They were whispering, their heads glued together like football players going over their next play. I tiptoed forward, wondering if I could get a better listen.
Of courseI know it’s not polite to eavesdrop, but I figured that Malene owed me since she’d kept such a valuable secret from me for years.
Years.
I was due for some intel.
Malene’s voice floated in the air and straight to my ears. “But I didn’t tell her about— Clem! What are you doing here?”
Dagnabbit! Plastering on my most innocent smile, I said, “I saw your car out there and came by to say hello.”
Malene’s gaze shifted from me to the quilt on the window. “Don’t you know what it means when that is hanging up?”
I folded my arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “It means you’re inspecting it for cat hair?”
“Clem, you know my cat is hairless,” Norma Ray said. “How would any cat hair get on the quilt?”
“I believe our dear Clementine was joking,” Urleen said, eyeing me suspiciously.
“For your information,” Malene snapped, “when the quilt is hanging up, that means we’re having an important meeting.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you,” I said. “I just wanted to know what the ladies thought of your new hairdo.”
Norma Ray leaned over, squinting so close to Malene that she looked like she was about to inhale her. “Is your hair different?”
Malene batted her away. “If you wore your glasses, you would know that. I told y’all that I confessed to Clementine who I truly am.”
“Didn’t you notice the crystal sequins on her jean jacket?” Urleen said.
Malene modeled her clothes. “It took me all night to bedazzle this thing.”
“I thought those were shiny buttons,” Norma Ray said.
“They are not shiny buttons,” Malene snipped. “They are shiny crystals, like Urleen said.”
“Huh.” Norma Ray sounded bewildered. “Well, you don’t say.”
“You need glasses,” Malene mumbled before turning to me. “As you can see, the ladies love my new look. At least, Urleen does,” she grumbled.
Urleen adjusted her heather-gray cardigan that draped her shoulders. “Heard Crystal Darsey is trying to take over your territory, Clem.”
I scoffed. News was traveling a bit too quickly for my liking. “How do y’all know that?”
“Dottie Hutto called me after Crystal met with Hadley this morning and told me all about it.”
“And Lance delivered us coffee a little while back,” Norma Ray said. “Don’t forget about that.”
My mind reeled. “So Lance told y’all about the van, and Dottie about Hadley.”
“That’s right,” Malene said. “We were just about to call an emergency meeting of the quilting bees to discuss what to do.”
“Yes, we were trying to think of ways to get rid of Crystal,” Norma Ray said. “Malene wanted to poison her, but I reminded Malene that was illegal.”
“Poison!” I choked on a gob of saliva that slid down my throat. “Malene! Are you trying to get yourself arrested?”
Malene shrugged. “It’s not like I would have killed her. Just made her sick enough that she considered leaving, that’s all.”
“That’s all? That’s enough.” I flared out my arms and hoped I looked menacing. “Let me handle Crystal, okay? Trust me, she’s not going to get this job at Hadley Hutto’s. I’ve got a secret weapon.”
