Matthew jumped up and blocked the door. “Oh no. Don’t you go and get all out of sorts, Belle. I don’t need my girl spending the night in jail. We already had to bond out your old lady friend tonight. I don’t think the judge will come back for you, too.”
Her face was so red she wouldn’t need blush for probably a year. “My momma taught me what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right Lily?”
I shrugged. She was right, but I knew it wasn’t the way to handle the situation.
“Well, dagummit.” Belle’s Southern drawl hit the hilt when she got angry, and she was madder than a wet hen at that moment. “Are you going to arrest them? That’s got to be a felony right there. Maybe even a half dozen.”
Dylan closed my laptop. “Three misdemeanors, and it’s up to Lily whether or not she presses charges.” He gave me a long, hard stare, and it made me shift in my seat.
“Well?” Belle duplicated Dylan’s intimidating, demanding look.
I scratched my neck. “Is it hot in here?” I waved my hand at my face. “I’m sweaty.”
Dylan moved to stand behind me and massaged my shoulders. It relieved tension I hadn’t even realized I’d had. “You really should press charges.”
“He’s right. Don’t let these crazy women treat you like this.”
“But what about the boys? What does this do to them?”
“It’s misdemeanors for them, too. They’ll go through a similar process, but they’ll have juvenile court, probation and probably some fines,” he said.
“What about the lacrosse program and their chances at scholarships? Can it impact that?”
Dylan tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “Not sure.”
Belle laughed. “Do you really care about what happens to those entitled little brats? Besides, all kinds of kids with criminal records get scholarships nowadays. I wouldn’t worry about it. And they aren’t your problem. Let their mothers worry about the consequences. They knew the risks when they decided to do what they did. They birthed those little criminals and raised them that way.”
“She has a point,” Dylan said.
Matthew agreed. “I used to see this kind of stuff all the time in Atlanta, and the kids got scholarships to play ball all over the country. The moms are the ones you need to call out on their behavior. Not only do they know better, but they’re teaching their kids that’s okay, and it’s not. Besides, Belle’s right. You let them treat you this way now, it’ll just escalate.”
They all were right. If I didn’t show them who was boss now, they’d continue to walk all over me, and I wasn’t about to let them do that. “Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I won’t be digging myself into an early grave doing this.”
So, we did it, and boy did it set the town on fire that next morning.
* * *
The whispers between people, and the judging looks thrown on me as I walked Bo from my house to Millie’s Café made me feel like I was the one accused of T-Ping someone’s house, not the one who filed charges against the people caught on video actually committing the crimes. The ones that defied the laws of the county and state because they thought they were above them, by the way.
I kept walking though, holding my head up high and smiling, even waving as people pointed at me and acted like I didn’t know they were talking about me, or just didn’t care that I knew. A few times I even acknowledged their blatant ugliness by saying things like, “Yep, that was my house that got toilet papered by a bunch of mothers and their high school aged sons. Totally ugly of them, too, don’t you agree?”
They shut up right quick.
I arrived at Millie’s to a pleasant sort of surprise. Bonnie and Henrietta stood outside of the café holding homemade signs on sticks, chanting in unison God save Lily loud as the dickens. I tried hard to hold in the giggle attack rumbling in my tummy, but it was stronger than my willpower and came bursting out.
I hugged Bonnie, happy to see her out of the slammer. “Good to see you without those bars in front of your pretty smile.”
“I was fixin’ to get me a fancy attorney from Atlanta, but you did right by me, and I thank you for that.”
I hugged Henrietta too. “Oh my goodness, y’all are the best.” I put Bo in his trained stay command, which he refused to listen to, and hugged them both again. “I can’t believe you’d do this for me.”
Bonnie’s eyes widened. “’Course we’d do this for you. You’re our kin, you crazy girl.” She smacked her left arm. “Dagummit.”
Henrietta shrugged. “She’s been getting bit up by skeeters all week. Told her to spray herself with some citrus spray but she won’t do it.”
“It clashes with my Ew Do Toilet perfume.”
I was able to hold back the giggles that time. Henrietta however, wasn’t. “How many times do I got to tell you it’s eau de toilette? Woman, you are dumber than a box of rocks when it comes to high fashion.”
“Says the woman in a potato sack dress.”
“And what do you call that thing you’re wearing?”
Bonnie bent her neck down and admired her blue and black floral print matching polyester pants and top. “I got this at the Walmart last week. It’s from some fancy country I can’t pronounce, so it’s got to be high fashion.”
Henrietta shook her head. “Bless your heart, sweetie, ain’t nothing from the Walmart high fashion.”
Millie brought the two women cups of hot coffee. “Here y’all go. On the house.”
“Aw, thank you, Millie. You’re the best,” Bonnie said. She stared at Henrietta, her eyes tiny slits of darkness. “Unlike my former friend here. In fact, I got me an opening for best friend if you’re available.”
Millie took a step back. The offer taking her by surprise. Millie was a good ten years Bonnie’s junior. “I uh, I work a lot. Don’t got time for a best friend these days. Maybe when I’m old enough to retire.”
