Thirty and a Half Excuses
Page 27

How could she do that? How could she tear me down in one breath, and then build me up in the next?
“You don’t want to see it at all?”
She looked up and smiled. “I trust you. You’re really good at landscaping, so I’ll just see it when it’s done. You can surprise me.”
I wanted to protest and tell her I refused to go back out, but then she’d want to know why.
Violet grabbed her purse as a black sedan pulled into the parking lot. She put her hand on her chest and took several deep breaths. “Brody’s here.” Her skin was flushed, and she looked more excited than a person had a right to be about a first date. “Thanks for closing up, Rose. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have fun,” I said, but a heaviness had settled on me. I knew part of it had to do with Violet’s entanglement with Brody and my lingering worry over Joe’s secrets, but I couldn’t help thinking it was more than that. Something below the surface. I just couldn’t figure out what.
After I closed up the shop, I went home, feeling guilty because I hadn’t let Muffy out since I’d left for the day. I’d been so distracted by Jonah that I’d forgotten to swing by in the afternoon. Muffy was ecstatic to see me, jumping up and licking my hands and face when I bent down to pet her. We stayed outside for a long time as I mulled over my thoughts, wallowing in hurt and confusion. I didn’t usually allow myself to wallow, but this seemed like a good night for it.
While I was sitting on the porch, a car turned into Miss Dorothy’s driveway. Had the intruder come back to finish what he started? Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to return in broad daylight and park a car in the driveway. Nevertheless, I was curious, so I slid off the steps and walked into the yard, which gave me a perfect view of the house. A woman got out and stomped up to the front, heading inside without even knocking. She obviously knew Miss Dorothy wasn’t home.
Miss Mildred came out of her house carrying her watering can, and for once it wasn’t because of me. Her glare was firmly fixed on the car in Miss Dorothy’s driveway.
“Do you know whose car that is?” I asked her against my better judgment.
She kept her gaze on the house for so long I thought she was going to pretend she didn’t hear me. “I suspect it belongs to Christy, her niece. A ne’er-do-well who moved to Shreveport a few years back.”
“Why isn’t she staying with her mother?”
“Because I suspect she’s here to claim what she thinks is hers.”
“She’s inheriting the house?”
“Well, she thinks she is. But what she thinks and what’s true are two different things in this case.”
“Aren’t she and her mother Miss Dorothy’s only living relatives?”
“Yep.”
I squinted in confusion. “Then who—”
Miss Mildred set her watering can down on the porch and started down the steps. “Come with me, and you can find out right along with Christy.”
I put Muffy inside, and then fell into step behind Miss Mildred, surprised she’d not only had a semi-conversation with me, but actually invited me along. Which made me highly suspicious. Still, my curiosity overruled the warnings ringing in my head.
Miss Mildred hobbled up the steps and rapped on the door.
Christy answered it, an amused look on her face. “Hey there, Mildred. Where’s the casserole? Ain’t you God-fearing Baptists known for your condolence casseroles?”
Miss Mildred gasped. “How dare you stand in your aunt’s doorway making blasphemous comments about casseroles!”
“Well, you aren’t known for offering your compassion, so if you aren’t here with a casserole, you’re here to snoop.”
I would have loved to bask in the revelation that I wasn’t the only recipient of Miss Mildred’s contempt, but the situation felt like it was escalating quickly. I needed to diffuse it if I had any hope of getting answers.
Offering a smile, I said, “Hi, I’m Rose, and I don’t think we’ve met. I live down the street. I just came over to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your aunt.”
“You’re Rose? Aunt Dorothy mentioned you.” Christy pushed open the screened door and looked me up and down. “You look normal to me.”
My face burned with embarrassment.
She shrugged. “I’m not surprised. Aunt Dorothy was as thick as thieves with this one here.” She pointed to Miss Mildred. “And she ain’t got one damn good thing to say about anybody.”
Christy’s words hurt. While Dorothy had always preferred Violet, she’d been nice to me. I hadn’t realized she’d thought I was strange, although everyone else did, so I wasn’t sure why it was surprising. “Have the police contacted you since last night?” I asked. “I wanted to make sure you heard about the attempted break-in.”
Her eyes widened. “What break-in?”
“Someone tried to get in the back—”
Miss Mildred seemed to have regained her gumption. “It don’t matter to you who tried to do what in this house,” she said, her head jutting forward like a bobble head. “Since you don’t own it and will never own it.”
Christy put her hands on her hips. “What fool nonsense are you talkin’ about, old woman? I’m her only kin, after my momma. And if she got it, she’s givin’ it to me.”
Miss Mildred smirked. She loved lording information over people’s heads. “So you’ve read the will?”