Bones to Pick by Carolyn Haines Page A

answer him honestly. "This is my home. This is where I belong."
    "That kind of attitude will only get you into trouble."
    Beneath his glib remark, I saw a flicker of something. 'You love Tatum's Corner, don't you?" I saw I'd hit my mark.
    "I have fond memories of the town. It's dying, you know. We need jobs and industry. We--" He realized how passionate he sounded. "I didn't realize I brought my soapbox inside with me. I apologize."
    "Quentin's money would have come in handy."
    He nodded. "Yes, it would. But that's a moot issue."
    "Who will inherit?" I asked.
    He shrugged his shoulders. "If the death certificate reads that she died after she turned twenty-five, then I presume she has a will."
    "You don't know for certain?" I found that hard to believe.
    "Okay, she has a will, but no one knows the terms."
    "No one?"
    He finished his drink. 'You're a born schemer, aren't you? The will is to be read Thursday morning, but enough about money. I'm going to further shock polite society by skipping the wake tonight. Why don't we step out for dinner?"
    I wasn't a fool. Humphrey was in town because of the will. I wondered what he hoped to gain, and if the help he'd extended to Allison was a bid for managing her money, should she inherit. "If I go to dinner with you, I'm not changing clothes."
    "Heaven forbid that you should make an effort on a man's behalf," he said as he crooked his arm for me to take. "I'll take you somewhere dark and low class. It'll be a perfect evening for you."
    9
    I had to wonder about my baser motives as I let Humphrey Tatum drive me through the brisk November night. My partner was working a wake, and I was going to dinner with a man who touted his kinkiness. Somewhere, my life had gone terribly awry.
    Humphrey pulled into the parking lot of Playin' the Bones, a nightclub run by an old client of mine.
    "This is high class, not low," I said. Patrons of the blues club might show up in jeans and work boots, but it still reeked of class. The music was hot, and the barbecue, which was smoked out back on an open pit, was tart. It fit my mood perfectly.
    "I understand you know the owners," he said, grasping my wrist to prevent me from getting out of the car. "Please, Sarah Booth, give me a chance to be the gentleman."
    He walked around, opened my door, and helped me out. "Thank you, Humphrey." I did a royal curtsey. "I just don't know how I could have managed to open that heavy ole door all by myself. A big, strong man like you"--I squeezed his bicep for good effect--"well, you just make me glad I'm a helpless little woman."
    His laughter was rich. "When you were in
New York
, they obviously failed to offer you the role of Betsy Iron Magnolia. What a shame."
    I was surprised that he knew about my former client list as well as my failed acting career. Humphrey had done his homework, which told me his romantic maneuvers were calculated.
    Inside the club, we found a table against the back wall. He ordered our drinks, naming my preference without asking. Once the drinks arrived, he ordered our dinners. My job, apparently, was to sit still and be quiet.
    "I took Quentin out once," he said. "She was insulted by the way I ordered for her."
    "It is insulting." I sipped my drink.
    "Did I get it wrong?"
    "It's not about the menu. I'm not a mute; I can speak for myself."
    "But"--he stopped himself--"the world is changing."
    He looked so lost that I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. He'd been raised to inhabit a world that no longer existed. For the second time that evening, I thought of Ashley Wilkes and his attempts to hold together his family heritage. He'd loved Scarlett, yet he'd married Melanie. That choice had destroyed both of them.
    "What will become of Tatum's Corner if Allison doesn't inherit, or if she's sent to prison?"
    "I'll marry well."
    "That simple?"
    "For me, it is." He finished his drink and signaled the waiter for another one. Percy Sledge was playing on the juke box, and I couldn't help but contrast the