Down Home and Deadly (15 page)

“What?” Carly pushed a
jal
a
pe
ñ
o
over to the side of her plate. “He got arrested for smoking pot?”

“I really don’t know. More than one group of older men have alluded to it during golf games this week for some reason. But still
,
all I know is that apparently something bad happened out at Bob’s place back then. And whatever it was, it put him on the straight and narrow.” Elliott took the napkin off his lap and laid it beside his plate.

“I wonder why people are talking about that now,” Carly
said
.

“Because Lisa’s a suspect in a murder?” I suggested.

“Everything comes back to the murder with you, doesn’t it,
w
ater
g
irl?” Alex teased.

*****

“I’m so glad you’re feeling better, Mrs. Hanley,” I hugged the tiny, elderly woman gently. “We’ve missed you the last couple of weeks.”

“It’s good to be
here
,” she beamed up at me. “When you’re ninety
-
six, it’s good to be anywhere.” She laughed as much as I did over her joke. As I moved aside so others could welcome our congregation’s oldest member back, I scanned the crowd for Alex.

Finally
,
I spotted him in the corner, in an earnest discussion with Mr. Foshee, the elder who taught Sunday morning Bible class. I sent up a silent but fervent prayer of thanks that the man I loved loved God.

“Jenna?” Mama appeared beside me. “You and Alex are coming to lunch, aren’t you?”

My brows drew together
,
and I nodded. Didn’t we always? Sunday afternoon at Stafford
C
abins w
as
a tradition since Carly and I’d moved back to town. I usually contributed green beans or corn
,
and Carly always brought some elaborate recipe she’d whipped up in her spare time.

“I’ve got a roast in the oven, but I don’t have a salad. Since Carly’s not going to be there, do you want to bring green beans
and
corn?”

“Sure I will. But what do you mean Carly’s not going to be there?” Alex and I had playfully spent the ride to
church
guessing what culinary delight Carly might have cooked up for lunch today.

“Didn’t she tell you?”

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t.” I’d been overworked and tired lately
,
but my mind hadn’t quite gone on vacation yet.

M
ama
smiled. “I guess if she had, you’d have known. She and Elliott are eating together today. But the kids are coming to the house. Zac’s taking them home to change out of church clothes and
then
bringing them on.”

“She and Elliott? Alone? This sounds serious. Is it? What exactly did she tell you?” Maybe Carly had finally decided to act on the fact that Elliott was the man of her dreams.

“Jenna, please remember what curiosity did to the cat.” Honestly
,
sometimes Mama treated me
as if
I w
ere
the twins’ age. “Besides, she didn’t say much. Just that she was eating with Elliott today because they had some things to discuss
,
and that Zac would bring the girls and come for lunch and basketball as usual. Now you know as much as I do.”

“How did she look?”

Mama glanced around the auditorium then back at me with a frown. “What do you mean,
‘H
ow
did she look?
’
She looked normal.”

“Did she seem excited? Nervous? Happy? Or all of the above?”

“Jenna, you’re a darling girl
,
and I love you very much, but you’re slightly batty sometimes. Actually, she told me over the phone last night. But
when she slipped into church a few minutes late this morning,
she looked normal. That’s the best I can do.”

“I inherited my battiness from someone,” I said with a cheeky grin. “Either I got it from you or you married a batty man. Take your choice.” I patted her shoulder.

Without cracking a smile, she retorted, “You got it from your dad’s great
-
uncle Jed. He was crazy as a Bessie bug.”

I stared at her
,
and she started laughing. I joined her. The origin of my “battiness” might be in question. But there was no doubt where I got my sense of humor.

*****

“Carly? It’s Jenna. Call me when you get a chance.” I hated leaving a message, but I was dying of curiosity. Me and the cat. I patted Neuro, who stretched and yawned before returning to licking her paw.

Okay. Just me.

The phone rang
,
and I snatched it up. “Hello?”

“Jenna? What’s wrong?” Carly sounded groggy as if she’d just awakened. I glanced at the clock. Nope. It was
ten o’clock
on Sunday night. Not too late to call.

“Nothing’s wrong. At least, nothing’s wrong with me. Is something wrong with you?” I was babbling. “I mean, we missed you at lunch. M
ama
said you were with Elliott.” Suggestive pause.

Silence on the other end of the line.

“Is he still there?”

“No.”

“You want to talk?” Sometimes being blunt is the only way to find out what you want to know.

Silence. Then a hesitant, “If you do.”

“I can be at your house in
.
 
.
 
.
” I decided I was decent in my sweats and a T-shirt, “
.
 
.
 
.
ten minutes.” Who cared how I looked? My sister might have just gotten engaged. I had to know.

“Why?” Carly sounded bewildered.

“So you can tell me whatever it is you can’t tell me on the phone.”

“Jenna, what in the world is wrong with you? You’re acting as crazy as
—”

“Daddy’s great
-
uncle Jed, I know. Mama’s already told me.”

“I must be dreaming.” Carly had progressed—or regressed—from bewildered to completely befuddled. However, when she opened the door for me ten minutes later, she looked so normal that I had second thoughts about my engagement theory.