Ouch.
“But thanks for the offer.” She gave me a nod and rushed back into her café.
I bit my bottom lip. “So, I do love the signs, but you don’t need to do this.” I particularly liked Bonnie’s sign. They’re just jealous they don’t have a figure like Lily’s. It had absolutely nothing to do with the situation, but how could I not love that? Seriously.
I couldn’t complain about Henrietta’s sign either. After giving it a minutes thought, if I had to pick between the two, I didn’t think I could. Y’all might as well love yourself today because prison food’s gonna make your butts even bigger.
I loved Bonnie and Henrietta to the moon and back.
I strongly considered snapping a photo of them with my cell phone, but I just couldn’t bring myself to be that catty, especially with people walking by and gawking at them. I figured Belle would be around quick enough to do it for me anyway.
“Woohoo.” Bonnie waved her sign at two gawkers walking toward her. They quickly crossed the street. “What’s the problem? You don’t got the guts to come close? Who’s side are you on anyway? Those people defecated Lily’s property. Did you know that? Did you?”
“Bonnie.” I nudged her arm. “They didn’t defecate. I think you’re using the wrong word.”
Millie stormed out of her café. “Bonnie, did you just holler something foul at my potential customers?”
Bonnie straightened her shoulders back and held up her sign, proud as an ant marching back to the farm with a bread crumb for the queen. “I did not. I just told the truth.”
I glanced at Millie and whispered, “I got this.”
She pursed her lips, nodded, and walked back into her café.
“Bonnie, I really appreciate what you’re doing for me, but you don’t have to do this. Really.” I gently took the sign from her, and the one from Henrietta, too. “I’m fine. This will all get worked out. We have video, and if necessary, my attorney will show that video in court. I’ll make sure of it.” I smiled. I couldn’t help myself. “And honey, defecate means to relieve one’s self, like they w
ould in the potty. No one did that on my lawn. At least not that I know of.”
Henrietta and Bonnie busted out laughing. I stood there for a moment and then I laughed, too. Millie had crept back outside to listen, but her face was stone cold, until finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore, and she laughed.
She grabbed a sign from me, held it up and waved it at passersby. “Our Lily’s the one that got criminalized by a bunch of snooty women and their kids. She ain’t done nothing to these people, ya hear? They’re the ones breaking the law. You don’t support law breakers now, do ya?”
The onlookers shook their heads. One of them even said no.
“Well then you best be coming inside and buying yourselves a cup of coffee and showing Lily that support, because that’s what we do here in Bramblett County. We support those that do right by the good here in town, and that’s people like you, and me, ‘course, and Lily Sprayberry here. She’s all sugar, spice and everything nice, you hear me? Now get on inside and get yourself a cup of coffee, ya hear?”
The onlookers nodded and walked into the café.
“Dang Millie, you know how to work a crowd,” Henrietta said.
“Darn right, I do.”
Belle pulled up, got out of her car, and walked up. “What in heaven’s creation is going on here?”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “It’s kind of a funny story. Let’s grab our coffee, and walk Bo to day care, and I’ll fill you in.
* * *
“You’ll need to come down to the station to fill out the paperwork.” Dylan heard my heavy sigh over the phone. “It’s the process, Lily.”
“I know. I just don’t like the process. The process is going to make my life even more miserable right now.”
“The process is designed to make your life easier, Lily Bean.”
“Tell that to the hundreds of other victims who disagree.”
“I didn’t make the laws, I just work them to the best of my ability, and that’s all I can do.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. When do I need to be there?”
“I’ve got Matt and two other deputies on their way to get the good for nothing criminals now.” I could feel his smirk through the satellite across the sky. “So, maybe thirty minutes?”
I laughed. “Those good for nothing criminals are going to pay.”
“Darn straight they are.”
“Wait, aren’t the boys in school?”
“Yep.”
“Do we really need to take them out of school for this? They might miss something important, like a test or something.”
“They committed a crime, honey. Several, actually. It’s called consequences. Don’t be getting all soft on me.”
“You’re right.” I tightened my core and pushed away the softer side of my emotions for the tougher side. “I am strong. Rawr.”
Belle heard that comment from across our office. “Have you been listening to your mother’s CD’s again?”
I held the phone away from my mouth. “Maybe.”
“Bless your heart.”
Dylan laughed. “I heard that. See you in a bit, Helen Reddy.”
“It might be a little longer. I’m working on a listing, but I’ll be there soon.”
“Don’t wimp out on me, Lily Sprayberry.” He clicked off the call.
“He totally knew the song,” I told Belle.
“Of course he did. He loves you.”
I hummed the rest of one of my mother’s favorite songs under my breath. It was one that always empowered her, and I needed to feel empowered. I sat in my office chair and stared out the window, watching people sneak peeks at me sitting at my desk staring at them. I wondered what they were thinking, and if they were curious about the situation. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“What?”
“What they’re doing to me.”
“Sure it does. They don‘t want their program cancelled, and they can’t make an impact by bullying the sheriff because that’s illegal, so they’re bullying his girlfriend instead.”
