Tinkie sat on the side of his bed and smiled sweetly. “You need to watch your back. You were lucky this time. Luck only takes a man so far. And yeah, maybe you should keep it in your pants.”
9
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played softly as we gave our drink orders to the waitress and settled into a dim corner of Players’ Bar. The men were out and about with their “secret” business, and we’d decided to grab a drink and chat before we went back to the Bissonnette House.
“Let’s see that video of Bart falling,” Tinkie suggested as we all had our drinks. Tinkie sipped a cup of hot tea. She was a model of baby production.
Cece found the video on her phone and began to play back the recording as we all hung over her shoulder.
“There’s Bart at the top of the stairs. And look! He’s stumbling backward. Wait.” Cece started the video over. “Do you see any hands pushing him?”
We replayed the video several times, but we couldn’t find definitive proof that Bart was pushed. It was clear he’d lost his balance and stumbled back, but we couldn’t determine why he’d stumbled. It just wasn’t shown in the video.
But I had noticed something interesting. As Cece had panned her phone to follow Bart down the winding staircase, she’d also captured the faces of everyone in the crowd. Most were horrified or at least shocked.
Tinkie leaned down and took off her shoes. “Ladies, I need to head back to the B and B. Maybe the men will be there.”
That sounded like a plan to me, too. Tomorrow I had some legwork to do. And no matter how Tinkie pressed to go shopping, I was going to resist.
On the way to the limo, Tinkie linked her arm through mine. “If we don’t resolve this before we leave, we aren’t giving her her money back.”
I laughed. “We can finish up on this case after Christmas. Trust me, if they’re cheating now, they’ll be cheating on December 26.”
Tinkie sighed. “You’re right about that. I’m just tired and cranky. You’ll find out when you get pregnant.”
“Not on a dare.” I laughed out loud. Tinkie wanted that baby more than she’d ever wanted anything. “It isn’t just the pregnancy. My feet hurt, too. A bed sounds wonderful.”
The morning came in with a brisk wind and storm clouds. I snuggled against Coleman and decided staying in bed was the perfect answer to a cold December day. Yes, I had a case to work, but it was a case I didn’t much like. Not a single person involved inspired me to want to put out a big effort for justice.
Tap, tap, tap! Tap, tap, tap!
Dang it, Tinkie was at the door. The goblins could not be pecking with more persistence. I got up, hoping to save Coleman, but it was too late. His blue eyes were wide open. “She is a morning menace,” he said.
“Tell me about it.” I closed the bedroom door before I opened the door of the suite. “What is it?”
“Up and at ’em.”
“What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you and Oscar in bed, doing what married people do?”
“Been there, done that, got the baby prize to prove it.” Tinkie grinned. “We’ve had more practice than you, Sarah Booth.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “What’s set your tailfeathers on fire this morning?”
“We need to work on our case. I want to clear it up before we leave. I don’t want to be driving back and forth over here. Besides, I was thinking, how hard can it be to find out which cheating person has it in for all the others? There’s a logical answer. It’s the woman—or man—who has no one. The one who got dumped or left out. Simple.”
She was a lot better at math than I was, but somehow I wasn’t sure that motive and deed added up to that end result in this situation. “How do you propose we find out the winners and losers in the cheating game? You think if we just ask, someone will tell us all the dirty little secrets of Columbus society?”
“No, but I’m thinking we can do a little legwork and see what turns up.”
“What? No shopping?”
“Millie and Cece need to write something for their Sunday column, so they’ve begged off shopping this morning. I know you hate shopping. I thought we could put this case to bed.”
I decided to tease her a little. “I thought we were going to follow the men today. To find out what their secret mission is.” I realized I wanted to snoop and follow Coleman around. Coleman and I had our share of fun wherever we were, but in Zinnia, I couldn’t bird-dog him or play pranks. He was the sheriff, and if the citizens didn’t respect him, it could be costly. Here in Columbus, no one knew us or cared what we did.
Tinkie was staring at me like I’d grown a second head. “Are we getting paid to follow the men?” she asked.
She had a point. “Okay. Let me shower. I’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll have your coffee waiting.”
I took an extra two minutes to snuggle with Coleman before I forced myself into the shower and a clean pair of black jeans, my boots, a turtleneck, and a hoodie. I picked up a scarf and gloves. The day would be pleasant, but if we were anywhere in the shade it would be chilly.
“You’re really going to interview cheaters this early in the morning?” Coleman asked when I had my hand on the doorknob to leave.
“Yep.”
“I know you don’t like this case.”
“Nope, but cheating money spends just like honest money.” I grabbed his big toe and twisted.
“Stop it!” He snatched his foot away. “Do that again and you won’t be able to go anywhere with Tinkie.”
“As tempting as that sounds, I’ll see you later.”
I bounced down the stairs. Despite the chore ahead of me, I was
