“That wouldn’t be much of an investigation,” I said. “When would we run from bears, or have car chases, or get shot at, or knock butthead cops into porta-johns?”
Gertie brightened. “That’s true. I would definitely miss the action. I mean, things have picked up a bit on the personal end since I started dating Jeb but there’s no way his bad hips could offer up the workout I get when we’re on a case. Or the creativity, for that matter. I was thinking about buying a book—”
“Nope!” Ida Belle held up a hand. “We had an agreement.”
“That was only for the first date,” Gertie said. “And I still haven’t talked about it, except for the ending up in the hospital part.”
“That’s not how I remember the agreement,” Ida Belle said. “Sexy-time talk is banned. We are not those kind of girlfriends.”
Gertie sighed. “But that means Fortune will never tell us about Carter.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you those kinds of details about Carter even before Ida Belle brought down the ban hammer,” I said.
“You guys are no fun,” Gertie said.
“Well, you’ll never really know that, will you?” Ida Belle said.
“Tease,” Gertie said.
“I can tell you some good gossip on the personal side of my life, though,” I said. “Assuming you still want to know why Emmaline and Carlos are no longer dating.”
“Why?”
“Heck yeah!”
They both responded at once.
I laughed. “You two want to bet on it?”
Ida Belle shook her head. “We’d both be betting on it being Carter.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” I said. “But apparently, it was both more mundane and yet more interesting than Carter putting the strong-arm on the man. You remember I told you about those paintings I saw when I went through Emmaline’s house after the break-in?”
“Yeah,” Gertie said. “You thought they were really good.”
I nodded. “I don’t know crap about art but they looked awesome to me. Well, apparently, they were really good. So good that a gallery in New Orleans is going to put on a show for Emmaline.”
“Wow!”
“That’s incredible!”
“It is,” I agreed. “Emmaline told me that before she met Carter’s dad, she was going to be an artist, but then she got married and put all that aside. So when she took the class and met Carlos, she liked him well enough, but said as time went on, she realized her first love was actually painting and every time she had a date with Carlos, she wished she was in her art room instead. So she cut him loose.”
“I’m not sure if that says a lot for painting or very little for Carlos,” Gertie said.
“I’d go with a lot for painting,” Ida Belle said. “Carlos seemed nice enough, but if a person doesn’t do it for you in the beginning, it’s unlikely they’ll do it for you later on.”
Gertie rolled her eyes. “Says the woman who married the man pursuing her a hundred years after the fact.”
“Preparation time was required,” Ida Belle said.
“What preparation time?” Gertie asked. “Aside from giving the man half your practically empty closet and cleaning out one small corner of your freezer, you didn’t change a thing.”
“He needed preparation time,” Ida Belle said.
“That I can see,” Gertie said. “The way you two do things, Fortune won’t be marrying Carter until her next life.”
“Something to look forward to in death,” I said cheerily.
“Hopeless,” Gertie said, and shook her head.
“Speaking of hopeless and relationship issues, how are we going to handle Liam?” I asked. “I don’t know him so I figured I’d let you guys take the lead. Maybe jump in if I see an opening that makes sense for me to fill but otherwise do the polite nodding thing.”
“If you manage only polite nodding through the entire conversation, I will check your pulse,” Gertie said. “You always come up with good questions.”
Ida Belle nodded. “You’re definitely a natural at investigation. But Gertie and I can take the lead. Men are a lot harder to get relationship information out of, in general, but if he’s going to talk, it will likely be to old ladies like us. We come across as sympathetic.”
“I am sympathetic,” Gertie said. “And I have no idea who you’re calling old.”
“He’s twenty-five,” Ida Belle said. “Everyone is old as far as he’s concerned.”
She turned into the strip mall and parked in front of the butcher shop.
“That’s him at the counter,” Gertie said.
Chapter Four
I took a look through the picture window at the man at the counter.
Six foot two. Two hundred pounds of mostly lean body mass. Excellent biceps. Strong jaw. Disgruntled look on an otherwise handsome face. The meat cleaver he was slamming onto a side of beef was somewhat concerning. Threat level medium until confirmed otherwise.
“No customers,” Ida Belle said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’s working alone.”
“Then let’s do this,” Gertie said and hopped out with the casserole.
We headed into the shop and Liam looked up as the bell rang on the door. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then gave Gertie a small smile.
“Ms. Hebert,” he said. “It’s been a long time.”
“Too long,” Gertie said and stepped up to the counter. “But I swear, you still look just like that boy I taught in school.”
“Hopefully, I’m smarter now,” he said. “How can I help you?”
“We’re actually here for you,” Gertie said. “You remember my best friend Ida Belle, right? And this is our friend Fortune.”
“Of course,” he said, and gave Ida Belle a nod, then he looked over at me. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” I said.
Gertie put the casserole on the counter. “I’m sorry we didn’t make it by sooner, but I made you up a chicken casserole. The instructions are on a sticky on top.”
He looked down at the casserole, clearly confused, then his expression shifted into slightly irritated.
“That wasn’t necessary,” he said.
“Still,” Gertie said. “There are Southern lady requirements that must be met when someone passes.”
He relaxed a bit and nodded. “You’re right and I appreciate the thought. My grandma would have done the same thing.”
“Your grandma had class,” Ida Belle said. “Unfortunately, it’s a diminishing art.”
He nodded. “She was strict as heck but she was a good woman. I’m lucky I had her, especially since my father couldn’t be bothered to raise his only kid.”
“You’ve had a difficult time,” Gertie agreed.
His face flashed with anger again and he shook his head. “And then that man goes and creates drama and aggravation in my life from the grave. I told the police that his death didn’t affect my life one way or another and then they go tell me about last night. Do you know about it?”