“Is it possible that something went wrong on one of these deliveries and that got Earl killed?” I decided to ask the question, even though I suspected it wasn’t likely, remembering Floyd had said that they never dealt with the money.
“I didn’t have a reason to kill him, if that’s what you’re asking. Retired, boring, middle class white dude was a great cover. No one would suspect him of anything. He was always on time, did what he was told. I almost felt bad when I heard he’d croaked.” Sting Ray lit another cigarette.
Wow, a real charmer.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t learning anything that I thought was going to break the case. And if I sat here much longer, I would probably increase my chances of getting lung cancer. Time to wrap this up.
“Sting Ray, thank you for answering my questions. I’ll let you get back to your…” I motioned with my hand. “Whatever it is you’re doing.”
“We never talked.” He lowered his voice.
“Excuse me?” It took me a second to gather his meaning.
“If you breathe one word of this to anyone, I will have you…” He made a slicing motion across his throat with his hand.
“Got it,” I squeaked, springing off the bench. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know who I was. One call to Floyd and he would. “Nice not meeting you, ever,” I added, before I turned and bolted for the door.
Around nine the next morning, I got a call from Preston that Fern was going to be arraigned soon. I glanced down at my owl pajama pants then darted back up the stairs to take a shower. My second shower in twelve hours since I’d taken a long, hot one after returning from The Black Oyster last night.
Unfortunately, even this morning I smelled the faint pungent stink of cigarette smoke in my hair. Disgusting. Even worse was that every article of clothing I’d worn needed a thorough washing, which meant that once again, I was pants-less.
I really should have done a load last night when I got back, especially since I wasn’t sleeping anyway, as my mind had raced nonstop for about three hours. Between rehashing Kenny and Cole’s surprise visit, to receiving a death threat, quite a lot had transpired.
Finished with my shower, I got dressed, ultimately deciding on the skirt and sweater I’d worn to my dad’s party. It was a bit dressy, especially when everything was super casual here, but I was too self-conscious to wear tight yoga pants, and I wasn’t going to leave the house in jeans I couldn’t button.
By the time I’d managed to straighten the frizz out of my boring brown hair and dab on some makeup, it was close to ten. Fifteen minutes later, I rushed through the doors of the courthouse to find Preston, my father, and Fern huddled together along the wall opposite the courtroom.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” I panted, waving as I speed-walked toward them.
“Charlee,” Fern beamed, as she pulled me into a tight hug. “You’re just in time to take me home.”
I stepped back so I could see her face. “What? I missed it?”
“Yes, and it was great!” Her smiled pulled wider.
“Did they drop the charges?” I asked hopefully.
“No,” Fern’s grin relaxed slightly. “But it was Judge Wallace, and he chewed out Lee Hines and that skinny blonde Mitchell girl. Said he thought the charges were baloney, and that they should be ashamed of themselves. He had a stern glare for the sheriff, too,” she added.
Some of my joy faded. I was more than happy to hear that the snobby Harper had been given a dressing down, but I felt bad for Cole. He was just following orders. He hadn’t wanted to arrest Fern, and he’d even come to check on me.
“What about the felony charge for the still?” I lowered my voice, not wanting any bystanders to hear. Like being accused of murder was so much better than making moonshine.
“They actually didn’t charge me for that. I’m sure Ms. Mitchell wanted to, but Hines can grow a backbone when he feels it’s necessary. And he knows Judge Wallace likes to imbibe now and then. I would have liked to see them try,” she hooted.
I was relieved that Fern was in such a great mood, especially after being in the slammer, but this wasn’t over yet. “So, what happens next?”
Preston appeared beside me, as my father disappeared down the hall. I’m sure he had mayoral business to attend to. A satisfied smile lit up Preston’s face. “We wait to see if they drop the charges.”
“How likely is that?” I asked.
“Pretty good after that display in there,” he chuckled. This was the most relaxed I’d ever seen the nerdy lawyer. “I’m confident the police will find another suspect. A legitimate suspect this time, and then the charges should be dropped.”
Unfortunately, Preston’s optimism wasn’t wearing off on me. “And if they don’t?”
His expression sobered. “Then there would be a trial. One that they won’t win.”
“Well, I hope it doesn’t come to that.” I looked back to my aunt. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Yep. I’m ready for a nice pot of tea,” she said, her happy grin back in place.
After spending a night in jail, I had to agree that special tea was warranted.
“Charlee.” Preston looked up at me through his wide rimmed glasses. “Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?” At his eager, hopeful expression, I didn’t have the heart to turn him down. Not after he’d helped Fern.
“Sure,” I said, and I meant it. My lunch with Preston hadn’t been bad, until Ashley showed up. My bigger concern was that Preston would get the wrong impression, and I didn’t want to hurt him.
“Great!” His grin was so wide it almost looked painful. “I’ve got an appointment now, but I’ll call you later.”
I nodded, as he gave me
