Free Cadbury Creme Murder by Susan Gillard

there
was not William, as she had thought, but Edward Banner.
     
    And
as she gave him the details and answered his questions, one thought kept
circling in her mind: I wish Ryan were here.
     
    But
he wasn’t.  And when two homicide detectives arrived, he wasn’t among them.
     
    ***
     
    “Do
you have any rum?” Amy asked, opening the cabinet where Heather kept her
liquor. 
     
    Wrapped
in an afghan, sitting on the couch with her legs tucked up under her, Heather
leaned backwards toward the kitchen.  “Should be up there,” she said.
     
    “Never
mind, I found it,” came Amy’s voice.  “I’m making you hot buttered rum.”
     
    Heather
sat listening to her rattle things around in the kitchen.  After awhile, Amy
brought two glasses into the living room and handed one to her.  “Drink up,”
she said.  “You need it.”
     
    “I’m
okay,” Heather said.  “Really.”
     
    Amy’s
eyebrows rose.  “And you’ll be even better after you drink that,” she said. 
“So, okay, tell me the details.  When you’re ready.”
     
    Once
again, she went through the story, skimming over the details because she was
tired of thinking about them.  All she wanted to do was close her eyes and go
to sleep.
     
    “So
did your boyfriend show up to work the case?” Amy asked.
     
    “Ex-boyfriend,”
Heather corrected.  “And no, he didn’t.  They sent out two detectives, but I
didn’t know either of them.”
     
    “Where
was Ryan?”
     
    “No
clue.  Not that I have a right to know anymore.”
     
    “Well,
maybe he’ll call.  Surely he’ll at least call and say ‘hey, glad you’re okay.’”
     
    Heather
shrugged as silence fell.  She toyed with the fringe on the afghan that covered
her.
     
    “I
brought an overnight bag,” Amy said finally.  “I can stay over tonight if you
want.”
     
    “You
don’t have to.  I’ll be fine.”
     
    “I
know you will be.  But sometimes it’s nice to be fine with someone
instead of all by yourself.”
     
    Heather
nodded.  “You’re right.”
     
    “I’ll
go get my bag,” Amy said.
     
    ***
     
    When
Heather woke sometime in the middle of the night, it took her a few moments to
remember why she was on the couch.  Why wasn’t she in her own bed?
     
    But
then, she remembered.  She’d gone to Verna’s house and gone inside, only to
find out that the person there before her wasn’t William, but Banner.  Then,
Banner had threatened to kill her.  And he would have succeeded, if it hadn’t
been for Wilbur Smith and his excellent marksmanship with the gun he had previously
denied to the police that he owned.
     
    Glancing
toward the arm chair at the end of the couch, she saw Amy’s curled-up form
huddled under a blanket, snoring softly.  Thank God for friends, she
thought.  For friends who would come over, make you a drink, talk, and then
stay the night with you.
     
    That
should have been enough to comfort her.  And she felt guilty that it wasn’t.
     
    Because
the one person she really wanted to be with her was not the person who slept
squashed into a too-small armchair.  Instead, it was the one person who wasn’t
there at all.  Who hadn’t even called.
     
    Ryan.
     
    ***
     
    Nor
did he call, or come by, or even text her in the next three weeks, while the
investigation into Banner’s death concluded and was sent to the DA, and he took
it to the Grand Jury, and the Grand Jury returned a no-bill.
     
    Not
one attempt to contact her and say, “Hey, glad you’re okay.”
     
    It
was his utter silence toward her that, more than anything, convinced her their
relationship was over.
     
    On
the day of the no-bill, Eva showed up at Donut Delights with a small box. 
Heather noticed it when she refilled Eva’s coffee.  It looked like a box
jewelry might come in.  But why would Eva have jewelry with her?
     
    “Do
you have time to sit down?” Eva asked.
     
    Heather
slid into the seat across from her.  “I always have time for you,