Homecoming and Homicide by Kathi Daley

Author:Kathi Daley [Daley, Kathi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathi Daley Books
Published: 2024-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Everything on the rooftop looked perfect by the time the alumni began to arrive for the cocktail reception. Dawson was handling the bar with Beck’s help while Nikki, Charmaine, and two of our summer-only servers circulated the room with trays of appetizers. It appeared everyone was having a wonderful time catching up with one another. There was a lot of laughter, and it seemed as though most were happy to be here.

Of course, as time passed and the alcohol continued to flow, things began to get rowdy. In fact, the noise level had reached the point where I was glad we’d decided to put the group on the roof rather than in the bar next to the dining room as we’d initially considered.

“It looks like everyone is having a good time,” I said to Lacy, who’d accepted Sherrylee’s offer to work the registration table that evening.

“It does appear that way,” she agreed. She glanced at Gwendolyn, who was sitting alone at a table near the bar, pounding down shots. “At least it appears most are having a wonderful time.”

“I wonder if something happened,” I commented. “Gwendolyn seemed to be in a melancholy sort of mood when I spoke to her earlier, but it also seemed as if she was determined to make the best of it. She did show up to help with the decorating.”

“She did. And she seemed to be in a pretty good mood.”

“I’m going to go over and talk to her,” I said. “I know I really don’t know the woman, but we did chat a bit this afternoon, and sometimes having a stranger to talk to is easier than trying to talk to the very people who make you feel sad.”

Lacy agreed that might be a good idea, so I headed across the tile floor.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked, nodding to the empty chair across from her.

“No. Help yourself.”

I sat down, pulled a shoe off, and rubbed my foot. “Thanks. Given all the running around I’ve been doing, I really needed to sit for a minute.”

She smiled. “I guess Sherrylee has kept you running this week.”

“And how.” I looked out toward the horizon. “It sure is a gorgeous night.”

“It is.” She poured another drink from the bottle she had. “In a way, it makes me feel all that much worse.”

The woman pounded down the shot. She was slurring her words a bit, but she didn’t seem to be falling down drunk. In my experience, some people could hold their liquor better than others.

“Are you still struggling with the regrets you mentioned earlier?” I asked.

She poured another shot and swirled it around in the glass while she stared at it. “I guess maybe I am.” She drank it, set the glass on the table, and then looked me in the eye. “Have you ever done anything in your life that was so awful that you couldn’t find a way to forget about it or even live in peace with it, no matter how hard you

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