“But that’s illegal, too.”
“Only if they get caught.”
“But they did get caught.”
“Because they were stupid and didn’t realize you have security cameras on your house.”
“I don’t think so. I think they’re trying to distract me, at least one of them is. The killer.”
“Distract you from what?”
“From the truth.”
“Oh no. Not again.”
“What?”
“You know what. The killer’s already in jail. Bobby Yancy is the killer.”
I tapped into my laptop. “Maybe, but I don’t think so.”
Belle rolled her chair to my desk. “What’re you doing?”
“Looking for something.”
“I know that much. What exactly are you looking for?”
I pulled up Facebook. “Ginnie Slappey’s sister-in-law is a nurse, and Michael Longley’s wife is a nurse.”
“Okay.”
“I’m checking Clarissa’s account.” I typed in her name. “I don’t know much about her family. Do you know if anyone is in the medical field?”
She shrugged. “No clue. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m not a big fan of hers.”
I smiled. “I had no idea.”
“Don’t you have to go to the sheriff’s office?”
“That can wait. Dylan already knows what happened. He probably just needs my signature or something.”
She raised her eyebrows, and I knew she thought I was full of cow dung, but I didn’t care. I was on a mission. “Okay. If you say so.”
I perused through Clarissa Mooney’s friends list looking for anyone I knew or might have known. Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize all that many people. She wasn’t from Bramblett, but Forsyth County, so her people weren’t our people, and though I knew some of them, she’d yet to fully integrate herself into our world. That may have sounded strange, but even though there is a hominess to small towns, and we did tend to welcome people easily into our fold, sometimes we got a bit judgmental. I wasn’t immune to doing that, especially when it involved murder.
I went through every single person with her last name as well as everyone with her married name, but not one person that allowed public access to their account had a medical background, if any job information was shown. When I explained that to Belle, she acknowledged the obvious.
“Some people don’t share their private information on Facebook for creepy stalker people like you, Lily. You’re just going to have to find out the old fashioned way.”
“First of all, I’m not a creepy stalker person, and how do you suggest I go about finding out?”
“Like you find out everything else. You ask.”
My cell phone beeped with Dylan’s text sound.
“You’re in trouble now.”
I hit the silencing button on the side of my iPhone and kept searching through Clarissa’s friends, hoping I’d find someone that would lead me down the right path. It beeped again.
“Lily, you need to go. He’s going to send someone for you if you don’t.”
Matthew popped into the office just then.
My mouth dropped open, and I grunted. “Uh, what are you psychic or something?”
“Or something.”
Matthew stood straight as an arrow with his arms behind his back. “I’m here to escort Ms. Sprayberry to the station.”
“Oh, bless your heart. You’re being all official and stuff. That’s so adorable.” Belle popped out of her seat and ran to her beau, slopping his face with kisses. Matthew tried desperately to stay all official like, but he couldn’t.
He smiled and laughed. “Stop it, Belle. If I go back with lipstick on me, the guys won’t let me live it down.” He wiped his face.
She winked at me.
I got back to Facebook and my investigation.
Belle marched over and pulled me from my chair. “Lily Sprayberry, you get
your little booty up out of that chair, and get yourself to the sheriff’s office right quick, you hear me?”
“But, I have to—”
“Stop it. You have to do what the sheriff says. Now scoot. I’ll take care of things here. I’ll have some homes for us to look at for the B and B when you get back. You’ve got to give yourself a break. Let the boys do their job, you hear?”
“What are you, my mother?”
“No way. I wouldn’t wish that on your own momma.”
“Nice.” I packed up my things. “I can drive and meet you there,” I told Matthew.
“No, ma’am. The sheriff requested I drive you. Apparently, he doesn’t trust you. You were supposed to be there a while ago.” He smirked.
I hung my bag over my shoulder. “The sheriff is so untrusting sometimes.” Waving goodbye to Belle, I headed out the door with Matthew. “How long is this going to take? I have a lot of work to do.”
He rubbed my shoulder without a bag hanging from it. “It’s going to be fine, Lily. We’re not going to let them do anything more to you. I promise.”
As if I was afraid of a bunch of lacrosse moms. Okay, I was because they were pretty darn scary, but really, who wouldn’t be? That was a lot of toilet paper they’d flung all over my trees, and the words they’d spray painted on my driveway? No lady ever used those kind of words. The ugliness was uglier than any ugly I’d ever experienced, and that was a lot of ugly.
* * *
I signed the paperwork and watched them all being processed in a matter of minutes. They paid their own bail, and Dylan and I waited for the women in an interrogation room before they were allowed to leave.
“Exactly why are we here again?”
“Because you’re going to have a talk with them.”
“Are we allowed to do that?”
“You are.”
“But I don’t want to.”
He pulled his chair close to mine. “Yes, you do Lily, and you know that as well as I do. So, here’s your chance. I can’t be here, but you’ve got this.” He kissed my forehead and walked out before I could think of an excuse to leave with him.
Signed, Sealed and Dead Page 12