'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 28

“Oh, so you've met?”

Shirley Sue felt her face flush and a lump formed in her throat. She scooted away from Buck. Her expression twisted into a mixture of anger and confusion. “Yes, do tell Buck,” she said. “Because last I knew, you said had no idea who she was.”

Buck cleared his throat. “Shirley Sue, it's not like that, I promise. When I was out looking for you today, I ran into her. She was very, um, friendly.”

“Oh, so she's in town?” Shawn said, sounding surprised. “She is such a flirt.”

Shirley Sue felt the lump in her throat increase in size.

“Yes, she is a very nice woman, an impeccable eye for fashion,” Rob added. “She approached us on the street and struck up a conversation with us.”

“She sounded like she was interested in the festival, so I'm not too surprised she popped in.” Shawn said. He looked over at Rob. “What was it she said? That she would kill to visit the festival.”

As Rob and Shawn droned on about Aura, Shirley Sue slipped the photo into her clutch. An ominous thought gnawed at the back of her mind. It was a long shot, but maybe Sarah could help her piece this together.

Why hadn't Buck said anything about Aura? Was he afraid that she would be jealous? She was bursting at the seams to find out more information, but most of all she felt hurt that Buck omitted the encounter. Was there anything else he wasn't telling her about? Her chest tightened at the thought.

The chime of a doorbell drew Shirley Sue from her thoughts. She, Buck and Shawn got up and walked over to the door. Shawn opened the door. Sarah and Roger stood on the other side.

Roger waved at the trio. Buck quickly introduced everyone and thanked Shawn and Rob. They said their goodbyes and exited the cozy living room, stepping out into the cool evening air. The door shut behind them and the party walked over to Sarah's vehicle.

Shirley Sue buckled herself into one of the back seats. “Hey Sarah, you wouldn't happen to remember if you saw anything about a murder in Clinton would you?” she asked.

“Clinton? I think there was one just a couple weeks ago. Why?”

“I think I know who our killer is.”