Weeding Out Trouble

  The sun had disappeared behind thick clouds, leaving the sky a murky gray. Snowflakes fell.

  "What's the matter, sugar? You're pouting."

  Folding my arms over my chest, I said, "I just don't get it."

  "Get what?"

  "Why wouldn't Kit tell me about this other man in Daisy's life? Why not tell me he was helping her with Heavenly Hope?"

  "Honestly? I don't know."

  "You're a big help, Perry."

  "Don't go getting snippy with me, young lady."

  I smiled at his tone. "Sorry. I'm just confused. Did you learn anything from Maddie in the kitchen? She didn't seem too worried about Kit to me."

  We'd stayed for two hours, and were able to spend an hour of that time alone with Maddie. If she knew anything at all, she didn't let it slip.

  And much to our dismay, Kit hadn't made an appearance.

  "Let's see. I learned her secret for making the best homemade apple pie. I learned she alphabetizes her spices. I learned—"

  I cut him off. "I'm not amused. I'm a woman on the edge, Perry."

  He laughed. "She told me she hasn't heard from him."

  Shocked, I said, "You asked her outright?"

  "I don't believe in beating around the bush, sugar."

  I admired his gumption. "Do you believe her?"

  "Not at all. She has this habit of licking her lips when she lies. I picked up on it right away when I asked about Kit."

  "The police will check her phone records. They'll know."

  "Not necessarily. If he called from a pay phone, then she just has to say someone called but it was the wrong number."

  "Awfully coincidental."

  "Maybe so, but there wouldn't be enough evidence to get her into trouble."

  I wished she'd told us if Kit had called. Just to set my mind at ease. However, for the first time in a day and a half, I relaxed a bit. I was fairly sure Kit was okay. I didn't have a clue as to where he was or what kind of danger he'd placed himself in, but he was okay.

  Now I just had to figure out a way to clear his name, because it was obvious to me the police had already tried and convicted him.

  I had a couple of leads to follow. I needed to call Ian and ask about the pills I'd seen. I also wanted to find the new man in Daisy's life. And how much did Randall Oh know about Daisy's freelance work? And was he part of it?

  "Can I borrow your phone again?" I asked. I'd left mine at home.

  Without a word, Perry handed it over. His wipers pushed the snow from the windshield. Traffic on the highway had gone from three lanes to one.

  Tam answered on the fourth ring. I could hear her daughter Niki cooing in the background.

  "It's me again. I'm just checking in," I said.

  "Any news?" Worry laced her voice.

  I told her about our visit with Kit's mom. "I think Maddie knows where Kit is. She doesn't seem worried."

  Tam let out a breath. "That's good news."

  "How's everything there?"

  She knew what I was asking. "Coby just crossed the Tennessee border. Harvey's right behind him."

  Perry's plan, so far, was working perfectly. Soon, Lewy and Joe would be taking a long road trip.

  Snow fell steadily. I spotted another car in a ditch on the side of the road. Number eleven. Thankfully, Perry was a great driver.

  "As soon as they reach Atlanta, they're going to abandon Coby's TBS truck on the side of the road."

  And Harvey would drive him back.

  "Call me as soon as they're on the way back. I'll let the good detectives know a TBS truck is missing. Hopefully they'll think Kit took it and is on his way to warmer climes."

  I could hear the smile in her voice. "Then they'll leave you alone."

  "That's the hope."

  "Serves them right."

  I couldn't agree with her more.

  By the time Perry turned down my street, the snow had stopped, the sun was peeking out from the clouds, and I was having second thoughts about sending Lewy and Joe on a wild goose chase.

  It had to be a misdemeanor at the very least. If they weren't all that happy with me already, then what would they do if they found out I was obstructing justice?

  Would I spend Thanksgiving in the clink? Actually, with the way my holiday was shaping up, the clink wasn't looking so bad.

  I bet the jailhouse cooks already had their turkeys. I wouldn't have to worry about all the things that usually go wrong on Thanksgiving. Like the turkey not being fully defrosted. The potatoes having lots of black spots, the rolls being burned, the gravy lumpy.

  The clink was looking up, in my opinion.

  And I was rambling to myself—clearly a sign that I was stressed out.

  I took a deep breath and decided to let things be. If I wanted to be free to track down the people in Daisy's life, then I needed to be rid of Lewy and Joe.

  Hopefully, they wouldn't find out.

  "I don't suppose you want to come in?" I asked Perry as he pulled to the curb in front of my house.

  "As much as I want to meet the ex, I promised Mario I'd be home in time for dinner. He gets cranky when I'm late."

  I leaned across the console, kissed his cheek. "Thanks for driving . . . and everything."

  "Same time tomorrow?" he asked. We already had plans to track down Kent Ingless.

  "Make it an hour earlier. I really need to do some grocery shopping tomorrow afternoon."

