o his wallet.
“No. He was up all night, so his reactions this morning are a little slower than usual. What do we owe you?”
William motioned for him to keep his money. “On the house.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Wise nodded at William, tipped an imaginary hat to Marilee, then left to join Begley.
Wes was about to follow when she called him back and passed him the pair of leather gloves he’d left lying on the counter. “You’ll need these.”
He took them from her and playfully tapped the end of her nose with them. “Thanks. See y’all later.”
As she watched Wes leave, Marilee caught William’s knowing smirk reflected in the mirror. She ignored it, saying, “I guess no one wanted breakfast after all.”
“I’m going to fry a couple of eggs.” He turned on the griddle. “Would you like some?”
“No thanks. You shouldn’t have mentioned Blue.”
“What?”
“The code name. I’m sure you noticed Begley’s reaction. No one outside the authorities is supposed to know about the blue ribbon. You told me. Wes had told you. Who told Wes?”
William dropped a pat of butter onto the griddle, and it began to sizzle as it melted. “He got it straight from the horse’s mouth.”
“Dutch?”
“Of course Dutch.”
“He’s the chief of police,” she exclaimed. “He should know better than to tell Wes about evidence that’s supposed to be a secret.”
“They’re best friends. Bosom buddies.” He cracked two eggs onto the griddle. “They don’t keep secrets from each other. Besides, what’s the harm?”
“It could jeopardize his investigation.”
“I fail to see how.”
“If you and I know, how many other people know?”
He reached for the saltshaker and shook it over his eggs. “What difference does it make now that they’ve identified Blue?”
“None, I suppose.”
“However,” he said, flipping the eggs, “there’s a good lesson to be learned, Marilee.”
“What’s that?”
“Nobody in this town can keep a secret.” He smiled at her, but she had an uneasy sense that it wasn’t as benign a smile as he pretended.
CHAPTER
17
LILLY NUDGED HER TOE AGAINST THE CURL OF blue velvet ribbon on the floor. She’d found it in a zippered compartment of Tierney’s backpack while she was looking for evidence of another woman in his life. When she lifted her gaze to him, words were unnecessary.
“I found it,” he said.