Amy leaned closer and whispered, “Are we supposed to go over to interrogate them?”
“No. We’re supposed to eat our lunch and let the trained professionals do their job. But I have an idea.” I called over our waitress. “See the couple in the booth over there? Would you hold on to their check if they try to cash out? That’s my husband’s best friend and they haven’t seen each other in a long time. He’ll be here in just a few minutes.”
The girl smiled. “I can do that. Although I don’t think they’ll be leaving soon; they just ordered food.”
“Perfect. Thanks for your help.” I turned back to Amy. “There we go.”
“She’ll know you lied when the police show up.”
“Not my usual restaurant. And I’ll leave a good tip.” I focused on finishing my lunch.
When Greg came in he stopped by our booth first. “Where are they?”
I nodded toward the booth. “Over there.”
“Who’s the girl?” He slipped onto the bench next to me and ate a few of my fries.
“That’s Candice Frey. She came into the shop this morning and got some books to read because she’s going to be stuck here. Then I heard her talking about Steve to someone at his company.” I filled him in on what I knew.
“Okay, then. See you at home.” He glanced at the food. “Are you two about done?”
“We can be,” Amy said. “But I’d really like to stay to see the show.”
“Jill can call you once I fill her in tonight. Let’s just get you guys out of here and on your way home, okay?” He stared at both of us.
“Yes, Greg.” I waved our waitress over. “I’m going to the store before I head home.”
He pulled out his wallet. “My treat for the information. CIs get paid.”
“And snitches get stitches,” Amy added. “Let’s get out of here.”
Amy had followed me in her car from the catering place, so I told her goodbye and headed back to the supermarket to do my shopping. I’d add a couple of quarts of ice cream, just in case it took Greg some time to get home tonight.
When I got to the market I saw Justin coming out of the catering place. I parked nearby, then climbed out of my car. “You’re a little late.”
He blushed and turned my way, slipping on his sunglasses as he walked over to me. “Yeah, that’s what they said. But they showed me the food you guys picked. The reception is going to be amazing.”
“So why didn’t you just come to the tasting?” I decided to push. “Amy’s freaking out. She thinks—well, she thinks all kinds of things.”
He kicked at the cement curb that separated the parking lot from the sidewalk. “I’m trying to avoid her.”
My stomach turned just a little bit. “What? You don’t want to get married? What are you thinking?”
He held up his hands. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to get married, but I have a lead on this really cool honeymoon spot I can’t check out until tomorrow, so I can’t see her until I’ve got it booked. You know how bad I am at keeping secrets. Maybe I shouldn’t see her until the ceremony?”
I shook my head in disbelieve. “Are you kidding me? She already thinks the wedding’s off. Can’t you just call her or something?”
He patted his phone. “I’ll call her and tell her I had to fly back to Nebraska because my mom fell. She’d believe that. Mom’s not too sturdy on her feet. But you can’t tell her you saw me. Otherwise she’s going to know somethings up.”
“You want me to lie to my best friend and keep your secret just because you can’t?” I leaned on my car, letting my words sink in.
“Yes, perfect. I knew you’d understand.” He gave me a quick hug, then started to leave down the sidewalk.
“Justin, if you’re lying to me, I’m going to track you down and feed you to the fishes.”
He paused and spun around to watch me. “Well, isn’t that idea kind of cliché?”
“Okay, I’ll ask Deek to make up a murder method and then I’ll kill you using his instructions. He probably needs the extra credit in his fiction writing class anyway.” I didn’t move from my spot leaning on the Jeep. “Seriously, Justin, you’d better not hurt my friend.”
“Hurting Amy is the last thing I want to do.” He smiled, waved, then took off at a trot