

  I said dryly, “Because it’s completely unheard of, as you’ve guessed.”

  “I seem to be wielding a lot of power here,” said Grace with a smile. “It wasn’t even that big of a donation.”

  “It doesn’t take much,” I said. But I was aware of the size of Grace’s donation. If she didn’t think it was a large one, she was even wealthier than I’d thought.

  Luna hurried toward us. “Lunch?” she breathlessly asked.

  Grace’s face turned solemn. “Yes. And Luna, I’m so sorry about Roz. I wanted to check in with both of you and I figured lunch was the best way to do it. Should we go somewhere different this time?”

  Remembering the huge amount of food we’d gotten last time, I nodded. I was also going to try to pay for my own meal this time. “There’s a vegan deli that’s down the street that’s really good, if you’re not familiar with it. And there’s always Quittin’ Time,” I added in a wry voice. I didn’t think Quittin’ Time was probably up Grace’s alley, but the deli might be.

  As I’d expected, she immediately latched onto the idea of eating vegan. “It was actually one of my resolutions this year to try to have more veggie days. Let’s try the deli.”

  I was a little worried that Luna might confront Grace about the fact she’d told me Roz was packing her own alcohol for the party. Luna read my mind and whispered, “Don’t worry. I won’t say a thing.”

  I was glad that (after a few protests), Grace let Luna and me pay for our own food. I never really like to be beholden to people and was starting to get that uncomfortable feeling with Grace. I ordered a veggie burger and a side of sweet potato fries and Luna and Grace both got the portabella wrap with grilled vegetables on the side.

  When we were halfway through our meal, Grace turned somber again. “Luna, once again, I’m so sorry about your cousin. Did you find out any information from the police as to what they think happened? Or who they might be looking for? It just seems completely unbelievable that this has happened again.”

  Luna said, “I just know that it wasn’t an accident—that Roz was murdered. They didn’t say anything about who they were looking for. I guess most people won’t have much of an alibi since it happened in the middle of the night. We’ll all say we were asleep in our beds.”

  Grace nodded. “Ironically, last night was one of the only good nights of sleep I’ve had since Scott died. I’m usually tossing and turning like crazy in my bed every night. Then, when I do sleep, I have these really awful nightmares. But last night I slept like a baby. Then I was getting ready for work when the police came by.”

  Luna’s eyes were huge. “The police came by to talk to you? Why?”

  “I’m guessing they’re going to talk to everyone who was at my party last weekend. And who can blame them? This isn’t exactly a town with a big crime problem. It’s normal for them to look for a connection.” Grace shook her head. “I can see somebody getting mad enough at Scott to murder him. But Roz? What on earth could anybody have had against Roz?”

  We sat quietly for a few moments and I said carefully, “Like you, I have a hard time thinking someone was upset directly at Roz. I’m wondering if maybe Roz saw or heard something the night Scott died and maybe that’s the reason someone came after her.”

  “What a terrible world we live in,” said Grace. “Roz didn’t say anything to me about seeing something. Did she say anything to either of you?”

  I shook my head and so did Luna.

  Grace sighed. “Maybe it’s one of those things where we’ll never know what really happened. That seems like a reasonable guess, though. Believe it or not, it makes me feel a little better. I hated thinking that someone—someone I knew—would do something so senseless.”

  Luna said, “I wish it made me feel better. I’m still sort of numb.”

  Grace gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m surprised you made it to work today. Is Wilson that bad to work for?”

  Luna shook her head. “I’m sure he’d have let me take the day off. But the truth of the matter is that if I’d have stayed home with my mom, I’d have probably ended up thinking about Roz all day and feeling sad. At least at work I’m distracted. I don’t have as much time to just sit around and think. I mean, it could be busier at the library today, but it’s still better than being at home.”

  Grace grimaced. “And here I am making you talk about it. Sorry, that was pretty thoughtless of me.”

  “No, I don’t mind. It would be weird not to talk about it at all. It would be like I was ignoring Roz or trying to put her out of my head.” She frowned. “Anyway, I want to find out who did this. I mean, it was upsetting when Scott died at your party, Grace. But this was Roz. Did you give the police any direction at all when you talked to them? Who do you think might have done this?” asked Luna.

  Grace hesitated and then said cautiously, “Well, I didn’t really tell them anything because I don’t know anything. It’s just me guessing and guessing doesn’t seem really fair. It’s like I’m pointing a finger for no real reason.”

  Luna said with a touch of impatience in her voice, “But who are you thinking of when you’re making your guesses? It’s just Ann and me.”

  Grace paused again and then reluctantly said, “I mentioned Kyle to them. But I felt bad doing it. I was with both of them a couple of weeks ago at lunch and Kyle blew up at Scott out of the clear blue.”

  I asked, “Blew up at him?”

  She nodded. “He was ranting like I’ve never heard him do before. Kyle is always so measured with everything he says and does. And Scott hasn’t always been the best friend to Kyle, but Kyle has never said a word against him. And if somebody else says something bad about Scott, Kyle always has stepped in and defended him.”
r />   Luna said, “What kinds of things was Kyle saying?”

  Grace gave a short laugh. “I was trying so hard to just disappear that I don’t think I even listened to half of it. But it was what I’d have thought he’d rant about. The fact that Scott wasn’t fair to him when he bought him out. Stuff like that. He really lost it.”

  “That must have made for a really uncomfortable lunch,” I said.

  Grace shrugged. “Just as soon as it started, it was over. And Kyle seemed completely deflated like there wasn’t an ounce of anger left in him anymore. It just made me wonder if maybe he was capable of lashing out at Scott again. After all, I don’t think what happened to Scott was planned, right? It was just somebody who’d had too much to drink, wasn’t thinking clearly, and got really upset with Scott. And, let’s face it: Scott was in a frame of mind to make people upset.” She shook her head. “Once again, I’m really sorry I put that group of people together. It’s amazing how well we all got on when we were young.” She laughed, a little bitterly. “You won’t believe it, but I used to have the biggest crush on Scott in high school.”

  Luna said, “People change though, and not always in good ways. Scott was obviously a different person.”

  Conversation switched to lighter topics then as we finished up our lunch and Grace took us back to the library.

  Luna headed to the children’s section to get ready for her preschool storytime and I headed for the periodical area, remembering one thing I needed to follow up on.

  When I approached Linus, he politely stood up from his armchair, carefully placing a bookmark in the biography he was reading.

  I gave him a reassuring smile since he looked just slightly anxious. “Hey there, Linus. Just wanted to let you know that despite the posters and the social media posts and the things we’ve put on online lost-and-found pet forums, there has been no response. Just people asking if the dog was up for adoption.”