Free Tying the Knot by Elizabeth Craig Page A

for now.”
    â€œI wasn’t the only person who saw him,” said Beatrice indignantly. “Savannah noticed him, too, remember? You’re making it sound as if I were hallucinating.”
    â€œWhat mystery man?” asked Piper. She took a longsip of her coffee, as if she needed to be more alert to take this all in.
    â€œI saw this man peering into the tent from the shadows,” said Beatrice. “He didn’t seem to be an invited guest. What’s more, I thought I recognized him. He looked like someone that Trevor had been arguing with recently.”
    Piper said, “Did he have a shaggy haircut that was heavy on the gray? Deep-set eyes? Sort of a bloated look about him?”
    Beatrice frowned at her daughter. “That’s him. How did you know that?”
    â€œI saw that man arguing with Trevor, too,” said Piper simply.
    Meadow exclaimed, “Were you at the restaurant with Beatrice and Wyatt, too? Was I the only one in town who wasn’t there?”
    â€œNo, this was only a few days ago, in downtown Dappled Hills. I was just guessing that it would be the same person, unless Trevor was making a point of having arguments with lots of people. I was in the bank parking lot, and they were arguing outside of Trevor’s car. The mystery man’s eyes were bulging, he was so agitated. Trevor gave the man a huge shove and hopped into his car, locked the doors, and sped off.” Piper made a throwing motion with her hand to indicate how fast Trevor drove off.
    Beatrice and Meadow blinked at her.
    â€œSo, you never found out what that was all about,” said Meadow.
    Piper shook her head. “And that’s about all the information I have on Trevor Garber.” She shrugged.“Sorry about that.” Then she paused. “Wait. That’s not quite true.”
    Meadow grinned. “You’re a font of information today, Piper!”
    â€œThis is more under the category of gossipy stuff,” said Piper slowly. “Except, I guess, in a murder investigation, it’s exactly the kind of thing that’s relevant.”
    â€œThis is gossip you heard?” asked Beatrice.
    â€œNo, this is something I
saw
. And I didn’t tell anyone about it because I didn’t want to cause any trouble. But it’s . . . sort of like a soap opera, I guess. A love triangle.” Piper sighed. “I felt bad for Eleanor.”
    Beatrice and Meadow exchanged glances.
    Beatrice asked, “Did you spot Trevor and Lyla Wales together, perhaps?”
    Meadow put her hand to her face. “Oh goodness. I just remembered. Eleanor signed up for that quilting workshop that Lyla’s teaching. Oh dear. I wonder if she signed up only to make trouble for Lyla.”
    Piper said, “Am I the last person in town to know about their relationship? I thought I was the only one who knew. Wow—they must not have been very careful about keeping it under wraps.”
    â€œNo, you’re not the last person to know it. Actually, we hadn’t confirmed that they had a relationship until you brought this up. Meadow and I saw Trevor trying to talk to Lyla, and Lyla furiously trying to get rid of him,” said Beatrice.
    But Beatrice also remembered what she’d heard Lyla say to Trevor after they’d discovered his body:
Why couldn’t we have loved each other at the same time?
That had confirmed a relationship right then.
    â€œThey were embracing. In a car,” said Piper. “I’d gone up the Blue Ridge Parkway for a hike on this gorgeous Sunday. And there they were, at the top of the mountain, at the lookout. As soon as I recognized them, I slipped away before they could see me. I wanted to avoid the embarrassing situation, so I escaped.”
    â€œIt sounds as if the relationship was over,” said Beatrice thoughtfully. “Lyla certainly didn’t want anything to do with Trevor when we heard her arguing with him at the