Belinda Blake and the Birds of a Feather by Heather Day Gilbert

Author:Heather Day Gilbert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2019-10-29T20:18:03+00:00

14

“Mom, do you think you could visit Tracy van Dusen today?” I asked, as I put the finishing touches on my turkey sandwich.

Mom glanced up from her plate. “Why?”

“We’re still looking into things and I had a few questions for her, but I didn’t want to approach her on my own. I thought if you went, it’d seem more natural if I just came in to retrieve you and struck up a conversation.”

Mom shook her head. “I wish I could help you out, but I’m having Mikey Dawson over to help me build a little barn for the alpacas. He’s in school, so this is the only day he could help.”

“Sure. No problem,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.

Mom gave me a long look. “How about this, though—what if I invited the van Dusen family over for a meal after church tomorrow? I know you’ll have to head back soon, and that wouldn’t seem too out of the ordinary for me to have them over to visit with us.”

“Would you, Mom? That’d be great. I’ll cook and everything.”

Mom smiled. “You won’t get any argument from me, since I have to be outside today. You might need to run into town and get some ingredients, though, since my cupboards are nearly bare.” She munched on a bite, then asked, “Why don’t you invite Jonas for Sunday dinner, too?”

What a great idea. It’d give me a little more time to talk with one of my favorite people. “You’re quite resourceful, Mom. I’ll ask him.”

Mom beamed at me.

After lunch, I took stock of our supplies and made a list of things I’d need for the Sunday meal, which would feature a large beef roast from the freezer. After setting the roast out to thaw, I grabbed several of Mom’s reusable shopping bags and took Bluebell into the small grocery store in town.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw Tori’s pea-green car. At least I knew she was still alive after her rather harried one-on-one with Peter Bear.

I rounded the corner at the bakery and noted that Tori had showered and gotten dressed in proper clothes for this shopping expedition. She was placing pastries in a box as I stepped over toward her.

“Everything okay?” I asked. “You seemed kind of upset earlier.”

She wasn’t hostile, like she’d been at Peter’s house. In fact, she seemed almost cheery. “I’m fine now. I just had something I needed to talk to Peter about.”

“I’m so sorry about Rosalee,” I said. Realizing Peter might not have told Tori that Rosalee had been killed with Ativan, I tried to stay vague. “It’s just unthinkable.”

Tori’s smile disappeared and she closed the lid on the pastry box—but not before I saw that she’d only chosen two pastries. I glanced into the shopping basket on her arm. It held two bottles of sparkling water and two fancy pieces of stuffed salmon.

“Yes, it is,” she said. “Rosalee was a good friend,” she added.

But it rang false. I wondered if Rosalee was just another woman who’d gotten in Tori’s way.

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