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“Could we maybe have lunch sometime?” she asked. “Not for me to give you the hard sell, just to catch up.”

I nodded. “I’d like that.”

We walked out together. “If you have any questions, please call me,” she said. She indicated the cardboard folder. “My card’s inside with my direct line on it.”

“I do have one question,” I said. “Who exactly is the Wellington Group? Who are your investors?”

Again I got the cool, professional smile. “I’m sorry,” Sloane said. “The Wellington Group is a private corporation. I can’t give you that information, but I can promise you that you’d be in good hands with us.”

I wasn’t going to get any information from her, I realized. It had been a fishing expedition and I hadn’t caught anything. But it wasn’t like I hadn’t already gotten what I needed from my dad.

“I’m glad I got to see you,” I said with a smile. “We do have a lot of things to catch up on. Do you still like country music?”

Sloane put a hand over her heart. “I’ve seen my man Ronnie Dunn six times in concert.”

I grinned. “So I don’t have to ask if you’re still a fan.”

“I am,” she said as we started down the steps. “Do you still play?”

“Not as much as I should.”

She gave me a sly grin. “So if I make it to one of those Thursday-night jam sessions I’ve been hearing about, will I hear you?”

I shook my head, laughing. “I wouldn’t count on that,” I said.

Sloane walked me to the front door and we exchanged another hug. “I’ll call you when I’ve had a chance to read all of this,” I said, holding up the folder of information.

“I’ll look at my calendar and we’ll have lunch soon. I promise,” she said.

It was a little early, but I drove over to McNamara’s, got a couple of roast-beef sandwiches and headed back to Jess’s shop. I was halfway down the street when I saw Jess hurrying down the sidewalk. She waved at me and we met in front of the store.

“Hey, am I late?” she said, pushing back her hood. “I had to go deliver a dress to a customer.”

“No, I’m early.” I held up the takeout bag. “Roast beef with pickles and extra mustard.”

“You are my favorite person in the entire world,” Jess said.

“Right,” I said as I followed her inside. “As long as the sandwich lasts, I am.”

Jess said hello to Elin and then we moved into her sewing room. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at the folder Sloane had given me as she took off her jacket and hung it over the back of a chair.

“The prospectus for North Landing.”

“I have one of those,” Jess said. “Why do you?”

“Long story,” I said. “Let’s eat first.”

Jess got coffee for us both and we sat on opposite sides of her desk. I set the folder on the floor by my chair.

“So dish,” Jess said, after she eaten about half her sandwich. “Why do you have a North Landing prospectus?”

I took a sip of coffee before I answered. “Let me see if I can give you the short version,” I said. “I had a meeting with Sloane Redding from the Wellington Group, which is an investor in the North Landing project. I was hoping—” I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know what I was hoping, actually. Maybe that I could find out something that would prove who killed Lily.”

Jess frowned. “Wait a sec. Is this the same Sloane Redding who was your roommate before me?”

My mouth was full, so I just nodded.

“So did you pump her for information?”

I wiped a dab of mustard from the side of my mouth. “I tried,” I said. “I didn’t get anywhere.”

Jess shrugged. “All I’ve got is my coffeemaker broke and I stabbed myself about ten times working on that rolled hem, so you win for most interesting morning,” she said.

As we finished eating, I told Jess about the meeting.

“Sarah, I know you want to see the person who killed Lily pay for what they did, but it’s not your job. That job belongs to the police and Nick.” She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows at me. “You’re trying to be Wonder Woman without the boots and the lasso.”

I laughed, and coffee almost went up my nose. Jess had a way of cutting right to the point of things.

“I never met Sloane,” Jess said. “What is she like?”

“When we were in college, she was fun. And smart. I was sorry we lost touch.”

She pulled a pickle out of her sandwich and popped it in her mouth. “What’s she like now?”

“Very polished and elegant. Expensive clothes and gorgeous red hair in one of those casual haircuts that probably cost a fortune to get to look that way.”

Jess frowned. “Wait a sec. I think I met her. Buddy Holly black-frame glasses?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “When did you meet her?”

“If it was her, I gave her directions about a week and a half ago. It was the night Lily died, as a matter of fact.”

I stared at her. “The night Lily was killed. Are you sure? Sloane told me she got here on the twenty-third.”

“Of course I’m sure,” she said. “She was looking for the Owl & the Pussycat bookstore.”

The bookstore, which was right next door to Lily’s Bakery.

Jess must have had the same thought. “What? You think your old roommate snuck into town and killed Lily? Seriously?”

I shook my head. “Seriously. I don’t know. Like you said before, I’m not Wonder Woman.”

I was back at the store just after one o’clock. Mac was at the counter, waiting on a customer. Once he was finished, he walked over to me. “I sold those four ladder-back chairs,” he said. “The buyer will be back with his SUV to pick them up.”

“Did you get the full price?” I asked.

He nodded. “The guy didn’t even try to dicker.” He gestured to the portfolio I was carrying. “How did the meeting go?”

“It was interesting.”

“I thought we weren’t going to use that word anymore,” he teased, his dark eyes sparkling.

“It applies in this case,” I said, pulling off my hat. I took Sloane’s business card out of the folder and then held out the papers. “I know you had a look at the simplified prospectus, but would you take a look at these financials for me? You can decipher them a lot faster than I can.”

“I’d be happy to. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

I shook my head. “I just want to know if the project really is a good investment.” I looked around. Avery was dusting the musical instruments on the back wall. “Where’s Rose?” I said.

Mac pointed in the direction of the storeroom. “Finishing those tablecloths.”

I found Rose at the ironing board in the workroom.

“Hello, dear,” she said. “How was your meeting?”

I almost said “interesting” again. “Informative.”

“In what way?”

“I think you can officially eliminate Jon West from your suspect list,” I said. “I talked to one of the administrative assistants, and she mentioned that she and Jon drove up from meetings in Boston the morning after Lily’s death.”

“You and Elvis were right about him,” she said. “He’s a very smart cat.”

“What about me?” I said with mock indignation.

She reached up and patted my cheek. “You’re smart, too, dear.”

I went up to my office. Elvis was sitting in my chair. “I’m a person. I sit in the chair,” I said. “You’re a cat. You sit on the floor. What part of that do you not understand?”

He tipped his head to one side as though he were pondering the question.

I picked him up, sat down and set him on my lap. He studied my face.

“Sloane lied to me,” I said.

His green eyes narrowed.

“Yes, I know you don’t know who she is. The thing is, she lied. Do I call her on it?” He swung his head around to look at the phone on my desk. That was definitely a yes.