  I hopped out of the car. There was no sign of Lewy and Joe, and I had to wonder if they had really gone to Indiana.

  Part of me hoped they had, and part of me hoped they were smarter than to fall for a trick like that.

  Because if they were smarter, then maybe they'd be able to find out who actually killed Daisy.

  I opted to go in the back door through the laundry room so I wouldn't have to face Kevin right off the bat. Sometime during the day, someone—I assumed it was my mother— had moved the wash into the dryer. I unlaced my boots, set them on the mat to dry. I tiptoed out of the back hall and peeked into the kitchen.

  All clear.

  I was headed through the kitchen to the stairs and the safety of my bedroom when I heard Kevin's voice. He was on the phone.

  "Don't worry," he was saying. He sat on the couch. There was a college football game on the TV screen, but the sound was down to a bare whisper. "I'm handling it. No, she doesn't. Not a clue."

  I crept to the doorway, my curiosity piqued. Who was the she in question? Me? And what was he handling?

  Kevin flipped the channel to another football game. "You don't have to worry, Ginger. It's not going to happen . . . Because I know." His voice rose in frustration. "Because I do."

  Ginger. Ah. But what were they bickering about?

  Kevin shifted on the couch. His voice grew tight, controlled. "There's no need for you to worry. I'm just staying here." He paused, listening. "No, it doesn't. She has her own life. Besides, she doesn't want me, remember?"

  My heart thudded to a stop. Ginger was worried about Kevin and me? That was rich.

  He let out a heavy breath. "We've been through this. Nina and I are over." He pushed a hand through his hair, sending dark spikes shooting upward. "You've got nothing to be jealous about." He scoffed. "Nice. Thanks for throwing that in my face."

  I'd have given just about anything to hear her half of the conversation.

  "I'm done," he said. "If you're so worried, come back. It's got to be better than sitting in the airport, waiting for the runways to open." He listened, then straightened. "Fine, it's probably better that way."

  He pressed the End button on the phone and dropped it onto the couch. Fingering the remote, he turned off the TV and dropped his head back, groaning.

  I couldn't let him see me standing here; that would be too awkward for words.

  Slowly, I crept back, toward the back hall. The floor creaked. I froze as Kevin's head snapped up. As if in slow motion, he turned and looked my way.

  Our eyes locked.

 
I could see torment in his, and I wasn't sure what he might be seeing in mine. Panic, guilt, remorse. Any number of things.

  Before either of us could say a word, the doorbell rang. I sprinted over and pulled it open before the buzzer even finished sounding.

  Lewy and Joe stood on the front porch. I was actually happy to see them. "Come in, come in," I urged. "Sit down. Would you like some coffee? Water? Tea? Cocoa. Let me take your coats."

  Their eyes narrowed as I tugged at their boring beige trenches. Lewy looked between Kevin and me slowly. I smiled brightly. Kevin scowled.

  "Water is good," Joe said. The look on his face clearly stated he thought I was a crazy woman.

  I might just be.

  "Water's fine," Lewy said.

  "Good, good. I'll go get it." Rushing into the kitchen, I took my sweet time filling two glasses of water while trying to eavesdrop on the conversation in the living room.

  I could only imagine.

  I was just starting to wonder where my mother, Riley, and BeBe were when I saw them out the back window building a snowman. 'Least, my mother and Riley were trying, and BeBe was trying to knock it down. She might have been afraid of turkeys, but when it came to snowmen, she was a fierce opponent.

  Slowly, I walked back into the living room, passed Joe and Lewy their water.

  Kevin could fend for himself.

  "Well, gentlemen. It was nice seeing you again." I headed toward the stairs.

  "Wait." Kevin glared at me. "Care to tell me where you snuck off to today?"

  I paused on the first step. "Nope."

  "If you're interfering with an investigation, Nina . . . "

  "Who said I'm 'interfering'?"

  Kevin jabbed a finger in the air. "So you were snooping!"

  "Snooping is such a negative term." I inched onto the second step. Only eleven more to go.

  Kevin growled. "I can't protect you this time, Nina. Stay out of it. Lewy and Joe won't hesitate to lock you up."

  They both nodded.

  Despite my earlier thoughts about the clink, I didn't want to go there. I backed down a step, my temper rising. "Did you know Daisy's business was in trouble? Kit was trying to help her. Or about how she sold therapeutic marijuana? Or about her new boyfriend? Has any of this been investigated?"

  "It's being looked into," Lewy said.

  I didn't believe him for a moment.

  "We don't know what happened, Nina," Kevin said. "You have to accept that Kit may be responsible. He could have been angry that Daisy was in love with another man. Love is a powerful motive."

