by Tegan Maher
"Hey, girl," I said when she finally did. "I was wondering if I was gonna have to come in and wake you up. You've been working crazy hours lately."
She held a finger up to me as she crossed the porch and pulled the screen door open. "You have no idea. Gimme one sec to grab a beer and change out of these fry-scented clothes, and I'll gladly share all the love in my heart right now."
There was no missing the sarcasm in her tone and I wondered what Zeke, the guy who owned the run-down diner she worked at, had done now. Lately, he'd gotten so obnoxious I don't know how she didn't tell him where he could stick the place.
She popped back out a couple minutes later wearing sweats and a hoodie, beer in hand. She plopped down beside me on the porch swing and heaved a sigh. "Some day you're gonna have to bail me out of jail just like you did Rae. Except I'll actually be guilty."
"That bad?" I asked. "Did he do something freshly assholish, or just more of the same old garden-variety bull?"
"Same thing, different day," she said. "He's not smart enough to come up with new ways to make my life hell, thank God."
"Do you wanna vent or forget about it?" I asked, willing to go either direction.
Gabi shook her head and took a long pull off her beer. "I just wanna forget about it ’til next time I have to go in. Maybe if I pretend he doesn't exist, fate will make it so."
I arched a brow. "If only it worked that way."
She laid her head back and closed her eyes, pulling in a deep breath and releasing it. "This feels so good," she said.
We didn't talk for a few minutes, and the only sounds were Max and Justin squabbling a little over a move, and the occasional chicken ruckus. Even the horses were quiet, apparently content after supper and a long day in the sunshine.
"You wanna know what he did?" she asked, but it was a wind-up rather than a question. "He docked me fifteen minutes and took me out of the rotation for a turn because I stepped outside to call my bank before they closed. I only had two tables and both of them were taken care of. That's what I get for doing him a favor by going in at six this morning when his breakfast server was a no-show."
"I know it's rough, but why do you stay there? Bobbie Sue would bump you up to full-time, I'm sure."
"I know," she said, sighing. "I'm gonna have to go talk to her. It's just that I make good money there, and the hours are decent."
I scoffed. "There isn't a planet where leaving for work at five-thirty in the morning is decent."
She leaned over and gave me a gentle shoulder bump, but she did smile a little. "You know what I mean. I don't have to work 'til midnight to make a hundred bucks or better. It allows me to actually have a semi-normal social life."
I cocked a brow at her. "Yeah, but is that really worth risking a murder rap?"
Her eyes got all starry and she blushed a little. "Maybe."
Realization dawned. "You're going out with Mustang guy again!" A couple months before, Gabi'd been in a fender bender with a guy named Michael, and they'd hit it off. He lived in Eagle Gap, the next town over, so other than one get-together, they hadn't been out since.
She lifted a shoulder. "Yeah, so what? It's just dinner. Everybody eats, and he's gonna be here overnight on business, so we may as well eat together."
"I expect details," I said, pointing my finger at her. "And I was considering pulling together a girl's night tomorrow night to see if we can put our heads together and figure out who may have had motive to kill Loretta. Right now, things aren't looking so great for Coralee, but Hunter's digging. I think we should take advantage of the grapevine to get the dirt that won't show up on paper while he gathers facts cop-style."
"Good idea, she replied, pushing up from the swing, "but tomorrow's when Michael and I are going to dinner, so I won't make it. If I hear anything at the restaurant, I'll be sure to let you know ASAP. Now, I'm gonna go wash the stink of old grease and desperation off. I'll be back down in a bit. Have you eaten?"
"Yeah, but it's been a couple hours. I think Hunter's bringing something over later. If you're hungry now, I brought leftover ribs and baked beans home from Bobbie Sue's."
She grinned. "I'll take you up on that as soon as I get out of the shower."
