Alice smiled. “Right. We used the key that Birda always leaves under her flowerpot. There wasn’t any breaking.”
For what it was worth, Tart sat stoically staring at the three of us. After a couple of seconds she blinked a few times. “I suppose I’m not supposed to be hearing this conversation.”
I pointed to the skillet. “Does anyone want a fried egg?”
“Not me,” Alice said. “I’ve got a tin.”
Ruth rolled her eyes. “Yes. Give her a fried egg. She could use some protein to go with her sugar.”
While I cooked up another batch of eggs, I explained what had happened the night before to Cora and the sighting of the Backwoods Banshee.
“So a piece of fabric ended up in the dead woman’s hand?” Tart said after sipping her cup of coffee.
“Exactly.” I slipped an egg onto a plate and settled it in front of Alice. “I haven’t known these two women my whole life, but I’ve known them long enough that I don’t believe them capable of murder.”
I laid the skillet on the stove and sank into a chair. “That’s why we searched Birda’s house, and that’s why we’re going to talk to another woman today—her name’s Tallulah.”
Tart’s brow wrinkled in worry. “But why don’t you just leave this up to the police to investigate?”
I shrugged. “Because my friend is a potential suspect. Plus, there are things I can see that the police can’t.”
Tart’s eyes widened. “So you’re thinking of talking to the banshee?”
I paused. “No. I wasn’t.”
Ruth knuckled my forearm. “And why not? What if the banshee saw something? What if she knows who did it?”
I gaped at her. “Everyone says she only appears once a year.”
Ruth swatted the air. “Psha. That’s only for us common folk.” She winked at me. “You’re clairvoyant. You might be able to communicate with her more easily.”
“I can help,” my mother said.
“How?”
She cleared her throat. “I’m clairvoyant same as you. Put us both in the same place and the same time—”
“And folks will see ghosts,” I finished for her. “Our powers will amplify any spirits in the area. Okay.” I glanced at Ruth and Alice. “When should we go?”
“Tonight’s as good as any time.” Alice picked at her egg. “And I talked to Tallulah this morning, or she held the phone up to the spirit. Or so she said.”
Ruth slapped one hand against her forearm. “You’re barking up the wrong tree talking to her. Tallulah couldn’t find an eggshell in an empty room.”
Alice frowned. “She had reason to dislike Cora.”
“I don’t think she would commit murder because the Baptists were mad at her.”
“You don’t know that,” Alice argued. “I’ve read stories where Baptists committed murder for less than that.”
“I should hope not,” Tart said.
We all turned to her.
She hitched a shoulder. “It just seems to me that murder shouldn’t be committed no matter what.”
I nodded. “Right. Okay, then. Let’s clean up and get a game plan for tonight. As for today, Alice, you’re with me.”
I cleaned up the kitchen for the second time that morning and readied myself to meet Tallulah and her spirit.
