“No.” Cordelia whipped her head around to face her. “No more funny business. I mean it. We just got ourselves out of the frying pan, I’m not looking to jump into the fire anytime soon.”
Arline crossed her arms and grumbled, but appeared to acquiesce. For now.
Belinda Sue took a few pictures of Sean in the back of the police cruiser for her scrapbook, then they headed back to town.
Within two hours, the entire thing was over. Sean O’Leary had been taken to jail, and the threat to the Abernathys, Stella, and the Chickadee had been eliminated in one fell (or foul, depending on the viewpoint) swoop. It wasn’t legal, or altogether right, but it was the only option she had to ensure the chicks’ safety. When Cordelia’s back was against the wall, she found she didn’t mind getting a little messy to protect the people who meant the world to her.
She was the madam of the Chickadee, after all.
Chapter Thirty
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING, CORDELIA GOT THE CALL FROM EDNA THATshe’d given her statement to Archer and that the pastor’s murder had now been taken out of local hands and turned over to the feds in connection with his other crimes. A judge who couldn’t be bought refused to set bail, considering Sean a flight risk, despite a fierce fight from Sean’s lawyers.
The kidnapping of Edna and the murder of a beloved small-town pastor were enough to end his reign of terror. As Cordelia’s momma would say, good riddance to bad rubbish.
Until the dust fully settled, though, Cordelia wanted to keep her ear to the ground. She still had that book she’d stolen from Sean, though she hadn’t opened it yet, and there was still the matter of the sheriff and whatever other associates Sean O’Leary had in town. She and the chicks weren’t out of the woods yet, just clear of the most immediate danger.
This was how Cordelia ended up banging on the Chickadee’s doors at the crack of dawn. “Up and at ’em. We’re going to church today.”
Daisy stepped out of her room and yawned, her short gray natural hair sticking up in a dozen odd angles. “I just went to bed an hour ago. I don’t got it in me for church today.”
“That’s too bad, because we’re going. All of us. End of story.” Cordelia marched back to her room, confident she wouldn’t needto say another word. They might grumble, but when it came down to it, they respected her authority and followed her lead.
An hour later, the chicks piled into her car in a kaleidoscope of colorful caftans. After church, they decided they would stop at Tilly’s so Cordelia could set them up with at least one proper dress for these types of occasions. The mood was significantly lighter than it had been in weeks, and Cordelia relaxed into the comfort of Daisy’s fussing and Belinda Sue’s complaining and Arline’s silence. They were part of her family now, and she wouldn’t trade them for anything.
She parked in a spot near the back, and the four of them spilled out of the car, Cordelia in her neat A-line black skirt and white button-down with the argyle sweater vest, and the chicks in their rainbow-hued floral caftans. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare, but the chicks liked the attention. They just waved and blew kisses like they were walking the red carpet.
Cordelia spotted Stella standing apart from the two crowds that made up the church’s patrons, who Daisy referred to as the fun ones and the boring ones. Stella nodded at Cordelia, a slight dip of her chin, before turning back to Gladys. There were dark circles under her puffy eyes. It was clear she hadn’t slept well, but at least she wouldn’t be dealing with her guilt behind bars.
As the crowd began to shuffle inside, Cordelia and the chicks stayed back, keeping an eye out for signs of trouble, but everything appeared normal. There had been a few more whispers about the old pastor’s murderer being caught on the way in, but since Sean O’Leary wasn’t from Sarsaparilla Falls—despite a good number of people knowing of him—the gossip wasn’t as juicy. It quickly fell off in favor of Clara Hendricks getting caught stealing packages from her neighbors’ front stoops.
One of the final groups to head inside, Cordelia and the chicks took the last pew. The inside of the church was lit up withpowerful lights that raised the temperature indoors by about twenty degrees. Several ladies had their fans out. The windows had all been covered with thick black velvet curtains, a mark of respect for the former pastor now that his murderer had been brought to justice.
Cordelia was so focused on trying to listen in on town chatter that she didn’t see Archer until he put his hand on her shoulder to draw her attention. She glanced up at him in surprise. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t go to church?”
“I don’t normally, but I thought this would be a special occasion.” He grinned and her toes curled in her flats. “Funny seeing you here.”
“We thought it would be a good idea to stay on top of the news in town, and what better place to do that?” Cordelia lowered her voice. “I heard you caught Sean O’Leary.”
“Yeah. Isn’t that something?” He gave her a piercing look. “The night you tell me about the palytoxin, we just happened to get an anonymous tip that Sean had the toxic substance on hand at his house.”
“The world is full of odd coincidences,” Cordelia said. “But I heard you got Edna Abernathy to corroborate the story, so it sounds like it’s all tied up.”
“Edna’s statement is in. I have no need to question her further.” He dipped his head, and, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he brought his lips in close. “I know what you did. I don’t know why you did it, but I’m going to let that rest for now, so long as it doesn’t happen again.”
She pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart pound firmly against her palm. “I think we understand each other just fine.”
“Glad to hear it.” Archer straightened and cleared his throat. “I hope you ladies are staying out of trouble.”
Daisy giggled and swatted Archer’s arm. “You know us, honey. Can’t stay out of troubletoomuch. What fun would that be?”
Cordelia just shook her head. Archer headed up to the front and took a seat beside his momma, who immediately threw her arms around him, overjoyed to see him in church. This was why Cordelia had done what she did. Their relationship was too precious to be broken, while men like Sean walked around causing destruction for no reason other than to line their pockets and hold power over innocent people.
Hollis Thorne had just taken the altar, looking as smarmy as he had at the festival, when the back doors burst open. Every head in the congregation turned as Sherilynn West paraded into church wearing a bright-pink tunic just thin enough to showcase her neon-green bra and oversize sunglasses that swallowed up half her face. She pushed them up over her mile-high teased hair and slung her beaded bag over her shoulder, the series of gold bangles on her wrist clinking together and echoing in the open chamber. Her first appearance over that threshold in more than twenty-five years.
Tilly Gomez-Esteban audibly groaned, while Vinner Mendez looked like Christmas had just come early. Porter Sheldon jumped up to move down two pews, keeping his hand over his backside like Sherilynn might fish his wallet right out from under him. Cordelia glanced at Archer, whose eyes twinkled with amusement, like he was pleased to have something to entertain him this fine Sunday morning, when he’d rather be sleeping in. And that was all well and good for him, but all Cordelia was asking for was one solitary day without drama.
It seemed like God was busy answering other people’s prayers.
