“Mina’s mom hasn’t been able to come to terms with her daughter’s death. When Ashley told me how much she was struggling, I offered to help.”
“You’re top notch, T.J.,” Bex said.
“Oh, no,” Caleb said, coming back into the room and collapsing on the couch. “You’re new here, so we won’t dock you any points, but no one calls Theodora ‘T.J.’ but Jordan.”
“Damn,” Bex said, her palm pressed to her chest. “My bad. I won’t do that again. Can I at least ask what T.J. stands for?”
“Theodora Justine,” Theo answered.
“Nice,” Bex nodded.
“I’ve called her T.J. since we were little.”
“And none of the rest of us lowlifes are allowed,” Caleb teased. “So, what else were you losers talking about?”
“Mina Harper’s services are tomorrow,” Jordan filled him in. “We’re hosting the reception at the Brubaker Building afterward.”
“Mina Harper …” Caleb tried to place the name. “I remember a Libby Harper. Didn’t she work for Mom in the nursery?”
Jordan nodded. “For quite a few years, actually. Libby is Mina’s mother.”
“That means Mina was probably around our age, right? What the hell happened?”
“We’ve got her by a few years,” Theo said. She cleared her throat, remembering how Ashley struggled to talk about her friend in the past tense. She decided not to correct herself. “She and a guy she found on a dating app met at The Copper Queen. She was found the next day in cabin four. She’d been raped, then strangled to death.”
A silence fell over the room.
“That’s hard to think about,” Caleb said after a moment. “Were you friends?”
This time Bex answered. “No. Theo’s secretary and Mina were, though.” She turned back to Theo. “I know this is awful, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but true crime totally fascinates me.”
“Here’s something you’ll really get a huge kick out of then,” Caleb told her nudging her leg with his foot. “These two are really good friends with the Cloud County coroner.”
“Are you serious? I’ve never known anyone who hung out with a coroner before. I was friends with a mortuary cosmetologist for a while. She had some crazy stories.”
“Delaney’s pretty tight lipped about her job,” Jordan said. “T.J.’s a lawyer, and she’s been involved in a couple of crimes that have taken place in Whisper Creek. Delaney has shared some details pertaining to those cases, but she’s very professional about it.”
Bex looked over at Theo again. “I didn’t realize you were a lawyer. This is such a small town. I guess I didn’t think there’d be a lot of business for a lawyer in a place like this.”
“You’d be surprised,” Theo told her.
“I’d love to pick your brain about the stuff that’s happened here.”
“There’s really nothing I’d be able to share that you can’t find on the internet.”
“Bullshit,” Caleb argued, taking a long pull from his beer. “Last spring both Theo and I were in Whisper Creek at the same time. It was her first visit back in a decade.” He shook his head and tipped his bottle in Theo’s direction. “I’m gonna bring that up next time Mom gives me shit for staying away too long.”
“Lord, you do go on and on,” Bex complained. “The flight, the long ass drive from the airport …”
“What I was about to say was that I was here to visit with the folks. Theo was here to prove her mom didn’t kill one of the realtors that lived in town.”
Bex almost spilled her beer. “You’re shitting me!”
“I never did understand that saying,” Theo commented with a shake of her head.
Jordan chuckled. “Oddly enough, Caleb actually got that story right.”
“Yeah,” Caleb agreed, “but what I didn’t tell you is that the dude was offed right here at the farm. He got a big pair of shears jammed into his chest.”
“And to think I thought I was gonna be bored here,” Bex laughed. “So, did your mom kill the guy?”
“No,” Theo answered.
“But if you knew Mamie, you’d understand why people thought she might have.”
Theo raised her hands. “I’d argue with him on that, but Mamie earned her reputation fair and square.”
“Do the two of you not get along?”
“That’s beside the point. But I will tell you that there were no hard feelings between me and those folks who thought she might have done it. For a short time, even I was beginning to wonder.”
“This is so wild.”
“It would have been sad, but he totally deserved it,” Caleb added.
“Hardy was a horrible human being,” Jordan agreed. “I do wish it hadn’t been Mom who found him, but the world is a better place without him in it.” He pulled his arm from around Theo and stood up. “We’ve got a lot going on tomorrow, T.J. Maybe we should go home and get some sleep.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, taking his offered hand. He pulled her to her feet. “I’m wiped out.”
