I draw a line through their names. “I agree. Possible, but not likely.”

“What if it’s just animal blood under the table?” Chase asks. “What if he found the necklace out on the road maybe?”

“Then we’re back to square one. But why wouldn’t he have taken it straight to the sheriff? Why keep it if not to protect somebody?”

CHAPTER 37 - Molly

CHAPTER 37

Molly

HAYES IS UPSET. I CAN TELL AS SOON AS I WALK THROUGH THE BOOKSTORE door. He’s sorting a box next to the front register, and there’s a line between his eyebrows that he gets when he’s thinking or brooding over something.

“Hey,” I say. He looks up, gives me something between a smirk and a smile.

“You’re early,” he says.

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep. So I decided to get ready for the day and come in.”

He nods. “Are you okay, Molly?”

“Yes. I’m fine,” I say with as much conviction as I can muster. “How’s Alice?”

“She says she’s fine.” He slams a book on the HOLD shelf behind him. “I never should’ve let her go yesterday.”

My heart hammers. My fault. “I didn’t know anything like that was going to happen, Hayes. I wouldn’t have taken her up there if I’d thought . . . It was supposed to be just routine. Detective Myers said they just wanted to look through the house. Nothing bad was supposed to happen.”

Hayes straightens, looks at me, his eyes soften. “Sorry. I know this has got to be hard on you.” He comes out from behind the counter and wraps me in his arms. I relax against his shoulder.

I take a deep breath and sniff back tears. “I’m so sorry,” I mumble.

“Look, I don’t blame you. How would you know they were going to find that woman buried by the river?”

I pull away and wipe my eyes on a tissue. “It’s all so surreal.”

“Do they have any theories?”

“I have no idea, but I think Jay is a suspect.” I manage a disgusted laugh. “But what are they going to do, arrest a dead man?” Tears start to flow again at my own flippant words. Hayes rubs my back.

“Why don’t you go check on Alice. She’s in my office doing her schoolwork.”

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll go dry my face first.” I glance around the store. “Then I’ll get busy.”

* * *

The bookstore closes at eight o’clock on Friday in the winter, and I usually work until six. Hayes has left to take Alice to the hobby store to get supplies for a school project and is coming back to close, so Sharon and I are the only ones here. It has been slow all day. We’ve had a steady snowfall, and all the shops on the square have been quiet.