“It’s not safe.” Cordelia couldn’t be certain of Sean’s intentions, but she wasn’t willing to stick around and risk a poisoning.
“Of course it is.” Daisy gave her a pitying smile. “Look how busy it is. No one’s going to hurt us out here in the open.” Daisy pulled out a penny. “Heads omelet, tails French toast.” She flipped the coin and squealed with delight when it landed on tails.
Belinda Sue leaned forward and cupped the side of her mouth. “Don’t look now, but I think I’ve spotted our suspect.”
“Have you met him before?” Cordelia’s temper flared. It was one thing to issue thinly veiled threats to her, but he better not dare mess with her chicks. “Has he hassled you?”
“No, momma bear. Settle down.” Daisy patted her hand and nudged Belinda Sue with her elbow. “But it’s not hard to pick him out of this crowd, considering he’s the one staring daggers into the back of your head.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
THEY LEFT THE RESTAURANT IN A HURRY, DROPPING A CRUMPLEDtwenty on the table for their drinks. The chicks mostly stayed quiet on the ride back, letting Cordelia do her thinking without interruption, until they crossed the Sarsaparilla Falls town line.
“At least we know what he looks like now,” Belinda Sue said. “He won’t be able to sneak around town without us nailing him to the wall.”
“Exactly.” Cordelia smacked the steering wheel. “It’s always good to know your enemies.”
Truth be told, Cordelia didn’t want to know Sean in any capacity. She doubted very much recognizing him would keep him away from Sarsaparilla Falls if he wanted to be here. And seeing as he had business with the Abernathys and the sheriff in his pocket, he had nothing to fear from three aging sex workers and their untested madam.
“I still want my steak and eggs,” Arline said.
“Fine.” Cordelia pulled into the Eagle Cafe. “Everyone out. We’re getting breakfast and we’re going to keep our wits about us. This is just another day.”
“Yes, Miss Cordelia,” the three of them said in unison.
They were giving her sass, but she didn’t mind, so long as they did as she asked. The last thing she wanted was for the chicks tovisibly freak out. Investigating a murder took a certain amount of stealth, and they weren’t exactly made to blend in.
She should’ve known walking into Benedict’s would be seen as an act of war. She just hoped they could brace for the fallout.
A hostess with a crunchy perm and a missing incisor showed them to a booth with peeling red vinyl. A dollar-store portrait of a howling coyote hung below a set of steer horns and rusted farm equipment tacked to the wall—what passed for ambiance in the town’s only diner.
Once they were seated, Daisy leaned in, careful to keep her voice low. “Do you think Sean killed the pastor?”
“Yes.” Cordelia didn’t hesitate. She’d seen death in his eyes. “I think he has a deal with the Abernathys to tap into the alleged oil on Chickadee land, and I think he’d stop at nothing to get at it.”
Belinda Sue shook her head. “All this over a rumor. There’s never been proof of oil on Chickadee land any more than there’s been a hint of buried treasure.”
“Why don’t y’all just invite them onto the land and let them drill,” Arline said. “When they see there’s nothing, they’ll leave us alone.”
Cordelia tapped her chin. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”
Belinda Sue gaped at her. “You can’t be serious. Don’t you know that if you offer to swim a scorpion across the river, you’re asking to get stung?”
“It was just an idea.” Cordelia absently spun the glass of water the waitress dropped off.
They ordered their food. And while they waited, Cordelia planned. She wanted the person responsible for killing the pastor brought to justice, and the deeper they got into their wayward investigation, the more things pointed toward Sean O’Leary andthe Abernathys. But if it was oil under the Chickadee land they were after, calling them on it might reveal more of their hand.
Belinda Sue might’ve thought it was a bad idea, but Cordelia’s back was against the wall. Sean O’Leary wouldn’t bother digging into her for fun. He had intentions. It was now on her to shake his equilibrium and throw off his expectations.
She dropped the chicks off at the motel, then made an excuse about needing to pick up a few things from the H-E-B. As she drove through town, she waved to a few people she recognized from her regular trips to the library. The more time she lived in Sarsaparilla Falls, the more it began to feel like home in a way Dallas never had. She always thought she preferred the anonymity of a big city, but maybe that’s just what she told herself so she wouldn’t have to admit that loneliness hadn’t really been a choice.
The Abernathys lived on a quiet cul-de-sac with only two other neighbors. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint their house. She just had to look for the red wood shutters and tacky marble fountain at the center of their circular drive. Money could buy a lot, but it couldn’t account for taste.
Showing up to the Abernathys’ was risky, but Cordelia didn’t come empty-handed. If she could keep Edna from straight-up slamming the door in her face, she might be able to find the foot in she’d been searching for all along.
Cordelia rang the doorbell and stood on the stoop, tapping her foot. She knew Edna was home. Her car was in the drive, and Cordelia could hear the notes of a daytime courtroom drama on the other side of the heavy wooden door.
She rang the bell again and was just about to leave a note when Edna finally answered. She had a lazy hold to her stance, like she’d taken her sweet time on purpose. It was a power move that had no effect on Cordelia. She didn’t play those types of games.
