Jamie thought that sounded reasonable. She leaned over the top of the breakfast bar and tried to reach the drawer. Herbreasts stopped her. “Damn, I can’t reach. You’d think after like fourteen years lugging these things around I’d be used to them.”
“I should have your problems.” Allison tapped her metal spoon left and right on her chest. She was braless in her tank top. “Nothing. I’m a plastic surgeon’s dream.”
“Can we talk about your breasts after we’ve decided what to do about Mandy?” Caroline dipped a spoon into the ice cream and stared at it with obvious longing.
“I don’t think we should do anything, y’all. I think it’s wonderful she’s found happiness after what’s-his-name dumped her.” Jamie grabbed the spoon Allison was holding out for her and figured it didn’t matter if she gained five pounds. She’d look amazing with hips to balance out her chest.
“She’s y’alling us.” Allison turned to Caroline. “There’s a down-on-the-farm story coming, I just know it.”
Jamie laughed. “Shut up. I wasn’t going to say anything about Kentucky, but now that you mention it, I have an aunt whose no-good drunk husband left her with nothing but overdue bills, two kids, and a baby in her belly. And when she went on down to that bank to argue for mercy when they were on the verge of evicting her, the loan officer took one look at her and fell in love.”
Caroline swallowed, her lip curled. “What thehelldoes that have to do with Mandy?”
“It means that love can come when you least expect it and you shouldn’t close the door on it.” Jamie shoved a big mouthful of mint chocolate chip in her mouth and sighed, taste buds bursting into an alleluia chorus. “Why can’t the same be true for Mandy?”
“Because something is weird about Damien.” Caroline set her spoon down, ice cream uneaten.
The willpower was admirable. Jamie bent back for another scoopful. She wasn’t the one who needed to wear a weddinggown in six weeks. Though she did have to put on a bridesmaid dress and walk down the aisle in front of a hundred people. She set her own spoon down with a sigh. She didn’t want to pay to alter the dress.
Caroline looked at both of them. “I think we should do a deep dive on on him on Google and social media.”
“Background check him?” Allison asked thoughtfully. “I like it. That’s a good idea.”
Jamie was horrified. “You can’t do that! It’s unethical.” She glanced toward the front door, even though she knew Mandy was out at dinner with Damien and probably wouldn’t be home for another hour. Prying into Mandy’s business didn’t sit right with her. “And there’s nothing wrong with Damien, he’s just a little reserved.”
“Maybe he has a secret life,” Allison said. “Lots of people do.”
“That doesn’t sound very secret then,” Jamie commented.
Caroline was heading into the living room, still dressed in a pale gray suit from work. She picked up her computer case and whipped her laptop out.
Jamie abandoned her spoon and rushed to Caroline’s side, tripping over her ankle-length skirt in the process. “I don’t think this is such a good idea. Mandy won’t like it.”
“Mandy will never know we did a search unless something is wrong. Then she’ll thank us for warning her before the baby is born.”
“I think you’re smart to do it.” Allison perched on the corner of the couch, ice cream carton in hand. “He could be a deadbeat dad to six kids for all you know.”
Caroline was biting her lip, clicking away. Jamie tried to follow on the screen, but Caroline was opening windows too fast for her to catch but a glimpse.
Suddenly a big newspaper article popped up and Caroline paused.
“Holy shit,” Allison said, her words mumbled behind a mouthful of ice cream.
“What?” More than a little nervous, Jamie read the headline. “Husband arrested in Southloop slaying…What is this all about?” But somehow she knew what it meant, and her heart started to pound. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t.
Caroline sucked in a sharp breath. “The cops arrested Damien for killing his wife! Oh. My. God.” The computer went unbalanced on her legs and toppled to the floor with a horrible crash. “I never thought, I mean I never, oh shit, oh shit, what are we going to do?”
“He must not have done it.” Jamie swallowed hard, shock sending a shiver through her. “Otherwise, he’d be in jail, right?” She gripped a throw pillow. “Right?”
Allison reached for the laptop. “That’s a damn good question. One we should answer. Then we need to see if Mandy knows Damien’s fascinating marital history.”
“Tell her?”
“Well, obviously.”
Somehow Jamie didn’t think that would lead to the enrichment that Beckwith had assured Mandy was right around the corner.
“Keep researching!” she said. “Go deep!”