“Let’s keep it low. The kids have school tomorrow, you know. They need their sleep. Besides
.
 
.
 
.
” She glanced around as if expecting a twin to pop up from behind the couch. “I don’t want them to know about this right now.”

That concerned face was not the face of a newly engaged woman. “Car, what’s going on?”

She looked over her shoulder at the kids’ rooms. “I can’t really talk about it.”

Suddenly
,
I remembered our conversation the day we played checkers on the porch. “Is this about Travis?” I mouthed.

She nodded and turned away. “But I don’t know anything for sure. I should know everything in a few days
,
and I’ll tell you then.”

I knew she wouldn’t lie to me
,
so no doubt she didn’t know anything
for sure
. But the conversation I’d overheard on our trip to
Jonesboro
told me that she knew something she wasn’t telling me. And unless I was mistaken, her eyes were red-rimmed. Short of whining and begging her to tell me, I had no choice but to give her a hug. “Fine. Tell me when you find out
.
 
.
 
.
for sure.”

“I will,” she said and guided me smoothly to the door. No doubt before I lost the tenuous hold I had on my curiosity.

*****

“Pass the popcorn.” I nudged Alex. We were watching one of my favorite movies,
Princess Bride
.

“As you wish.” Alex handed me the nearly empty bowl.

I elbowed him in the ribs. “Oh, that was cute.” The movie had just come to the part where Grandpa explained that every time Westley said
,
“
As you wish
,
”
to Buttercup
,
what he really meant was
“
I love you
.
”

“I really do love you. You know that
,
don’t you?” Alex turned toward me.

“
If you really loved me
,
you would tell your boss that you’re allergic
to sunshine and beaches,”
I teased.
He was leaving
for a conference in
Miami
, and we were enjoying a last evening together before his departure the next morning.

Just as he leaned in for a kiss
,
the doorbell rang.

I grinned. “It’s probably Zac. He said he’d try and come by and help me download some songs to my new phone.”

“He can wait,” Alex said softly and dropped a gentle kiss on my lips. Then he pushed to his feet. “I’ll get the door, and you can refill the popcorn bowl.”

“As you wish.” I grinned over my shoulder at him as I headed to the kitchen. I stuck a bag in the microwave and turned it on. Over the popping I could hear a female voice interspersed with Alex’s deeper male one. Not Zac
,
then.

Alex came into the kitchen, followed by Gail. Her eyes were swollen
,
and her face
was
red and splotchy.

“
Oh
no. What’s wrong?” I took the bag from the oven. “Was someone else murdered?”

She shook her head.

“I’ll take Mr Persi out for a walk while you and Gail visit,” Alex offered. Another thing I loved about Alex. He wasn’t nosy like me.

“As you wish.” I smiled at him. From the corner of my eye
,
I noticed Gail’s puzzled expression. But it vanished immediately as tears came into her eyes.

“Oh, Jenna, I’m sorry to just drop by like this, but I didn’t know what else to do.” She pulled a paper towel from the holder on the counter and rubbed her face. “Lisa told the police that she was at work on Friday
night during the time of the murder.” She started crying. “But she wasn’t. And she told me I’d get fired if I told the truth.”

“Here, Gail.” I motioned to a chair at the table. “Sit right here and let me get you some tea.” I poured her tea and set the glass in front of her. “Where was she?” I shook the bag of popcorn into the bowl and offered it to her.

“I don’t know. She left early without saying where she was going. She
does
it all the time. Well, you know how she is, Jenna.” Gail absently took a piece of the popcorn. “She never stay
s
as long as she
’s
supposed to.”

“Right. Nor
does she do
the work she should
do
while she
’s
there.” I sat down beside Gail. “So she threatened to fire you if you said she wasn’t there?”

She nodded. “I just don’t know what to do. I need that job
,
and besides, without you there, the place would really fall apart if I left
,
too.” Tears rolled down her face.

“We have to tell Bob.” I reached for my cell phone. “Maybe he can get Lisa to tell the truth. And I know he won’t fire you.” I hit the arrow button down to the B’s. I raised my eyebrows
,
and Gail nodded.

When Bob answered, I explained what Lisa had done.

“I just can’t believe she did that. Are you sure?” Poor Bob. He just didn’t want to face the truth about his princess.

“I’m sure.”

“This is going to look really bad for Lisa, isn’t it?” He was the master of understatement. “What should we do?”

“Look, the only thing you can do is convince Lisa to go see John. Have her tell him she was scared and so she lied.” I glanced over at Gail
to
see if she agreed. She nodded. “If Gail has to tell them, it will be even worse for Lisa. Also, she needs to tell them where she was.”

Bob agreed
,
and we hung up. Gail stood and pushed her chair back to the table. “I feel so much better now. Thanks, Jenna.”

I walked her to the door. “Don’t worry, Gail. Bob and Lisa will go tomorrow to talk to John.”

I heard the back door shut and knew Alex was back inside with Mr. Persi. Even though he didn’t ask, I told him what Gail had said and Bob’s response.

When I finished, I frowned. “I wonder where she really was
,
though.”