Beth.
“Well, stop it! What are you doing?”
“Coco, can you keep a secret?”
Although the lunch traffic had been steady, the dinner crowd was thinner than usual. When Susan Meredith shut down Southern Accents for the day and went to Aunt Pat’s, she didn’t see the steady stream of people coming in and out that she usually did. After eating supper, she settled in a rocker next to Lulu’s.
“It looks quieter than usual,” she said to Lulu.
Lulu nodded. “Lunch was busy, but that might have been people who were looking to get some gossip about Miss Adrian’s death.” She rocked for a minute in reflective silence. “How were things at the gallery today?”
“One of the reasons I came in was to talk to Sara this morning. Southern Accents was really buzzing. I’ve never seen people so excited by an exhibit. They went on and on about the vibrancy of the show. Word of mouth yesterday afternoon and today brought in a lot more people than I usually get during the week.” Lulu raised her eyebrows. “That’s what I was telling her,” said Susan. “Rebecca Adrian didn’t know two cents about art. Too bad Rebecca couldn’t have been murdered before she filled Sara’s mind with all that negative energy.”
“You assumed it was murder?”
“Lord knows I felt like murdering her myself yesterday. But,” she added, stabbing her finger in the air, “I didn’t . And there are plenty of patrons who can attest to the fact that I was knee-deep in tourists all afternoon.”
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean that you did her in,” protested Lulu. “I was commenting on the fact that you thought it was murder.”
“Well, if I felt like stringing Rebecca Adrian up by her neck, then everybody else probably felt the same way. Sure she was murdered. Why else would a healthy, twenty-something, hateful creature end up dead at the Peabody? If I’d been Sara, I’d have had murder on the brain for sure. Right after I left Southern Accents for the day, I went straight home to meditate and do some yoga. I can’t tell you how stressed out I was. And Sara must have been even more stressed out than me.”
“But Sara didn’t kill her, of course.”
“Of course,” said Susan. “Because she wasn’t even at the Peabody. She was . . .” Susan waited for Lulu to fill in the blank on Sara’s alibi.
Lulu rocked violently in her rocking chair for a minute. “Well, she was working at the restaurant, naturally. She wasn’t anywhere near the Peabody until we all discovered Miss Adrian’s body together.”
“And the poisoning happened at the Peabody?” asked Susan.
Lulu said, “Honey, we just don’t know. It could’ve happened to her barbeque ribs here and not kicked in until she got back to her room.” She spoke in a quiet voice in case any of the few customers in the dining room should happen out on the porch.
“I don’t see how that could have been possible. The dining room was full of people. Somebody would have noticed someone putting poison in her food.”
“You know how packed the restaurant is at a regular lunchtime. It was even busier yesterday for everyone to see the scout’s reaction to the food. Her plate was constructed in phases and kept warm. Someone could have sneaked into the kitchen and messed with it. Ben was slaving in the pit. Waitresses were rushing in and out picking up orders.” Lulu shrugged.
Susan reached over and squeezed Lulu’s thin arm. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Lulu. No one in their right mind is going to boycott Aunt Pat’s because of this. Oh, maybe they’ll take a break for a few days, but then they’ll be hankering for the best barbeque in Memphis.” Susan glanced up and quickly put a hand to her hair, smoothing down some errant blond flyaways.
Lulu followed her gaze and wasn’t surprised to see Seb coming over. It was obvious that Susan had a crush on him. Her whole demeanor changed when Seb was around. When Seb first came back to Memphis, Lulu
“Well, stop it! What are you doing?”
“Coco, can you keep a secret?”
Although the lunch traffic had been steady, the dinner crowd was thinner than usual. When Susan Meredith shut down Southern Accents for the day and went to Aunt Pat’s, she didn’t see the steady stream of people coming in and out that she usually did. After eating supper, she settled in a rocker next to Lulu’s.
“It looks quieter than usual,” she said to Lulu.
Lulu nodded. “Lunch was busy, but that might have been people who were looking to get some gossip about Miss Adrian’s death.” She rocked for a minute in reflective silence. “How were things at the gallery today?”
“One of the reasons I came in was to talk to Sara this morning. Southern Accents was really buzzing. I’ve never seen people so excited by an exhibit. They went on and on about the vibrancy of the show. Word of mouth yesterday afternoon and today brought in a lot more people than I usually get during the week.” Lulu raised her eyebrows. “That’s what I was telling her,” said Susan. “Rebecca Adrian didn’t know two cents about art. Too bad Rebecca couldn’t have been murdered before she filled Sara’s mind with all that negative energy.”
“You assumed it was murder?”
“Lord knows I felt like murdering her myself yesterday. But,” she added, stabbing her finger in the air, “I didn’t . And there are plenty of patrons who can attest to the fact that I was knee-deep in tourists all afternoon.”
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean that you did her in,” protested Lulu. “I was commenting on the fact that you thought it was murder.”
“Well, if I felt like stringing Rebecca Adrian up by her neck, then everybody else probably felt the same way. Sure she was murdered. Why else would a healthy, twenty-something, hateful creature end up dead at the Peabody? If I’d been Sara, I’d have had murder on the brain for sure. Right after I left Southern Accents for the day, I went straight home to meditate and do some yoga. I can’t tell you how stressed out I was. And Sara must have been even more stressed out than me.”
“But Sara didn’t kill her, of course.”
“Of course,” said Susan. “Because she wasn’t even at the Peabody. She was . . .” Susan waited for Lulu to fill in the blank on Sara’s alibi.
Lulu rocked violently in her rocking chair for a minute. “Well, she was working at the restaurant, naturally. She wasn’t anywhere near the Peabody until we all discovered Miss Adrian’s body together.”
“And the poisoning happened at the Peabody?” asked Susan.
Lulu said, “Honey, we just don’t know. It could’ve happened to her barbeque ribs here and not kicked in until she got back to her room.” She spoke in a quiet voice in case any of the few customers in the dining room should happen out on the porch.
“I don’t see how that could have been possible. The dining room was full of people. Somebody would have noticed someone putting poison in her food.”
“You know how packed the restaurant is at a regular lunchtime. It was even busier yesterday for everyone to see the scout’s reaction to the food. Her plate was constructed in phases and kept warm. Someone could have sneaked into the kitchen and messed with it. Ben was slaving in the pit. Waitresses were rushing in and out picking up orders.” Lulu shrugged.
Susan reached over and squeezed Lulu’s thin arm. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Lulu. No one in their right mind is going to boycott Aunt Pat’s because of this. Oh, maybe they’ll take a break for a few days, but then they’ll be hankering for the best barbeque in Memphis.” Susan glanced up and quickly put a hand to her hair, smoothing down some errant blond flyaways.
Lulu followed her gaze and wasn’t surprised to see Seb coming over. It was obvious that Susan had a crush on him. Her whole demeanor changed when Seb was around. When Seb first came back to Memphis, Lulu
Similar Books
