Death of a Wolfman (A Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

A key turned in the lock of the front door and Miss Edna clumped into the foyer. Apparently, Ben
would
do that to me. At least he had the grace to look sheepish when he followed the old woman into the house.

“Miss Edna wanted to come sit with you this afternoon. She thought you might need some company after all you’ve been through the last couple of days. She flagged me down out in front of her house and insisted I bring her over here.”

Miss Edna raised her cane, pointing it at Ben. “Get some gumption, son. You sound like a little boy trying to explain to his mama how her good vase got broke.”

I smothered a grin behind my hand at the look on Ben’s face.

It was a rare sight to see my normally self-possessed cousin looking very much like the small boy Miss Edna invoked with her comment.

Miss Edna stumped over to me, took a look at the now soggy towels on my knees, then glanced at the floor and sniffed. Following the older woman’s gaze, I saw a pool of water on the floor where the melting bags had soaked through the towels and left their mark.

Turning her steely gaze to the still-discombobulated Ben, Miss Edna said, “I suppose this was your idea?”

Ben stiffened but nodded in agreement.

“Good thinking. But you should have put something under her knees to soak up the melt. Now go on and get rid of that.”

Ben nodded.

Again, I hid a grin behind my hand as Ben squirmed.

“Go in the kitchen and get something to soak up the water before it ruins this floor.” As Ben turned to make a dash to the kitchen, Miss Edna stopped him. “For heaven’s sake, come over here and get this melted mess and take it with you.”

I sat in silence, barely containing my mirth, as Ben lifted the soggy mess from my knees. He shot me a look that told me to keep my amusement to myself or I’d regret it later.

As Ben shuffled out of the room, Miss Edna grinned at me. “Always good to keep the men in line. Keeps them from getting too full of themselves.”

I burst out laughing. “Miss Edna, you’re an old fraud. You’ve got everyone in this town thinking you’re a meanie, but deep down you aren’t.”

Miss Edna sniffed. “Don’t go getting the wrong idea. I
am
an old meanie and plan to continue just the way I’ve been going.”

The older woman made herself comfortable in the chair across from me. Ben came back through from the kitchen with a rag mop and soaked up the water on the floor, then took it back to the kitchen. “Well, if you ladies are done with me for now, I’ve got to be getting back to work.” He went straight out the door without waiting for a reply from either of us.

I eased my feet to the floor, checking to see if the pain in my knees had improved. Surprisingly, it had. Guess Ben did know what he was talking about with the cold packs. But, darn it, I’d meant to interrogate him about any new information on the two cases and now I wouldn’t have the opportunity for hours. He’d be sure to stay far away from me for a while. Unless…

“Miss Edna, did Ben say when he’d be back to pick you up?”

The other woman’s brows drew together. “Are you trying to get rid of me already, young woman? Why, I came all the way over here to help you out and now you’re trying to push me out the door.”

I groaned silently. Now I’d done it. The next little while didn’t look good from an entertainment point of view. “Absolutely not, Miss Edna. I was just wonderin’ how long I’d be able to enjoy your company. That’s all.”

Miss Edna’s eyebrows relaxed. “As a matter of fact, he’s coming back in about two hours. I’ve got things to do myself, you know. Besides, I figured that was all the time we needed to figure out our strategy.”

This couldn’t be good. “Strategy?”

Miss Edna pounded her cane on the floor. “Of course. We’re going to help Ben solve these murders.”

Oh, man. This was really, really not good. I surely didn’t want Miss Edna getting involved. Why, the woman would have everything spread all over town in next to no time. Now, how could I divert the woman without her having a hissy fit? Running my fingers through my hair, I tried to think fast. Of course I’d let Miss Edna think she was involved up to the hilt but keep her on the outside of the really interesting parts.

“Ahem.”

I stopped running my hand through my hair and looked over.

“I see the wheels turning in your head. Wondering how you can keep the old lady out of this business.”

Heat rose from my neck, making its way up to my forehead. And nothing I could do would stop it. Maybe I could pass it off as a hot flash? Right then, a brief knock sounded at the door, and just as it opened Dixie stuck her head in. Her eyes went wide at the sight of my company.

“Maybe I should come back later. I didn’t realize you had company.” Dixie’s head disappeared out the door.

“Stop! Come on back in here, Dixie. Miss Edna and I are just chatting here. You can join us.”
Please don’t fail me now.

Dixie’s head edged back through the door. “Well. I really shouldn’t leave the shop. I was just runnin’ by to make sure you were all right. I’ll come back later.”

“Come on in here, Dixie. I won’t bite your head off. As a matter of fact, you’re just the person we need.”

Oh, Lord. What could Miss Edna be up to now? Dixie was just the person we needed? Why?

Miss Edna motioned the still-reluctant Dixie into the house. From the way Dixie shut the door and walked into the front room you’d have thought she was headed to her own execution.

“Just the person you need for what, Miss Edna?” Dixie’s eyes darted to me. I tried to roll mine without Miss Edna seeing. Like that was a possibility. The old woman didn’t miss a trick.

“Don’t you roll your eyes about me, miss. The three of us are the perfect group to solve these cases for Ben.” The older woman looked at Dixie. “I have to admit I didn’t think about adding you to the equation until you just showed up, but that’s serendipity, isn’t it? What with you running the beauty shop, you must be almost as well informed as Lily Gayle and me about the goings-on in this town.”

Dixie’s normally pale skin went a shade paler. I couldn’t help but go pale with her. What kind of harebrained scheme was Miss Edna cooking up? If Ben got wind that the three of us were trying to solve his case, he’d go nuts. I preferred the right to making Ben nuts stay firmly in my own court.