After the door slapped shut behind her, I pulled out my phone. It occurred to me that if she was a realtor, she probably had a website or at least an online presence. Sure enough, when I Googled her, the first hit was her company's website. It listed her as a senior agent, and the properties she had listed were all high-end. The commissions had to be unreal, assuming she was actually making sales. I had to assume she was though, or she wouldn't have made senior agent.
I backed out of the page to return to the search results and scrolled through. The next few were of current listings, but the next to last one on the page was a newspaper article. Smelling dirt, I clicked and hit paydirt. "Prominent Realtor Wins Lawsuit Against Local Restaurant." I don't know why I was surprised, but I was.
I scanned through the article, and by the end, I wasn't surprised she took a pair of scissors to the back. She'd grabbed the handle of a fajita skillet, then sued for actual and punitive damages. It seemed she'd won both, much to the chagrin of most of the locals. One older lady was quoted as saying, "If she was dumb enough to grab the handle of a sizzling iron skillet, she deserved to get burned. That's just common sense." Apparently, the jury had disagreed.
The next paragraph contained a quote from the owner, a Jenny Jacobs. "My server told her quite clearly the skillet was hot, and it was also plain as the nose on your face. This decision is catastrophic to me and I'll likely be closing."
I backed out of the article, a thrill running over me that told me I was on the right track. I scrolled through the results looking for more info, but there was none. Page two yielded another hit disgustingly similar to the first. Another mom-and-pop business, this time a lawn and garden store in the next county over. There was a ladder leaning against a set of shelves and she used it to get something off a shelf. She fell and hurt her neck. Since the ladder was out and had no sign instructing customers not to use it, she won again.
It seemed she just spread love and sunshine everywhere she went.
On a whim, I decided to do a search on Priscilla too. Unlike her friend, she didn't have much of a presence. I found her Facebook as well as her business website. There were also a few mentions of charity events she participated in, but that was it. I wasn't surprised because she lived in Keyhole. Not much went on here.
I closed my browser and rocked for a few minutes, mulling the information over. High-dollar insurance coverage was costly enough that it wasn't feasible for many small business owners, so the amounts she the restaurant owner probably wasn't exaggerating. Threatening somebody's livelihood—or worse yet, attacking it directly—sounded like a solid motive for murder to me.
CHAPTER TWELVE
HUNTER PULLED UP AN hour or so later and I couldn't wait to tell him what I'd found. He had a bucket of chicken in one hand and a bag of sides in the other, and I opened the door for him.
"Did you have any luck today, finding anything out about Loretta, or who may have killed her?"
He sighed and shook his head as he set the food down. "Not much. I talked to her coworkers, and they said she was a great seller and an even better hostess, which was a little weird. Of course, they all sounded snooty, too. I pulled the financials for the company and for Loretta specifically, and she was making good money. The company brings in millions annually."
Once his hands were empty, I put my arms around him and gave him a kiss, then rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the woodsy scent that was all his own. I really had struck gold, and I knew it.
I pulled back. "I found something interesting too, though now that you said she makes a ton of money, I'm not sure why she does it." I explained the lawsuits, and he frowned.
"That is odd, though not surprising. As entitled as she is, I can see her being sue-happy, especially with an ambulance chaser for a husba
nd."
I'd forgotten about that, and the picture snapped into focus. Had it been possible, my opinion of her would have sunk a little further. "That makes more sense. I didn't look to see who her attorney was, but I'd bet dollars to donuts it was her husband. Nice little side income, the con artists."
"Unfortunately, frivolous lawsuits aren't against the law, so there's nothing to be done about it," he said, "but it does expand the possible suspect list a bit. I can have Peggy Sue look up her court records. It may be a needle in a haystack though if she's spreading herself over a few counties. I'll ask her to throw the net wider than Atlanta."
"That's pretty slick of her though," I said. "I'm sure judges would take exception if they saw a pattern emerging."
"Probably," Hunter said. "Most of the decent ones I know aren't huge fans of personal injury attorneys, so they probably would have thrown it out. I'm a little surprised the hardware store's attorney didn't catch the restaurant lawsuit."
