“Yeah, I guess I’d better.”

“I bet you’ll run into Eddie Striker,” Pepper teased in a singsong voice.

My stomach did a flip-flop and the teacup clattered in the saucer as I put it down. I felt my cheeks burn. What was up with that? Had it been so long since I’d had a date that even the mention of a cute guy made me act like a teenager?

And come to think of it, the abrasive, annoying Sheriff Striker wasn’t even all that cute.

I faux smiled at Pepper. “Funny.”

My stomach felt a little queasy as I turned and started toward the door, pushing thoughts of Eddie Striker out of my mind and replacing them with ideas on how to find Lavinia’s killer.

By the time I got outside, I’d forgotten all about Striker. My mind so focused on how to investigate the few clues I had, that I didn’t even realize I’d sucked down the entire cup of tea.

***

The air had grown heavy with moisture and I wished I’d been smart enough to bring a raincoat. I realized ruefully that the time I’d spent that morning taming my hair had been in vain—the rain would make it go wild and it would re-arrange itself however it wanted.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked down the side street that led to the church. Lavinia’s family had decided on a short graveside ceremony, so I skirted the perimeter of the church to get to the graveyard behind it.

The cemetery was on a hill with the older graves at the bottom and newer ones at the top. I could already see people starting to gather about three quarters of the way up and I picked up the pace, passing the old-fashioned gravestones with their strange etchings on the way.

A mist had formed on the hill and it hung low to the ground, creating a ghostly effect that I thought was quite appropriate for Lavinia’s funeral. My leg started to ache halfway up the hill and I was limping by the time I reach the site where several mourners were already gathered.

Lavinia didn’t have any children or husband left living, just two sisters, their frail bodies huddled around the hole in the ground that would eventually become the final resting place of Lavinia’s earthly remains. Her sisters seemed genuinely upset and I had already decided they were too frail to be considered as suspects. Was there someone else here who could be the killer?

I scanned the crowd, recognizing most of the people. It had started to drizzle and I noticed most everyone wore a raincoat or trench coat. I automatically started checking to see if any of them were navy blue.