Fixing To Die

Mary Turner looked stricken. “I had no idea the situation had gotten that bad with your ex-husband, Serenity.” She paused, then continued in a rush, “I guess you might as well wait here and see if Nathan shows up. Y’all go into the front parlor, and I’ll go talk to Marcelline about coffee or something.” She turned and hurried down the hall without waiting for a response.

Wilbanks took his client by the arm and turned her toward the parlor. He flashed a smile at An’gel and Dickce. “If you’ll excuse us, ladies.”

As he led Serenity Foster away, An’gel heard the young woman mutter to her companion, “If Nathan doesn’t come through with the money, I swear I’ll kill him this time.”

CHAPTER 9

An’gel stared at the retreating backs of Serenity Foster and her lawyer. If she had been Mary Turner, she would have not-so-politely shown the two of them the door, custody battle or no custody battle.

Dickce’s elbow dug into her side. “Did you hear that?”

An’gel regarded her sister with a frown. “The threat, you mean? Yes, I heard it. What of it?”

“Doesn’t it worry you a little?” Dickce asked. “The last thing we need is to be involved in another murder.”

An’gel resisted the temptation to roll her eyes at Dickce. “I seriously doubt that petulant young woman is going to do anything of the kind. Don’t let your imagination run away with you, Sister.”

“We’ll see.” Dickce shook her head. “I’m getting a bad feeling about all this.”

“That’s probably the extra piece of carrot cake you ate at lunch.” An’gel was in no mood to deal with Dickce’s feelings. She had them far too often, and most of the time they were wrong. Just figments of Dickce’s frequently overactive imagination.

“Do you have any idea, Sister, how often I long to slap your smug face?” Dickce looked annoyed.

An’gel paid no attention to this little sally. She badly wanted to talk to Mary Turner in private, but at the moment she didn’t see much hope of that. Mary Turner would be bound to engage in conversation with her cousin and her lawyer. She certainly wouldn’t leave them alone in the parlor if she were their hostess, and not necessarily because of good manners. That lawyer looked more than a little seedy to her.

Mary Turner returned pushing a tea cart. She paused a moment to speak to An’gel and Dickce. “I’m so sorry about all this,” she said. “I’m sure you don’t want to have anything to do with this mess, but would you come in with me? I have a hard time dealing with Serenity.”

“Certainly, my dear,” An’gel said. “You shouldn’t have to face this by yourself. Where is Henry Howard?” She thought it odd that he wasn’t here during a situation of this kind, when his wife obviously needed support.

Mary Turner frowned. “He’s gone into town to the library to do some research, and then he’s meeting later on with his critique group.”

“I didn’t know he was a writer,” Dickce said.

“Yes,” Mary Turner replied. “He’s been working on an epic fantasy novel for several years now.”

“I hope he’s successful with it,” Dickce said. “I mostly read mysteries and nonfiction, but I’d read his fantasy novel since I know him.”

“He really wants to be able to write full-time,” Mary Turner said, “but of course, we can’t afford for him to. I can’t run this place by myself, and we don’t have the money to hire someone full-time to do all the things he does. If he ever manages to sell this thing and it takes off, well, that would be different.” She shrugged. “I’d better take this into my guests before the coffee gets cold.”

“Of course,” An’gel said. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Mary Turner resumed her progress with the tea cart, and the sisters followed. When An’gel entered the room, she caught a glimpse of Serenity Foster and Wilbanks, apparently oblivious to the fact that they had company, engaged in making out on one of the sofas. An’gel cleared her throat loudly, and the two sprang apart. Wilbanks got hastily to his feet, his face red.

“Here’s the coffee,” Mary Turner said. “Plus some of Marcelline’s wonderful oatmeal raisin cookies.” She placed the cart near the end of the sofa where Serenity Foster still sat.

She didn’t look in the least embarrassed at having been caught in a clinch, An’gel thought. At least the lawyer had the grace to look abashed. Girls these days simply had no sense of proper behavior. Carrying on like that with a man who looked to be old enough to be her father, or almost. And her lawyer to boot. An’gel’s opinion of the girl, not high to begin with, sank even lower.

While she and Dickce found seats on the other sofa, facing Serenity Foster and Wilbanks, Mary Turner served the coffee as if she had not observed the behavior of her two most recent guests. After passing around plates and then the cookies, Mary Turner took a seat in a chair placed perpendicular to the sofas.

“Did Nathan give you any idea of what time he planned to arrive here?” Mary Turner took a sip of her coffee while she waited for an answer.