I shook my head. "I'm not. They probably couldn't afford a great lawyer and ended up as just another number on some hack's planner."
"You're probably right," he said. "Still, I'll take a look at both defendants and see what I can turn up. If they don't have alibis, they go to the top of the list, as far as I'm concerned."
Reaching for a chicken leg, I breathed a sigh of relief that I'd stumbled onto that. At least Coralee was no longer the only one on the list, and that was a huge weight off my shoulders. I wasn't getting my hopes up too much until Hunter had a chance to check alibis, but at least I had some hope. I pulled out my phone and shot Coralee a text telling her what I'd found, and her reply was quick but short. "Thanks, Noe! I really appreciate it. Fingers crossed for no alibi." And toes, too, as far as I was concerned.
Gabi came tromping down the steps a couple minutes later, right as I was opening a bottle of wine and setting out paper plates. "That smells amazing," she said, snatching a potato wedge from the container. "Since they cut off our free meals, I haven't been eating there. I figure I'm there to make money, not spend it on overpriced sandwiches."
Shelby, Emma, and Cody pulled in, and once they were inside, I called for Justin, who was in the living room playing video games. Max had trounced him in chess, as usual, so he'd given up after the second game and come inside to warm up and play something he knew he could win.
"I'll be there in a minute," he called back. "I only have one life left."
Didn't we all.
By the time Justin was finished and the other three had washed up, I had the table set. Max ambled in, his tail swaying and his ears wobbling. "I don't suppose you got any boneless chicken did you?"
"Actually, I did," Hunter smirked. "So you have nothing to complain about tonight."
"Sure he does," Shelby said, reaching for one of the chicken strips. "I call dibs on half of them."
Max scowled at her. "Those are mine, you gargantuan beast. Keep your fingers to yourself!"
Hunter held up a hand. "I got plenty, so there's no need to fight." He turned to Shelby and lowered his brows. "You only did that to rile him up."
She pasted on her most innocent smile. "I'd never."
A group snort echoed around the table.
"You always pick on him," Justin said, plucking a couple tenders out of the box and tearing them into pieces before he slid back and dropped them into Max's bowl.
"Would you rather I picked on you?" Shelby asked, snatching a potato wedge off his plate.
He took a swipe at the back of her hand with his fork. "At least I can hold my own. And if you stick your hand over here again, I won't miss."
Shelby grinned and grabbed another wedge off his plate before he had time to process, then ruffled his hair. "You're gonna have to get faster than that, brat."
The banter was lighthearted, and it made me a little sad. Our little tribe had a great dynamic, and the idea of her not being here made my heart hurt. I knew she'd be back, but that didn't change the fact that she wouldn't be here every night for supper. Our lives were about to change, and I didn't like it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
WE PLAYED A GAME OF Pokemon monopoly after supper then put a movie on Netflix. I was happy when Cody and Shelby joined us. Justin made popcorn, and we all gathered in the living room, cozy and toasty despite the fact that the weather had turned cold again as the sun set. By the end, Justin was asleep and the rest of us were yawning.
The kids had helped Will with a breech calf earlier, and that was both physically and mentally challenging, so they were drained. Cody wished us goodnight and headed out, and Shelby stood, yawning.
"I'm beat," she said. "See you in the morning." She gave Hunter a quick hug. "Thanks for dinner."
"No problem, kiddo," he said, giving her a brief, one-armed hug back. "Glad you hung out with us afterward."
Emma had fallen asleep, so Shelby shook her awake and told her to go to her room.
I watched them go and that little niggle of nostalgia washed over me again. "I'm really gonna miss her when she leaves," I said, and he scooted closer and scooped me into his lap.
"You're still gonna get to see her plenty, but I know what you mean. It won't be the same, coming here knowing she's not around. She's a good kid and you've done a great job for the last couple years. You know that, right?"
