Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments
Page 34

“No we don’t. Half the town is over the age of sixty. Everyone probably remembers the fire.” I pointed to the house next door. “If Miss Mildred won’t help us out, we can just march over to Miss Opal’s and ask her.”
“Think about it, Rose. You were onto something when you said all that neighborhood watch business is her attempt to solve a mystery. You and I both know she’s always filing away details.”
“Not all of them are right,” I pointed out. “She gets all kinds of things wrong.”
“She only seems to skew them when you’re involved. And you weren’t even born when this happened, so I think you’re off the hook. Besides, she was your momma’s best friend and you think your momma might have killed Dora. All the more reason to keep Mildred around—you can pump her for information about Dora and your momma.”
“She’s not gonna willingly give us information that proves Momma killed Dora.”
“Don’t you think Miss Mildred would have built a wood pile in your front yard and burned your momma at the stake if she truly thought your momma was a murderer? I’ve never met a woman more judgmental of what she considers wrong-doin’.”
She had a point. My jaw clenched. “Maybe so, but I refuse to traipse around town with Miss Mildred.”
“Who said we have to take her with us? Let’s tell her she’s the home base and we’re gonna do the leg work.”
I groaned. This would be an absolutely terrible idea if it weren’t such a good one.
“Ha!” Neely Kate said, her voice filled with excitement. “You know I’m right.”
I couldn’t outright admit it was a good idea. I still wasn’t sure I wanted to involve nosy Miss Mildred by doing more than interviewing her, but I could see some of Neely Kate’s points. “Fine.”
Before I could change my mind, Neely Kate hurried back to the porch, leaving me to reluctantly follow behind.
“Okay, Miss Mildred,” Neely Kate said, holding out her hand to shake. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
She gave Neely Kate’s hand a brisk shake and proceeded to drop it as though it were on fire.
“So here’s how this is gonna work,” Neely Kate said. “You’re gonna be home base. You’ll stay here and be in charge—”
“In charge?” I blurted out, but Neely Kate ignored me.
“And we’ll report back to you. You’ll be like Bobbie on Supernatural.”
Miss Mildred’s face puckered like a prune. “What’s Supernatural?”
Neely Kate blinked, her mouth parting open, and her full body seemed to shudder. “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that.” I felt an unexpected stab of sympathy for my former neighbor. Four months ago I’d been in her shoes. Supernatural was one of Neely Kate’s favorite TV shows. She’d shamed me into watching it too.
Miss Mildred waved aside her comments about the show with much more bravery than I’d possessed. “If I’m hangin’ around here, how am I gonna help solve the mystery?
“We’ll bring back clues, and you can help us figure out where to go from there.”
“Huh.” She was actually considering this.
“We can get walkie-talkies,” Neely Kate added. “So we can keep track of each other.”
Miss Mildred nodded. “And we’ll have code names.”
This was getting out of hand.
“Miss Mildred,” I groaned. “This is—”
“It was Atchison Manufacturing,” Miss Mildred said, her eyes bright. “Henry Buchanan owned it. He never reopened it after it burned down in the fire right after Thanksgiving, and he hung himself in his basement a few weeks later.”
“So it was Ima Jean’s Buchanan’s husband,” I said, turning to Neely Kate. Dora had also explicitly mentioned Henry in the journal. We were definitely on the right track.
Neely Kate shot me an I told you so look, but I wasn’t willing to let her gloat. I was pretty sure Miss Opal could have told us the same thing.
Miss Mildred glanced around the neighborhood. “Mitsy Johnson is peering out her picture windows. I can’t talk to you out here.”
“You want to go inside?” Neely Kate asked.
Miss Mildred looked offended. “What kind of sleuth are you? If I invite you inside, it’s gonna look suspicious. I’ll meet you somewhere.”
“This is getting ridiculous,” I muttered.
But Neely Kate’s head bobbed. “You’re right. Where do you want to meet?”
“I was gonna suggest the produce aisle of the Piggly Wiggly, but that one can’t go back there without causing a commotion. She caused enough trouble yesterday.” Miss Mildred’s eyes filled with disgust and she flicked a finger toward me. “In fact, I’m not sure I want to work with her.”
I half expected Neely Kate to tell her I was off our nonexistent team, but instead she squared her shoulders. “Rose stays or it’s no deal.”
The elderly woman’s jaw set.
“Rose is one of the sweetest people I know, but for some reason you’re just too pigheaded to see it.”
The elderly woman pointed a gnarled finger at me. “That girl is possessed by demons. I can’t risk her demons jumping out and taking over my own soul.”
Neely Kate put her hand on her hip. “Are you sure you don’t watch Supernatural?”