Besides, I’d promised Ben I’d stay out of his business. Just because I’d lied didn’t change anything. I could sneak around and find out things without Ben being any the wiser. But three of us sneaking around? Ben would be sure to find out, and then I’d lose my chance to be involved.

Once my cousin figured out we were in cahoots, he’d sic his deputies on us so fast our heads would spin, and we’d never be able to go anywhere or talk to anyone without being tailed by one of those two and reported to Ben. No, I had to nip this in the bud.

“Miss Edna, I know you mean well, but I promised Ben I’d stay out of the murder cases.”

“Balderdash!”

Who used words like that? The old lady must be nuttier than a fruitcake. But I knew better. Miss Edna was as sharp as they came. She just liked to use weird words no one else used anymore.

“I know you better than that, Lily Gayle Lambert! Your mouth might’ve been spouting the words you knew Ben wanted to hear, but your heart knew you were lying. And I bet you had your fingers crossed behind your back. I used to see you do that when you were a little girl. That’s how I knew you would grow up to be just like you are.”

Poor Dixie looked back and forth between the two of us as though she’d entered the twilight zone. And maybe she had. If I couldn’t persuade the old lady to stay out of this business, the twilight zone would be exactly where we’d end up.

“Miss Edna,” Dixie said, “you know I’d never betray my customers’ confidences. Or use my shop as some kind of spy setup.” An indignant look settled on her face. “Why, I’d lose all my business if it got around I was doing something like that. Then where would I be, with no customers?”

Miss Edna got a stubborn look on her face. They’d be in for it now. No doubt about it.

“You two just take the cake. Here I am, offering my expertise about people and things I know to get this case solved, and the two of you act like I’m some demented person who needs to be put in a home.”

Her eyes swung to me. “I came over here in good faith to share some information with you and I get treated like this? I’ve a good mind to keep my information to myself and let you flounder around in your own ignorance.”

Her gaze swung to Dixie. “And you never close up your shop to run over here to visit during regular business hours. I bet you’ve got some kind of information you wanted to share with Lily Gayle. So… I propose we create our own triumvirate of crime solvers.”

Triumvirate of crime solvers?
Could this get any worse? Red capes and bodysuits with some kind of initial on the chests? And yet I itched to know what information Miss Edna had come across. The old woman was ornery enough to walk out of here with the information still untold. Dixie sat in her spot on the couch gaping like the village idiot. No help from that quarter.

Miss Edna swung her cane in an arc. “I thought I was dealing with two intelligent women here. Now I’m startin’ to rethink the whole thing. Maybe I should just solve this one myself.”

I knew I must be wearing a look of astonishment just like Dixie’s on my face. At least that’s what the muscles were conveying to me as I sat there stunned. Miss Edna solve the case by herself? Her information must be juicy indeed if she thought she could take care of things on her own. Maybe Dixie and I should team up with the old lady just to see what we could uncover. Later we could sort of wean the poor dear away.

I didn’t mind putting myself in the path of something dangerous and I didn’t have too many qualms about Dixie. But Miss Edna was way too old to be getting deeply involved in cloak-and-dagger stuff.

I tried to use mental telepathy with Dixie to indicate that we’d go along for right now, but Dixie’s best-friend radar must not be functioning this afternoon because her face didn’t register any kind of reaction. Well, nothing for it then but to just start talking and hope Dixie got with the program quick.

“You know, Miss Edna, I think you’ve come up with a brilliant plan.”

Dixie’s face registered shock. Not quite with the program yet. Too bad she wasn’t close enough for me to kick her very gently on the ankle as a signal. “With Dixie getting all the latest news at the shop and you finding out information in your usual way and me using my skills, I bet we could have this sewn up before Ben knows what’s hit him.”

Miss Edna rubbed her arthritic hands together. “Excellent. I knew I could count on y’all to realize we’re the ones who know what’s what around this town.”

Why did I have a sudden feeling of having made a deal with the devil?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next morning, seething with righteous indignation, I headed for the It’ll Grow Back as soon as it opened.

How could Dixie have sat there yesterday afternoon with her mouth hanging open, not trying even a little bit to get her best friend out of a bad situation? I’d steamed about it all night and was now loaded for bear. Dixie had best have some answers. She’d shot out of the house so fast yesterday, I’d hardly had time to give her the you’ll-pay-for-this look.

Then I’d been stuck with Miss Edna for another hour until Ben showed up to drive her home. And the smirk on Ben’s face when he picked up the old lady had almost had me tearing my hair out. He’d known before he brought Miss Edna to my house that I wouldn’t want to spend the afternoon with the old woman. But that had probably been his prime motivation in doing it.

He’d no doubt spent the next two hours laughing his ass off at the thought of me unable to stand up, much less force the woman from the house, having to entertain her. Turning down the thermostat just a little on my pique, I had to admit—if only to myself—that Miss Edna had had one piece of interesting information. Bet Ben hadn’t counted on that little exchange.

Ben had questioned Miss Edna about some high-heeled shoe prints he’d found in the woods near Miss Edna’s house. The old lady claimed she’d had no idea how they’d gotten there, and at her age she certainly hadn’t been wandering the woods in
those creations of the Devil made to torture woman and lure men into indecent thoughts.

I grinned to myself at Miss Edna’s description of high heels. But she did have a point. They were hell on a woman’s feet, and pretty much the main reason a woman wore them was to get a man to look at her legs. Comfort didn’t factor anywhere into that equation.