"I know. Which makes it even harder. I don't know whether to feel like a parent or a sister."
"You're both," he said, wrapping his arms around me and giving me a squeeze. "No reason to pick one. You have a wide range of traumatizing emotions to pick from."
Addy popped in right then. "He's right, sweetie, but I can tell you from experience that you'll get through it. It was lonesome when you went away to college even though I still had Calvin and Shelby here. You have your own brand of personality you bring to the house, and so does Shelby. There's no filling that hole, but you have a good crew around you to keep you busy. And she'll be back."
I did believe that. Shelby was like me—a homebody. Bobbie Sue'd mentioned that Loretta had made fun of them because they were going to stay in Keyhole, but I didn't see anything wrong with it, especially now that Hunter and the others on the force had worked so hard to clean it up.
"I know," I said, flicking a wrist to shut the TV off, then pushing to my feet. "It'll work itself out, and I'm proud of her. She's had a rough row to hoe, but she bounced back and is in a great place. I don't think I was as grounded as she was when I was her age."
Addy shook her head. "You weren't, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Shelby's an old soul, and you're not. There's no changin' that, and it's not better or worse. The two o' you are just different. You've come into your own just fine, even if it did take you a little longer."
That was odd to think about considering I was the older sister, but it made sense. Except for her bout of rebellion when Addy died, she'd always taken everything in stride.
"I have to go," Hunter said, and I slipped off his lap. "I want to get a head start on tracking down those lawsuit defendants before I call up to Atlanta PD."
"What lawsuit defendants?" Addie asked, and I gave her the rundown on what I'd found, and also what Hunter'd learned about her-or rather hadn't learned about her—from her coworkers. She rubbed her chin—something she was prone to do when she was thinking.
"I'd also check to see if she's done it anywhere else. Folks like her don't stop connin' people once they figure out they can get away with it."
"I'm already on it," Hunter said. "I'm gonna have Peggy Sue do some digging in the morning. If anybody can track that sort of thing down in a hurry, it's her."
That was a fact. I don't know how she did it, but the woman was a magician when it came to fact-finding.
"You look plumb worn out," she said to me. "Get on up there and get some rest. Make yourself a cup of chamomile and lavender tea to take with you. I'm gonna go do some eavesdroppin'."
Hunter gave her a wary glance. He had a healthy respect for her stealth and always worried she wa
s around but not visible when we were doing something he didn't want to share with the world, or anybody for that matter. "Eavesdropping on who?"
She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, boy, you don't do anything that merits watching. I kept my eye on you for three months after you started sniffin' around Noelle, and so did Belle. You're about as exciting as watchin' paint dry. I'm gonna go over to the hotel and see what folks at that conference are sayin' about all this. Even though they say flowery things about her to you don't mean that's how they really felt about her. Ain't nothin' like somebody dyin' for true feelings to come out. I just gotta find the right folks to listen to."
As usual, she was right. None of them were gonna say anything bad about her to Hunter; they knew he was looking for a suspect just as much as he was lookin' for information. Of course, nothing Addie overheard would be admissible in court, but we sure could use it to connect the dots. And right now, we had a whole lot of starting points, but no idea where any of them led.
I walked Hunter to his truck, then made my tea as Addy'd suggested. I was tired, but my mind wouldn't slow down. I wasn't a huge herbal tea fan except when it came to sleeplessness and hangovers.
I took it to bed with me and sipped it sitting up in my bed. I pulled out my laptop and did a little more researching just to see if I could dig up anything else that would give Peggy a head start in the morning. Just as Addy'd suggested, I found out she actually had a hater's Facebook page. It was cleverly disguised as a private watch group, but the couple snippets that came back in the search intrigued me.
I sent a request to join the group after answering a couple questions, including if I was a small business owner in southern Georgia, and if so, had I ever been the victim of a frivolous lawsuit. I answered yes to the first and no to the second, and my request was approved within a few seconds.