“Money,” Ange said. “Two rich husbands, two prenups that would leave them without a dime if they’re caught cheating.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
“Because Linda told me before I married Nick, and she mentioned Mimi too.”
“I understand your logic when it comes to the perfume bottle in Jake’s house, but how could your aunt figure out a connection with Brad? Even if she used his private powder room,” Reina wondered.
“I can’t be sure, but either she noticed something, maybe a faint scent lingering on his clothes, or she saw something that let her put one and one together.”
“Seems logical enough to me,” Harper said. “The question is, what’s the next step?”
“We’ll use tonight’s gathering downstairs.” I had it all mapped out, down to our individual parts.
The bar was packed because I’d convinced Ange to hold a party for the Belles, despite losing the match. They were all good sports, I decided when I looked at the cheerful faces, including Louisa.
I gave her an enthusiastic wave.
"Hi, Bex!" She waved back.
Next to her were the detective and Sam.
I watched her closely. She'd been engaged once, shortly after college. It hadn't lasted, and since then, she'd been married to her job and the bowling team. Louisa divided her attention equally between the two men. But while her demeanor towards Jimmy's son was strictly platonically friendly, I detected a certain flirtatious air when she addressed Trey Stone.
The garden club ladies, Jimmy, Sam, Linda, and her husband, they all were there. All of the players in this deadly game had assembled.
A new band was scheduled to appear later on—up-and-coming musicians straight from the biggest town in Cannon Hill County.
"May I?" I squeezed in between Louisa and Sam.
The detective gave me a curious look. I did my best to appear sad, but not too sad. I didn’t think he would have bought me being all cheerful, considering that we last had words about my aunt's death.
I leaned closer to Louisa. "I was wondering if we could hand over the small personal requests that my aunt has left people in her will, or if the probate doesn’t allow it."
"I can’t see a reason why not, if you really want to, or I could just—"
"No, I'm sure she would love to see them all assembled in her library. After all, that was her life—that and this whole town, this community." I almost made myself teary-eyed. "I'm convinced she would have loved everyone here to come. And maybe say a word or two. She loved you all so, so much."
Now I really did well up with tears.
I appeared to have spoken loud enough to be heard at the surrounding tables. Mimi gave me a thumbs-up. Linda followed suit.
Only Jimmy didn’t react, which was no wonder, considering his failing hearing.
"Your dad's in the will," I said to Sam. "Can you bring him around at six o’clock?"
"No problem. He misses her a lot."
Mission accomplished, I thought, and allowed myself to shelve the issue for the rest of the night.
The band was surprisingly good. I’d expected a couple of young guys in T-shirts and jeans. Instead, we had a women’s band. None of them would see 20 again, and they couldn’t care less. The vocalist bore a slight resemblance to Reina, and the keyboard player had a grass-green pixie cut that made me smile just to see. They played a mix of indie rock and pop with a bit of swing thrown in.
To my surprise, I found myself on the dance floor, bopping away like a teenager.
"This is awesome!" I shouted at Harper, who was dancing right next to me.
"They're good, aren't they?" she said. "I might be setting up a meeting with one of the scouts."
She interpreted my concerned frown correctly. "It’s fine with Reina. It was her suggestion. The lead singer’s her cousin’s daughter."
