Free The Double Wedding Ring by Clare O' Donohue

you’ll want . . . I mean, you’ll be newlyweds. You might want to run around the house wearing nothing but a—”
    â€œNell Fitzgerald, don’t you finish that sentence. I am still your grandmother.”
    â€œI just don’t want to be in your way.”
    She let go of the bags. “You could never be in my way. Or Oliver’s. I’ve treasured every moment since you came to live with me.”
    â€œReally. Even last month when I ate the muffins you were planning to give to the church bake sale?”
    She smiled. “Good point. Pack your bags and get out.” She hastily put her purchases behind the checkout counter when a customer walked into the shop. “It’s not like you’re at the house much anyway. What time you don’t spend here, or at class, you’re at Jesse’s.” She sighed. “Poor soul. Any word on his friend?”
    â€œNothing new since yesterday. That I know of.”
    â€œThat man . . .”
    â€œRoger.”
    â€œYes. He took such a long drive up here, only to go straight to Jesse’s and get killed.”
    â€œHe didn’t go straight to Jesse’s. He stopped at Jitters for tea.”
    Eleanor looked puzzled. “I thought he was desperate to tell Jesse something.”
    I felt myself blush. I had been so busy blaming myself for keeping Roger from talking to Jesse I hadn’t put any thought into his visit to Jitters. But now it nagged at me. “Why didn’t he go to Jesse’s right away?” I wondered. “The police station is just down the street, and Jesse’s house only a five-minute walk. Why stop for a snack?”
    â€œAnd if he stopped there,” Eleanor continued the thought, “where else did he go before he found his way to Jesse’s house?”
    My grandmother was the most reluctant member of our unofficial, and barely tolerated, investigative unit of the Archers Rest Police Department. But she was quickly becoming one of the best. She wasn’t interested in credit reports, like Carrie, or good at Internet searches and combing through old documents, like Natalie and Maggie, but she knew people.
    â€œWe need to know more about Lizzie,” I said. “I need you to ask Jesse’s mom—”
    â€œI thought we’d been through this. There’s no point in going back.”
    â€œBut this whole case is about the past. Roger came up here for Jesse. Why? It’s probably because of something that happened while they were on the force together, an old case, or another detective. But if it’s not about the police force, it’s got to do with the time they all lived in New York City. And that means Lizzie.”
    â€œNell, dear, I know how you like to help, and I know that a few times Jesse has even appreciated that help. But maybe this is the case you leave alone. Whatever it is, maybe it would be better for Jesse, better for both of you, if you stayed out of it.”
    I took a deep breath and considered what I knew was good advice. “It would,” I finally answered, “and you’re right, maybe I should. But if Jesse’s in danger, and too sad or too stubborn to face that, I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”
    â€œAnd you’re willing to live with what you find out?”
    â€œAs long as Jesse’s alive and safe, I’ll live with whatever happens.”
    Eleanor nodded. “Okay then. At least we know that whatever we find, it won’t change how you feel about each other.”
    She sounded sure. But for a brief moment I wondered if she was right.

C HAPTER 12
    S usanne, Natalie’s mother and an award-winning quilter, had sewn all the blocks of Eleanor’s wedding quilt together into a queen-size top. In order to see it, the rest of the group—Bernie, Natalie, Maggie, and I—had taken over the back table at Jitters. Carrie handed over the cash register to Rich, her favorite