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after you took Beatrice home, maybe she thought it was best to give you space to focus on Beatrice rather than a potentially bothersome phone call.”
    She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and worked to keep the irritation in her voice under control. “No. That’s not it at all. Leona was pouting because her sister and a few of the other ladies called her out on the way she humiliated Rose on that precious Cable TV show of hers last night.”
    “Oh, no. Tell me she didn’t.”
    “I wish I could,” she answered simply.
    “Why didn’t you tell me this when we talked last night?”
    “Because I was far too angry to speak about it coherently.”
    “I guess that’s understandable.” He took a deep, audible breath and then released it slowly. “So everyone came down on her pretty hard for it this evening?”
    “You could say that. In fact, I’ve never seen Margaret Louise that angry before and, I suspect, neither had Leona. She actually seemed to think we should all just laugh it away as if she did nothing wrong. But we couldn’t. She hurt Rose deeply . . .”
    A second, longer pause finally gave way to Milo’s yawn-peppered words. “I’m . . . sorry, Baby. Excuse the . . . yawning. I’ve had a really long day, and you’ve obviously had a long night, so why don’t we call it quits for now and get some sleep? We can talk more about this tomorrow, okay?”
    A siren somewhere in the distance held her agreement at bay for several seconds and sent an inexplicable shiver down her spine. “Do you hear that?” she asked.
    “Hear what?”
    “Another police car.”
    “Yeah, actually, I do. Hang on . . .” Seconds later, Milo returned to the line with another yawn-dotted report. “It wasn’t a cop car. It was an ambulance, heading out for a call based on the direction it was going. Now get some sleep, okay? I need you in tip-top shape when we get married in twelve days.”
    “Twelve days,” she echoed in a whisper. “Can you believe it?”
    “I can, and I can’t wait.”
    She savored the genuine joy that elbowed its way past all residual anger at Leona and inhaled deeply. “Neither can I. I love you, Milo.”
    “I love you, too, Tori.”
    “Sweet dreams, I’ll talk to you—” Their standard good night died on her lips as her gaze fell on the answering machine and its blinking red light atop her dresser on the other side of the room.
    “T-Tor-i?” he yawned. “Is everything okay?”
    She waved a dismissive hand in the air and then realized her mistake. “Everything is fine, Milo. I just realized I have a message on my house phone. I’ll check that when we’re off and then get some sleep. I promise.”
    “Good. Sleep well, my love.”
    When she heard the line disconnect, she stood, walked across her bedroom, and pressed the play button.
    “Good evening, dear, it’s me. I thought about calling your cell to check on how Beatrice is doing, but I didn’t want to take the chance it would come in at a bad time. So I’m calling this line instead. Give me a ring regardless of how late you get home and let me know how she’s doing, all right? I’m worried.”
    “Worried,” she repeated aloud as the message ended and the tape rewound. “Well, I suppose that’s a start.”
    Retracing her steps back to her nightstand, she grabbed hold of her phone once again and dialed Leona’s number, any and all mental preparation she did for the call a waste as six rings came and went, unanswered.
    “So much for wanting to know,” she mumbled.

Chapter 6

    Tori wheeled the cart down one row after the other, stopping every few feet to return the morning’s take from the book depository to its proper homes.
    The Vault
by Emily McKay in Young Adult . . .
    Hearse and Buggy

by Laura Bradford in Mystery . . .
    Summer Moon
by Jan DeLima in Urban Fantasy . . .
    Book by book, she made her way through the library, the necessary yet largely mindless task providing the perfect opportunity to