Colin:????????????I … um … look. I sort of … started talking to someone after Savvy left and one thing led to another …
Ben:???????????????And you left with her?
Colin:????????????Yeah.
Ben:???????????????So, your alibi, that you told the police. That you went home and were there all night. That wasn’t true?
Colin:????????????I mean … I was home by like three a.m.
Ben:???????????????The coroner put Savvy’s death somewhere between midnight and three a.m. So you were actually out and about during the time she was killed.
Colin:????????????It sounds bad when you put it like that. I wasn’t out and about. I was with this woman, and then I went home.
Ben:???????????????She could vouch for you?
Colin:????????????Not … I mean, she wouldn’t.
Ben:???????????????Why not?
Colin:????????????She wasn’t exactly … single.
Ben:???????????????She was in a relationship.
Colin:????????????Yes.
Ben:???????????????You went to her house?
Colin:????????????No …
Ben:???????????????Where’d you go?
Colin:????????????Just her car. She drove it a little bit down the road and we just … I don’t think anyone at the wedding even noticed we were gone. They definitely didn’t notice I was gone, anyway. If her husband was suspicious, I don’t know.
Ben:???????????????And then she drove you home?
Colin:????????????No, I walked. She had to get home.
Ben:???????????????You walked home, alone, at what? One a.m.? Two? In the rain?
Colin:????????????It’s a safe town, man.
Ben:???????????????I’m just trying to clarify the timeline here. You were out, alone, during the time Savvy was killed. But you lied to the police and said you walked home right after she left.
Colin:????????????I didn’t kill her.
Ben:???????????????But this is the correct timeline now?
Colin:????????????I didn’t kill her.
Yo, can we start again? I feel like I messed this up.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LUCY
Did you call Ben?
I glance down at the text Grandma just sent me.
“You’re sure you don’t want roses? Your mom said pink roses.” The florist frowns at me suspiciously, like I’ve come into her shop with the intention of ruining my grandma’s birthday party.
I press the call button on my phone and put Grandma on speaker. She picks up right away.
“Hello?”
“Grandma. Opinion on pink roses?”
“Tell your mother I will vomit on her pink roses.”
I raise my eyebrows at the florist. She purses her thin, red lips, like she’s very insulted on behalf of pink roses everywhere.
I take Grandma off speaker and press the phone to my ear. “Party planning is going terribly and your birthday is going to be a disaster.”
“Can’t wait. Have you listened to today’s interview with Colin? Did you call Ben?”
“I’m still thinking, traitor. I’ll call you later, okay? I have to stop this pink roses disaster.”
“Oh yes, please do.”
I press end on the call and return my attention to the red-faced florist.
“Gerber daisies. No roses of any color.”
* * *
I return to my parents’ house to find Mom trying to sweep the floor with one hand while holding on to a single crutch with the other. I drop my purse on the kitchen table and take the broom from her.
“Thank you, hon. The girls are coming over in about ten minutes and I can’t have this place looking like a pigsty.” She fluffs her hair, which is already fluffy enough to make most southern women proud.
“Who are the girls?” I sweep some crumbs out of a corner and into the pile.
Mom hobbles over to the couch. “Just some friends. They come over every other week for tea. We do a book club sometimes, but not today. We just did a book last week.”
“Which one?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I never read them. Who has the patience for reading anymore?”
I snort as I sweep the dirt into the dustpan. She twists around to look at me.
“You stopped by the restaurant to look at the room?”
“Yes. It’s very nice.”
“And approve the menu?”
“They gave me a sample of their meatballs. Highly recommended.” I dump out the dustpan and return the broom to the closet.
“I heard from Janice today that she and your uncle Keith are all booked at the inn, so no need to worry about that. Ashley and Brian too.”
“I was definitely not worried about that.”