now to help him, Diamond. There’s nothing you could have done, period.’
‘If I hadn’t gone to bed—’
‘Just don’t go there,’ I told her.
She pulled away from my grasp. ‘I have to see him.’
I could do nothing more than follow her into the living room. The coroner had the body on a gurney supplied by – I could see the name on the side of it – Leeman’s Funeral Home: We Care. A young man stood yawning to one side, obviously the driver of the hearse I could see through the open door parked in front of the house.
Diamond went up to the body and started to touch it, but Chief Cotton was on her – as my mother-in-law would say – like a snake on a June bug.
‘Now Miz Lovesy, can’t have you touching the corpse,’ he said. ‘Not until he’s been autopsied and released.’
‘I just wanted—’
The chief shook his head. ‘No, ma’am, I can’t let ya do it. Procedure, ma’am. Nothing personal.’
Diamond nodded and stared at the body of her partner for a long moment, then turned to me. ‘I guess I’ll have that coffee now,’ she said.
Seems like my husband was the only one who got any sleep that morning. Willis is very good at compartmentalizing. Why get worked up over the dead body of someone we barely knew when there was sleep to be had? Why, indeed. I wasn’t so much concerned about Humphrey Hammerschultz – although I didn’t like the fact that someone had come into the place we were staying and killed him (unless, of course, it was Diamond) – as I was about the entirety of the situation. I had come to like Miss Hutchins a great deal in the short time I’d known her, and thought what was happening to her and her little inn was thoroughly unjustified. And I like to solve puzzles – not the kind they put in newspapers or game shows on TV, but the kind where people do ungodly things for no apparent reason. There is always a reason – mostly a stupid one – and I want to know what it is. This penchant of mine had gotten our marriage in trouble the year before, with Willis demanding that I cease and desist in finding dead bodies. As I was knee-deep in something I couldn’t let go of at the time, he ended up leaving me and moving in with his mother. We reconciled eventually with a compromise of ‘let’s see what happens next time,’ but when our foster daughter Alicia was kidnapped he was the one pushing me to get involved – not that I really needed a push.
So here we were again. He hadn’t said anything yet, but I was afraid his first words in the morning would be, ‘Pack up, we’re leaving.’
Chief Cotton followed Diamond Lovesy and me back into the dining room where Miss Hutchins awaited us. ‘Ladies,’ he said, ‘until we figure out what’s going on here, I need everybody to stay in place. I know that you, Miz Lovesy, and you, Miz Pugh, don’t live here in Peaceful and are gonna wanna get home, but I need y’all to stay in town until this is cleared up. And your mister, too, Miz Pugh.’
I nodded my head, knowing I had the perfect counter-attack to Willis’s possible ‘pack up’ scenario. ‘No problem, Chief,’ I said.
BACK HOME
‘Yeah, I’ve heard rumors about your mom,’ Logan said. ‘But I still don’t see what y’all can do.’
‘First thing,’ Megan said, flopping down on the loveseat, her long legs draped over one arm, ‘we confront Harper – without her brother around! If all four of us ponce on her, we’re more likely to get a true response.’
‘Gawd, Megan,’ Alicia said. ‘If she
is
pregnant, that would be kind of harsh, don’t you think? I mean, from what little I know, pregnant people are pretty sensitive emotionally.’
‘To hell with her!’ Megan responded. ‘She started this! And, Logan,’ she said, staring daggers at the boy sitting next to Bess, ‘if you’re lying to us, you’re dead meat. Understand?’
Bess jumped to her feet. ‘Megan, how dare you—’
Logan stood up and put his hand on Bess’s
‘If I hadn’t gone to bed—’
‘Just don’t go there,’ I told her.
She pulled away from my grasp. ‘I have to see him.’
I could do nothing more than follow her into the living room. The coroner had the body on a gurney supplied by – I could see the name on the side of it – Leeman’s Funeral Home: We Care. A young man stood yawning to one side, obviously the driver of the hearse I could see through the open door parked in front of the house.
Diamond went up to the body and started to touch it, but Chief Cotton was on her – as my mother-in-law would say – like a snake on a June bug.
‘Now Miz Lovesy, can’t have you touching the corpse,’ he said. ‘Not until he’s been autopsied and released.’
‘I just wanted—’
The chief shook his head. ‘No, ma’am, I can’t let ya do it. Procedure, ma’am. Nothing personal.’
Diamond nodded and stared at the body of her partner for a long moment, then turned to me. ‘I guess I’ll have that coffee now,’ she said.
Seems like my husband was the only one who got any sleep that morning. Willis is very good at compartmentalizing. Why get worked up over the dead body of someone we barely knew when there was sleep to be had? Why, indeed. I wasn’t so much concerned about Humphrey Hammerschultz – although I didn’t like the fact that someone had come into the place we were staying and killed him (unless, of course, it was Diamond) – as I was about the entirety of the situation. I had come to like Miss Hutchins a great deal in the short time I’d known her, and thought what was happening to her and her little inn was thoroughly unjustified. And I like to solve puzzles – not the kind they put in newspapers or game shows on TV, but the kind where people do ungodly things for no apparent reason. There is always a reason – mostly a stupid one – and I want to know what it is. This penchant of mine had gotten our marriage in trouble the year before, with Willis demanding that I cease and desist in finding dead bodies. As I was knee-deep in something I couldn’t let go of at the time, he ended up leaving me and moving in with his mother. We reconciled eventually with a compromise of ‘let’s see what happens next time,’ but when our foster daughter Alicia was kidnapped he was the one pushing me to get involved – not that I really needed a push.
So here we were again. He hadn’t said anything yet, but I was afraid his first words in the morning would be, ‘Pack up, we’re leaving.’
Chief Cotton followed Diamond Lovesy and me back into the dining room where Miss Hutchins awaited us. ‘Ladies,’ he said, ‘until we figure out what’s going on here, I need everybody to stay in place. I know that you, Miz Lovesy, and you, Miz Pugh, don’t live here in Peaceful and are gonna wanna get home, but I need y’all to stay in town until this is cleared up. And your mister, too, Miz Pugh.’
I nodded my head, knowing I had the perfect counter-attack to Willis’s possible ‘pack up’ scenario. ‘No problem, Chief,’ I said.
BACK HOME
‘Yeah, I’ve heard rumors about your mom,’ Logan said. ‘But I still don’t see what y’all can do.’
‘First thing,’ Megan said, flopping down on the loveseat, her long legs draped over one arm, ‘we confront Harper – without her brother around! If all four of us ponce on her, we’re more likely to get a true response.’
‘Gawd, Megan,’ Alicia said. ‘If she
is
pregnant, that would be kind of harsh, don’t you think? I mean, from what little I know, pregnant people are pretty sensitive emotionally.’
‘To hell with her!’ Megan responded. ‘She started this! And, Logan,’ she said, staring daggers at the boy sitting next to Bess, ‘if you’re lying to us, you’re dead meat. Understand?’
Bess jumped to her feet. ‘Megan, how dare you—’
Logan stood up and put his hand on Bess’s
Similar Books
