Down Home and Deadly

mill. “No, no, I’m sure she’s not a suspect. Eliminating fingerprints that belong there sounds right. And anyway, why would she kill her new boyfriend?”
    Debbie’s eyes filled with tears again. “Relationships can be hard.”
    “Yeah, I know. But even though ‘breaking up is hard to do ,’ don’t you think it would be harder to kill him?”
    She pulled a tissue from the holder on the counter and loudly blew her nose again instead of answering. Should I have mentioned that was a rhetorical question?
    I patted her on the shoulder. My mother and Carly were so much better than I was at sympathy and advice. Why did I always end up in these situations? “I’ll tell Carly that you’re taking the rest of the day off.”
    “Thanks.” She gave a wan smile and left.
    I hurried back to the dining room. From the corner of my eye, I saw Harvey directing a couple toward one of my tables. I grabbed two menus and headed over to take their orders. As I neared the table, I recognized Seth’s partner, Ricky , and Tiffany Stanton, the mayor’s daughter . Tiffany had moved back to Lake View only a few months ago to take a job as editor of her aunt’s newspaper , and Ricky hadn’t wasted any time in getting to know her. When the tall cop wasn’t on duty, you could always count on seeing them together.
    Since her parents, Amelia and Byron , sent her to boarding school instead of Lake View High, I hadn’t known Tiffany well when we were growing up. But I’d always thought of her as the Anti-Amelia. She had pretty features, but it almost seemed like she did everything she could to hide them. Her naturally curly hair frizzed around her bare face , and she usually wore shapeless clothes or men ’ s jeans that did nothing to flatter her figure.
    Today, even though she hadn’t changed a thing, she looked as radiant as a bride. “What’ll you have to drink?” My standard opening line.
    “What are you having, Ricky?” She leaned toward him. “Sweet tea with lemon?”
    He grinned. “You know me too well.”
    She beamed at me. “I’ll have the same.” She waved her hand in the air , and I could tell she was showing off the huge rock on her engagement finger.
    When I brought the drinks back, they thanked me.
    I pulled out my order pad. “Congratulations on your engagement. Your ring is beautiful. Is the wedding soon?”
    “Yes.” Tiffany flashed Ricky a coy look. “We don’t want a long engagement, do we, honey?”
    He ducked his head. “The sooner the better.”
    She scooted closer and kissed him on the cheek. “We’re hoping to get married next month. Although . . . ” She pursed her lips as if she had tasted the lemon from her sweet tea. “ Mother says she doesn’t see how we can possibly be ready in a month.”
    I could understand that. My own wedding was scheduled for Christmas , and even though it was going to be small, I had a checklist that was quickly looming out of control.
    “Speaking of your mother,” Ricky murmured and stood as Amelia and Byron Stanton walked toward us. I quickly grabbed two more menus while he pulled out Amelia’s chair for her to sit down.
    I took the mayor and First Lady ’s drink order and hurried away. A few minutes later, as I carefully set the drinks on the table, I glanced at Tiffany. The change was amazing. Her arms were crossed defensively in front of her , and the radiance was gone. “I think you just don’t want me to get married.” She glared sullenly at her mother. “You’ve never really wanted me to be happy.”
    Amelia glanced up at me and gave a nervous laugh. “Honey, of course, I want you to be happy. I just think you’re rushing this.” She looked to Byron as if for support. “We want you to have a wedding to remember and that takes some time to plan. You don’t want off - the - rack dresses for the bridesmaids, do you? And what about your gown?” I’d often thought Amelia was like a Barbie doll with no real feelings or emotions, but her distress was very real.
    I took my pad and pen out of my apron. “Have y’all decided what you want to eat?” I asked in my most cheerful voice , then motioned Vanna-like toward the white dry - erase board on the wall. “These are today’s specials.”
    Amelia ignored my motion and glanced down at the menu in her hand. “I’ll have the chef salad with blue cheese dressing on the side.” She looked at me over her menu. “Carly does make her own salad dressing, doesn’t she?”
    “Yes, of course.