Poisoned Prose (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

guilty.”
    “Flynn.” Laurel ran her hands through her hair. “I just can’t see him killing two people for money. When I think of all the times I’ve taken the twins to Through the Wardrobe to listen to him read . . .” She swallowed hard.
    “It’s not only about the diamonds for him.” Olivia wanted to phrase her next words carefully so as not to pour salt in Harris’s raw wound, but there was no way to tiptoe around the subject. “Violetta broke his heart. It was hard for me to believe that he hadn’t gotten over the pain after all this time, but if you’d heard him Tuesday night, you’d know that he hasn’t. He never will.”
    Harris gave Millay an accusing stare as he muttered, “Betrayed with a kiss. Is that what Flynn did to Violetta before asphyxiating her?”
    Olivia’s mind instantly formed an image of Flynn’s lips pressing a featherlight kiss to Violetta’s blue skin before slipping the plastic bag over her head. She shivered and rubbed her bare arms.
    “If he’s the killer, then why did he go after Lowell?” Millay argued softly.
    “Either Lowell realized that it was Flynn who pushed Hicks, or Violetta refused to tell Flynn where the diamonds were and he thought Lowell was wise to their location,” Olivia surmised. “Dixie told Rawlings that the words in Lowell’s pocket were typed using a font designed for Apple computers. Lowell has only used a computer in prison, and it wasn’t an Apple. However, Alfred Hicks’s missing laptop was a MacBook Pro.”
    Millay suddenly released a groan of frustration. “We’re talking in circles here. It’s totally creative of us to come up with all these stories, but can we stroll into the station with them and tell the chief that we know what happened to Hicks, Violetta, or Lowell? No.” She banged the table in frustration. “These words aren’t evidence. We’re cobbling a new tale out of a bunch of story fragments because we’re totally desperate. We have nothing tangible to bring to Rawlings.”
    Her declaration silenced the group, and Olivia had to wonder if their meeting had been a waste of time. So what if they believed the treasure consisted of stolen diamonds? All signs pointed to Flynn as the killer, but no one knew where he was. Would raising the subject of the treasure change the statements Amabel and Greg had already given to the police? Olivia doubted it. Still, Rawlings would want to hear their theories. Any leads, even false ones, would give him a clearer picture of this convoluted case.
    Olivia was just about to suggest that the Bayside Book Writers adjourn so that she could drive to the station when her phone, which was set to vibrate, buzzed. Glancing at the screen, she gasped.
    “Lowell’s awake!” she told her friends. “Dixie just got a call from the hospital. She’s on her way there now.”
    “Oh, Lord, that is such good news!” Laurel’s face flushed with joyous relief. “He can tell the chief who attacked him, and we can get on with our lives.”
    Harris darted a quick look at Millay and then put a hand on Laurel’s. “Which makes this as good a time as any to tell you that I’m moving to Texas.”
    “What?” Laurel was clearly stricken, and Olivia felt her stomach lurch. She knew this would probably happen, but to hear Harris speak the words aloud was a blow. Everything would change now. Nothing would ever be the same.
    “Just for six months. Unless I really like it there,” Harris hastened to add.
    Laurel gaped. “But why?” Confused, she turned to Millay. “I thought you two would work things out. I thought . . .” She looked at Harris again, her blue eyes growing moist with unshed tears. “What about your writing?”
    Harris shrugged. “I’m done. You guys have helped me so much that all I have left to do now is to polish the manuscript and see if anyone wants it. It’s time for some new challenges, you know? In my writing and my job and, well, in other areas of my life too. I need a change of scenery.”
    Laurel grabbed both of his hands in hers and squeezed. “You have to come back, Harris. I need this group just the way it is now. I look forward to our meetings so much, and you’re one of the reasons why. You’re a funny, generous, brilliant, awesome guy. Don’t stay in Texas. Please don’t stay there.”
    Harris smiled. “I’ll keep in touch. Promise. And I’ll read and critique anything you want to send me.”
    “When do you leave?” Olivia asked.
    “Two weeks,”