“We sure do. It’s a treat to see you back home where you belong,” the woman I hadn’t recognized said. I gave her a quick once-over. Silver hair cut in a pixie, grey eyes, and red lipstick didn’t trigger a memory. But the voice with its husky timbredid. “Ms. Vine?”
“The very same.” She winked at Ange. “Lovely to see you gals still stick together.”
“That’s girlfriends for you.” Ange grinned. Ms. Vine had been our middle school teacher in history and biology.
“You must know Mimi, and let me introduce you to Darla and Marion, all old students of mine.”
Darla was the one who’d addressed me. “Do you have pets?” I asked, before I added a dramatic sigh. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Cosmo on my watch.”
Darla clapped her hand over her mouth. “Perish the thought. The sweet kitty must be such a comfort to you.”
“He is. Although –” I broke off as Vonda brought our orders. She’d arranged Cosmo’s treats in a neat circle.
“They do say that trouble comes in threes,” Marion said.
Darla gasped. “You mean, first Jake, then Violet, and after that, someone else?”
“Nonsense,” Mimi said. “You’ll only scare Bex.”
“She’s right,” Ms. Vine said. “There’s no scientific basis for these old wives’ tales.”
“Especially since Violet died from natural causes and Jake didn’t,” Ange said with unusual bluntness. I shot her a sideways glance. Did she also try to fish for information?
I gave a dramatic shudder. “Are you sure about Jake? Why would anyone want to hurt him? He was so nice, once you got to know him better.”
Mimi emptied her smoothie glass. “That’s true. We’ll miss him.”
“There’s quite a few who won’t.” Marion pursed her over-filled lips. “He wasn’t above picking a fight when you crossed him. I even saw you having words with him. Darla, too.”
Mimi rolled her eyes. “Of course we did. I tried to get him to relent a little, when it comes to kids running across his lawn when they visit the lending library.”
I found myself nodding ferociously. In my youth, Jake had reduced me to tears when Ange, Harper, and I broke the window of his greenhouse with a badly aimed ball. To make up for it, I’d spent a month mowing his lawn.
It took me years to appreciate him. If you broke the rules, Jake came down on you, hard. If you were wronged, he’d be on your side, no matter what. He’d raised more money for good causes than Mimi and put a stop to more juvenile mischief than Ms. Vine.
“Were there any real feuds?” I asked.
Darla nibbled her lip. “I don’t want to spread rumors.”
“Of course not.” I leaned closer.
“What about a certain someone he caught red-handed, shooting a protected bird? Or …” She stopped mid-sentence. Marian’s glare was enough to lower the temperature to freezing. It certainly chilled Darla. Not me though. I’d gone from a cozy warmth to a vicious hot flash that disappeared as fast as it had attacked me.
Cosmo’s fur bristled. I stroked him.
“I’m certain it’s all a mistake,” Mimi said. She signaled Vonda for her bill. “Jake was getting on in years and we all make mistakes. Only yesterday I searched the whole house for one of your books, Bex, until I remembered I’d already returned it, just before your aunt passed away.” A shadow flitted over her face. Then she pulled herself together. “I won’t pester you to join our garden club or come birdwatching with me. You’ll have your hands full for quite a while. But please, drop in whenever you want to. It’s good to know your aunt’s legacy is secured.”
“I appreciate that.”
She gave first me and then Ange a quick unexpected hug. Ange sniffed the air. “I love that perfume.”
“I rarely leave the house without it,” Mimi admitted. “I have bottles in different sizes.”
“I can’t blame you. What is it? Maybe I should put it on my Christmas wish list.”
“Your husband won’t thank me for that. He wouldn’t be the first.”
“It’s that expensive?”
