“That’s my man,” I winked and pulled him toward the front table. “Let’s get some food.”
???
Waffles and the Rancher Special went right out the window when Sonni told us the special of the day was fried chicken. Flint started drooling, and that was all she wrote.
I sighed as I put my fork down on the plate. I couldn’t eat everything that came with the special. The fried chicken was the absolute best I’d ever eaten. The mashed potatoes weren’t from a box and had those delicious lumps that clung to the gravy. The cornbread had a crispy crust but was soft and buttery on the inside. The collard greens were perfectly sautéed and not a slimy mess.
Total side note here - greens are delicious when you cook them right. A little olive oil, a pat of butter, a clove or two of garlic, then sauté the greens for a few minutes until they get “wilty.” That’s when you know you’ve made magic.
Try it. It will change your life.
Flint’s phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID - Dr. Faith Jackson. Wysdom’s best friend and the Regional Medical Examiner back home.
Flint answered and put her on speaker. “Hey, Faith!”
“What is up, my man Flint!”
I laughed at her bubbly tone. The woman resembled a cherub with her blonde hair and big blue eyes. But even I knew better than to cross the woman when she was carrying a meat thermometer. She got a little stabby with it.
“Celia’s with me,” Flint nodded.
“The Goddess Among Men!” Faith squealed.
I shook my head. “No one calls me that.”
“Wys does!”
“Oh, good lord,” I moaned and covered my face with my hands.
“It’s alright, woman! That’s how you know she loves you,” Faith giggled. “But that’s not why I called. Rand told me you were out of town, and this was the best way to reach you.”
“You have results?” Flint prompted.
“Sure do,” Faith rustled paper on her end of the line. “I did a tox screen on Mr. Cruz. You were right, Flint. He died of selenium poisoning. We found no capsules in his stomach when we did the autopsy. So, I think he was poisoned. Someone slipped it into his food or drink.”
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Yes, wow,” Faith continued. “And the levels of toxicity in his blood meant he’d been poisoned for quite some time.”
“That’s what we thought,” Flint confirmed. “You forwarded your results to the detectives?”
“I did. And they put out a warrant for the arrest of Echo Cruz,” Faith responded. “She’s still missing, though.”
Flint grimaced. “Thanks for working the overtime on this, Faith. Let us know if you need anything else from our end.”
They hung up.
“More sweet tea?” Sonni held up the pitcher at my side. For a big gal, she was pretty light on her feet. I hadn’t even heard her approach the table.
I pushed my glass toward the edge of the table. “Please.”
She nodded, filled up the glass, then disappeared.
Flint and I were the only ones in the diner at the moment. Most of the earlier customers left for their Sunday church duties, and the second-shift crowd of post-church lunch-goers wasn’t here yet.
“So, we think Echo poisoned Octavio with selenium, then got angry when he wasn’t dying fast enough, so she stabbed him?” I went over my thoughts with Flint.
“That seems likely,” he nodded at me.
