Vivien. And…Dr. DeRiccio, is it? Sorry to be in such a rush—my husband’s waiting in line for the author signing and he wanted me to run over and get us something.” She was paying for her drinks and Vivien and Jake were nearly out the door when she said, “Oh, by the way, Vivien, that little grand opening thing I got you came in finally—I can drop it off at the theater for you sometime this week.”
“That’s so nice of you—thanks,” Vivien said. “Enjoy the signing—we’ll probably see you there.”
As they walked out, Jake took her arm and muttered, “She was your realtor, right? She could have had access to the building before you got to town.”
Vivien stopped on the sidewalk and looked at him. “I’ve thought of that, but I simply can’t think of a reason she’d want to ruin things for me. After all, she made money on the sale of a building that’s been sitting there empty for over twenty years. And if the vandalism is related to hiding the murders, I don’t see how Bella Pohlson could be involved. She would have been maybe five or six when the Nutcracker murders happened.”
“Nutcracker murders?” came a familiar voice. “What are those? Is that a new TV show on that Netflax thing everyone’s talking about?”
“Hello, Mrs. Took,” said Jake politely. “Hi, Mrs. Acerita. And hello there, Bruce Banner.” He prudently didn’t reach to pet the little dog, who was peeking out of Juanita’s bag as usual.
“Don’t you Mrs. Took me, Elwood DeRiccio. Makes me feel old—and like you’re talking to my granny. It’s Maxine—or Dr. Maxine if you wanna get fancy—and nothing else, you hear? Now you tell me and Juanita what’s all this about some Nutcracker murders.”
“We might as well wait until Iva and Cherry get over here—I can see them heading across the street. Apparently, everyone in town is going to the book signing.”
“Damn right. TMJ Mack, she’s one of the biggest writers we ever got coming in here to sign books—except maybe that fine piece of ass Dr. Ethan Murphy,” Maxine said, looking around as if to sight said fine piece of ass. “He ain’t a medical doctor like you, though—he’s got some degrees in—”
“It’s TJ Mack, you loco,” said Juanita. “And Ethan Murphy isn’t going to give you a second look when he’s got that gorgeous Diana warming his bed.”
“Well, a woman can dream, even at my age—”
“Vivien! How are things going at the theater?” asked Cherry, giving Vivien a hug. “I hear there’s been some vandalism and two murders!” she added in a whisper.
Wow. Vivien had no idea the gossip train traveled that fast in Wicks Hollow. “We literally just left the police station fifteen minutes ago,” she said. “How did you hear— Oh, Helga must have told Orbra.”
Cherry nodded. She was with a tall, wiry man about her age that she introduced as William Reckless. Vivien concurred that he did, indeed, look a little reckless…while at the same time, somehow, he also seemed very Zen, with an om tattoo on his lower arm and a few rustic strings with charms and beads around his neck. The perfect match for Cherry Wilder.
Vivien filled in Iva (who was accompanied by Hollis Nath), Cherry, Maxine, and Juanita on what they’d discovered about the Nutcracker costumes as they stood just off the sidewalk and out of the way of the people heading to the bookstore.
“I knew it,” said Iva. “It was the Sugarplum Fairy who was leading me to the basement—the pit, I mean. She obviously had a lighter, more deliberate touch when it came to communication—unlike the Nutcracker, who was just wild and angry, don’t you think, Vivien?”
Vivien could not disagree.
As they stood in line to get into the bookstore—TJ Mack was a very popular draw for the tiny venue—Vivien saw Louise London’s brother Benjamin walking down the street, so she waved him over. Trib’s didn’t open until five on Sundays, but she would have expected Benjamin to already be there prepping things.
“How are things going at the restaurant?” she asked. “I was in there the other day, but you were too busy to come out and say hi.”
“It’s all good,” Benjamin said, grinning. “Trib’s a real nice guy. A little picky, you know, but he’s a good guy. Thanks again for setting me up with this. I’m learning a lot. Can’t wait to get back to New York and find a job at one of the bougie restaurants there.”
“Tell your sister hi for me,”