Her partner, who’d acquiesced the floor to Nana, escorted her back to her chair. He gave her a little peck on the cheek. “Night ladies,” he said, and returned to his previous dance partner. “Whew, I’m exhausted. Did you see me Trixie?”

“Yes, I saw you Nana.”

“I told you we didn’t need dates to dance.” Nana waved at her fans as they passed by. “I’m so glad we decided to come here for supper. What an evening. Trixie I have to admit, you know how to show a girl a good time. There’s never a dull moment when you’re around.”

Dee Dee guffawed at Nana’s observation. I didn’t think it was so funny. I looked around the room for an escape. I was ready to return to our cozy hotel room. While I surveyed the room I spotted a familiar face. My heart leapt into my throat.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

A manda Holbrook sat beside a woman, their foreheads so close in conversation they almost touched. Before I could look away, she noticed and pointed in my direction. The other woman looked my way. I poked Dee Dee. “Don’t look now, but there’s a woman over there, Amanda Holbrook, from my writer’s class.”

“We should go talk to her,” Dee Dee said, and before I could stop her, she was headed over. I gave up resisting, and followed Dee Dee. Maybe the entire night wouldn’t be lost.

Amanda’s eyes widened as we approached. I thought for a minute she might bolt from the room. “Hi, Amanda. Do you remember me?”

“Of course I remember you. You were in my writer’s class.” She moved a little closer to her friend. “Aren’t you the one Detective Sams spent so much time interviewing?”

I pulled Dee Dee closer. “This is my friend, Dee Dee Lamont.”

Amanda gestured. “This is Bethany Smith. She encouraged me to get out and have a little fun. I never dreamed we’d run into you here.”

“Well, I’m glad we did. I’d like to talk to you about Annie’s death.”

“You mean her murder,” Amanda said.

“Yes, Detective Sams stated as much.” I had this strange feeling I’d seen her somewhere else. I just couldn’t place where. “Have we met before?”

“No, I don’t think so. What do you want with me anyway?”

“Look Amanda, the truth is, Detective Sams told me I’m a person of interest because I was the last person to be with Annie before she died. I’m questioning everyone in the class to see if I can discover some helpful information. Do you mind if we join you for a few minutes and ask some questions? You know, we have a lot in common. I had a no good, low down, scum sucking husband, too. I know what it’s like to be betrayed by the one you love.”

I must have hit close to home because her bottom lip quivered and her eyes pooled with unshed tears. “I never thought it would come to this. I gave him everything I had and he just tromped all over my heart. It’s broken into so many pieces it feels like its being held together with Band-Aids.” She looked me square in the eyes. “To tell the truth, if I was going to kill someone it’d be my ex-husband. I didn’t have anything against Annie.”

“Did you know Annie before the workshop?”

She averted her eyes. “No, no I didn’t.” She sniffed and wiped her nose with her napkin.

I got the feeling she was hiding something.

“Can you tell me anything about the evening of the murder that might help me?” Any tidbit of information could help solve the crime.

“Let’s see. My room was down the hall from Annie’s, but I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary.” Her eyes lit up. “Wait a minute, I remember hearing voices outside my door and I cracked it enough to see. You were in the hall with Tippi” – she made finger quotes – “with an i”. You were discussing something, but I couldn’t hear what. After that, I decided to work on my assignment. I went to sleep in the chair and didn’t wake up until after midnight when I went to bed.” Amanda’s friend handed her a fresh napkin.

“I told the detective about seeing Tippi in the hall, but I wasn’t sure she believed me. Now I have your word to back me up.”

Dee Dee wrote feverishly, this was the first tidbit of information in my favor and Dee took her job seriously.

“One more question, Amanda. Do you know where any of the other participants are staying?”

“Actually I do. Bodene Tate informed me he’d be staying with a cousin of his. I believe his name is Bubba Tate and he lives in Rossville. Bodene was bragging about some invention his cousin made millions on.”

“Do you mind if I ask where you’re staying?”

“I-I’m staying with Bethany.”

Bethany held out a business card for me. I gave my card to Amanda and urged her to call me if she remembered anything else or if she just wanted to talk. I recalled the loneliness I’d experienced after my divorce.

Nana was back on the dance floor with a new partner. I turned to Dee Dee. “After this dance we need to grab Nana and take off before she draws any more attention. I want to get back to the hotel so I can call Beau. I miss him so much.”

“I know you do, Trix.” A big smile appeared on Dee Dee’s face, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dee,” I reached over and gave her a shoulder a squeeze, “You must miss Gary, too.”

“I do Trixie, but I have to admit, since you’ve come into my life our adventures give me something to look forward to. And of course, I have Antiques Galore. We help each other.”

“Isn’t that what friends are for?” The band struck the last chord and the dancers clapped their appreciation. Nana returned, her face glowing. I swanny, she looked ten years younger. How did she do it?

“Whew, that was fun.” Nana slipped off her shoe and rubbed her foot with her good hand. “The night is young.”

“Nana, the night might be young, but I’m not. I feel like I’ve been run over with a monster truck. I think we need to call it a night.” I looked at Dee Dee and winked.

“Have you got something in your eye, Trix?” I should have known better, I’ve tried this trick several times with Dee Dee and it never works.

“No, Dee, I don’t have anything in my eye, but my eyeball.” I’d try the direct approach. “Don’t you think we need to call it a night?” The light bulb finally flicked on.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right, I’m bushed.” Dee Dee stretched and yawned playing the part well.

After returning to the hotel it wasn’t long before Nana faded out. I went into the bathroom seeking a little privacy, making the long awaited call to Beau. At the sound of his voice, my stomach did a somersault.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Hi, Babe. How are you?”

The waterworks poured, “Oh, Beau it’s terrible.” So much for not worrying him.

“Trixie, what’s the matter. Tell me what’s terrible.” My heart broke at the sound of his concern.

“You’re not going to believe what happened. Please don’t be mad at me.” I dreaded telling him I was the main suspect in a murder case. Would he abandon me like Wade?

“Honey, I’m not going to be mad unless you don’t tell me what’s going on. Is everyone all right? Is Nana okay?”

Beau loved Nana like his own aunt. I couldn’t prolong his agony any longer. I reached over and grabbed a wad of toilet paper and blew my nose. “Beau, I’m a person of interest in a murder case.” I thought I’d soften the blow by using that expression. Being in law enforcement, though, it didn’t fool him.

“You’re a suspect in a murder case? How? Why?” Beau sputtered, hardly able to get his words out.

“I found our teacher, Annie, in the deep freeze. I didn’t mean to.” Well, what a stupid thing to say, of course, I didn’t mean to. The words poured as I told Beau the story. “I was hungry and I went downstairs to get something to eat. I found a pink sash hanging from the freezer door so, of course, I wanted to see what it was. Beau, it was attached to Annie.” The tears flowed again.