  I looked between the three of them. "Is this really how it's going to be? Railroad Kit? Use him as a scapegoat? Why? To make the department look good after all the bad publicity? To get a quick conviction for the prosecutor?" I threw my hands in the air. "Is this just another example of the good old boys covering for each other? You make me sick."

  I folded my arms over my chest. I'd worked myself into quite a tizzy and could feel my heart thumping against my wrist.

  Lewy held up his hands. "Hey, now. Can I have a word with you? In private?"

  "You better go outside," Kevin said. He shot me a look. "There's no such thing as privacy in here."

  He was referring to the phone call.

  "Feel free," I said to him, "to hobble on back to your own house."

  "Nina?" Lewy said. His tone had softened, and he looked like the Lewy I used to know, the one who came over every now and again with his family for a barbecue.

  It was a nice try, but I wasn't falling for it. "No," I said. "Not without a lawyer."

  I didn't wait for a response as I rushed to the back hall, pulled open the back door, and slammed it behind me.

  Seven

  The sun had begun sinking into the western horizon. Wind whipped between Mr. Cabrera's and my yard, nearly cutting me in two with cold. A coat would have been nice. But there was no way I was going back for one. Stubborn, yes, but I didn't want to face Kevin.

  From the backyard, I could hear my mother singing in French, and Riley moaning about it. BeBe barked happily.

  I headed in their direction to make snow angels until a loud scream echoed down the street.

  My mother and Riley came running. "Who's that?" my mother asked me as we all jogged toward the road.

  Across the road Flash Leonard scrambled out of his house too, obviously in search of the screamer.

  "I'm not sure," I said.

  The screams picked up in intensity and were laced with swearing. They came from Miss Maisie's front yard. We took off down the street, Riley sprinting ahead.

  The wind chilled me to the bone. My teeth chattered. "Where's BeBe?"

  "Tied up in the backyard. I think she's falling in love with the snowman. She keeps licking its face."

  For some reason, I wasn't the least bit surprised.

  Miss Maisie lived five houses down, across the street, next door to Mrs. Greeble. Maisie had been widowed since

  1971 and refused to remarry. We found her on her front porch. She had something cornered under the porch swing, and her language made me blush. Riley's mouth dropped open in shock. "Like you've never heard those words before," I said to him.

  "Not coming from an eighty-year-old woman!"

  Actually, I'd never heard them come from an eightyyear-old woman either.

  "Maisie!" Flash bellowed. "What in God's good name are you screeching about?"

  Miss Maisie straightened and looked over her shoulder at us. A small delicate hand went to her lips, covering them. Color burned her cheeks, though from the cold or embarrassment, I wasn't sure.

  As soon as she backed away from the swing, a small white blur ran out.

  My mother squealed. Miss Maisie swung her broom this way and that, nearly knocking Riley clear off the steps. "Get him!" she yelled.

  The "him" in question was a snow white rooster. It flapped its wings and ran in circles, while Miss Maisie tried to sweep it into oblivion.

  "Mercy me!" my mother shouted.

  Riley looked to be in complete and utter shock, his eyes wide, his mouth open. Either that or he'd seen his life flash before his eyes when the broom came at him again.

  "Grab it!" Miss Maisie yelled at me.

  I spun around as the rooster ran circles around my feet. I bent down and reached out, but the rooster ran right through my legs—still free as, well, a bird.

  "Why didn't you grab him, Nina?" Flash asked me.

  "I can't feel my hands!"

  "Where's your coat?" he asked me.

  "Long story, Flash."

  "Well, I can't catch him! Not with my arthritis. Riley?"

  Riley sprang into action, chasing the bird around the

  yard. It was my mother, however, who reached down and plucked the rooster from the ground, holding it firmly in the crook of her arm.

  I wasn't sure who looked more surprised, me or the rooster, who I immediately named Gregory Peck. He was a handsome little guy.

  Winded, Riley dropped onto Miss Maisie's bottom step. "Grandma Cel, where'd you learn to do that?"

  "I grew up on a farm, chérie."

  My mouth dropped open and I spoke around my chattering teeth. "You grew up on a farm? How come I didn't know this?"

  My mother shrugged.

  Argh.

  Mr. Cabrera came jogging up, not wanting to miss out on the action. "A rooster!"

  "It's becoming an epidemic," Miss Maisie stated, banging her broom against the wooden floorboards of her porch. "A poultry plague."

  I saw Riley ease away.

  "It's true," Flash said. "First the turkeys, then a rooster?"

  "Is someone trying to get rid of us?" Miss Maisie asked, her dark eyes wide with fear.

  I thought it both a bit dramatic and paranoid of her, but didn't want to upset her by saying so. "How?" I asked.

  "I was just watching a news story the other day about the bird flu! These birds could be contaminated. Someone probably brought them to the Mill to infect us so
they could clear the neighborhood of the old riffraff. Developers would love this land to build spiffy new condos."