Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

interested in more coffee, but for the sake of appearances she ordered a café au lait and then introduced her friends to Fletcher and Judson, ignoring the baffled look on the senior attorney’s face.
    “We’re quite a party now, aren’t we?” he said, recovering quickly. He pulled a vacant table over and gestured at a black-haired, middle-aged woman with a round face and dark, intelligent eyes. “This is the Honorable Tribal Chair Annette Stevens.”
    The woman shook hands with Olivia. “Most people call me Annette.” She indicated the empty seat beside her. “Please, join us.”
    Olivia sat down and Annette openly studied her. “I hear you were with Willis when he . . . fell.”
    “Yes,” Olivia replied softly. She cupped her hands around her warm mug. “How is Talley?”
    “I stayed in her room at the Hampton Inn last night.” Annette shook her head sorrowfully. “She can’t accept that he’s gone. To tell you the truth, none of us can. Who could have foreseen something like this happening? Willis was full of life. He had so much to look forward to.”
    “Like selling his land?” Olivia asked, fully aware that she was being crass.
    Laurel jumped in. “I heard about the Golden Eagle deal through a colleague. I’m a reporter.” She gave Annette a disarming smile. “It must be really exciting for your tribe. For the whole town of Maxton.”
    A flicker of alarm crossed Annette’s face before she pasted on a politician’s smile and said, “It will certainly give our local economy a boost.”
    “How did two kids younger than me end up with all that land?” Harris asked, sounding completely innocent.
    Annette and Fletcher exchanged a brief, anxious look. Judson fidgeted with an empty sugar packet, twisting it with his fingers while he kept his eyes fixed on his coffee cup.
    “The land belonged to their father, Bo Locklear,” Fletcher said after a pregnant pause. “Land has always been treasured by the Lumbee Nation. But until Annette came along and made sure the tribe was recognized by the federal government, there was no hope of opening a casino. Now, thanks to her efforts, things are about to change for the better.”
    “I’m not surprised that a woman finally forced the politicians to pull their heads out of their asses,” Millay said. “I hope Talley is as tough as you.”
    Annette rewarded her with a smile. “I believe she is. In fact, she insists on dancing this afternoon. She said that she needs to be onstage and that Willis would want her to perform, but right now, she’s still asleep. She finally took the sleeping pills the doctor gave her.”
    “Willis told me that she planned to sell crafts this weekend as well,” Olivia said. “What will happen to her booth?”
    “I don’t know,” Annette said. “Frankly, I hadn’t thought about that.”
    “We can run it for her,” Laurel offered. “We’d love to do something to help.”
    My friends are much slier than I realized,
Olivia thought, smiling inwardly.
    “That would be really nice,” Annette said. “Talley is proud of her baskets and rightfully so. She does some of the most intricate weaving I’ve ever seen.”
    “Maybe you can find something for your house, Harris,” Millay said. “Add a splash of color to all those drab grays and browns.”
    Harris turned to Judson. “Every woman I know wants to mess with my bachelor pad. Last week, my mom mailed me curtains.
Gingham
curtains.”
    Judson’s laugh sounded forced.
    Fletcher asked if anyone wanted a refill and, receiving no takers, got up to order another Café Americano.
    “You want them?” Harris continued bantering with Judson as if he hadn’t noticed the tension in the air. “Just write down your address and I’ll box them up for you.”
    “I practically live at the office,” Judson said. “The glamorous life of a paralegal. I only go home to eat and sleep. If I have any free time, I spend it volunteering at an animal clinic. I like to walk the dogs.”
    Olivia tried to sound apologetic. “Oh, I assumed you and Fletcher were partners.”
    Judson shrugged. “I could barely afford community college, let alone law school. Fletcher was groomed to run his daddy’s practice, while the only thing I inherited from my parents was a pile of debt. Anyway, Fletcher doesn’t treat me like I don’t count just because I don’t have a bunch of framed diplomas over my desk. He was more interested in where I was going than where I came from. He’s a great