Buried In Buttercream

coming to her.
    “Drag up a chair,” Savannah told her brother, “and take a load off. We wouldn’t mind a fresh perspective.”
    Once he was settled next to Dirk, across from Tammy, Savannah said, “It’s awful quiet around here. Where is everybody?”
    “Sightseeing,” he replied. “Alma got ’em to go to the beach for the afternoon. Fly some kites. Dig in the sand. Build castles. You know ... tourist junk like that.”
    “You and Alma have been jewels during this trip,” Savannah told him. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”
    “Kilt the whole kit and caboodle of them?” he said.
    “Probably. Or at least locked them all in the upstairs bathroom and tossed the key out the window.”
    “No problem,” he said. “I aim to help any way I can. Now, let’s hear about this case you’re workin’ on. We gotta get ’er done, so we can get you two hitched.”
    “And then,” Tammy said, a sad look on her face, “you guys will all be going back home, huh?”
    Waycross looked at her for a long time, a definite sweet longing in his eyes. “Well,” he said softly, “let’s don’t go gettin’ the horse before the cart.” He turned to Dirk. “Now, good buddy. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
    “It’s more like what we don’t have.”
    “Then let’s hear that, too.”

    Half an hour later, Waycross said, “You’re right. Y’all got squat.”
    “Succinctly put.” Savannah got up and walked to the refrigerator. “Who needs ice cream with those cookies?”
    “Not me,” Tammy said demurely. “They’re perfect by themselves.”
    “Oh, please,” Savannah whispered. “Love makes liars of us all.”
    “Who do you think did it, Savannah?” Waycross asked her as she plunked a bowl of butter pecan in front of him.
    “She thinks it’s the husband,” Dirk said. “She always thinks it’s the husband, unless the gal had a boyfriend, then she thinks it’s the boyfriend.”
    “But this floozy had one of each,” Waycross said.
    “And a business partner who hated her, and her lover’s wife, and a father-in-law who acted like he was tickled pink when he heard she’d expired,” Savannah said. “We’ve got motives for all of them and nobody’s got an alibi that’s worth a hoot except the husband, who’s in Las Vegas.”
    “That’s too bad,” Waycross said, “ ’cause it sound to me like he’s the one you mostly need to talk to.”
    Savannah turned to Tammy. “When did that hotel concierge in Vegas tell you that he’s coming home?”
    “He’s booked there for three more days. I’m not sure why. The convention’s over tonight.”
    Dirk reached for another cookie ... and took two. “I don’t think I can wait that long to look him in the eye and ask him about his dearly departed wifey. Let’s just say that I have powerful motivation to wrap this case up and get on with my life.”
    He gave Savannah a longing look. She grinned back. And Tammy giggled.
    “Whatcha say, gorgeous?” he said. “Wanna go to Sin City with me? We can lean on this guy and also check out that cat house alibi of his while we’re at it. It’s a five and a half hour drive. I can make it in four.”
    Savannah scrunched up her nose. “How can a gal turn down a romantic offer like that? I’ll drive, and we’ll make it in five and a half.”
    She turned to her assistant and saw the residual pain in her eyes, still so keen and sharp, even after three months. Tammy had lost so much—her sense of security, her innocence, her trust in others, and most devastating, her trust in herself, her judgment and intuition.
    She needed something ... badly.
    “If you aren’t too busy, Tams,” Savannah said, “we’d really appreciate it if you’d come with us. You’ve done so well with that hotel concierge. It would help us a lot if you were along.”
    Dirk shot Savannah a quick, mildly disapproving look. She knew that he’d rather this was a trip for two, but he would also understand when she had a chance to tell him why she’d invited a third party.
    For all of his griping about Tammy, for all of his bickering with her, Savannah knew that Dirk loved the kid as much as she did and wanted what was best for her.
    Tammy gave a yelp of joy that sounded like she’d just discovered she had five out of five and the mega ball. “Really? You mean it!”
    Savannah smiled. “I guess that means you’re available.”
    “Oh, I am sooo available!”
    Savannah looked at Waycross, sitting there