“And we’re not fighting,” Aunt Suzanne said with one hand on her hip. “We’re merely developing a system in which we can both share such a small space.”
We all glanced from one end of the kitchen to the other. It was the largest, longest, kitchen I’d ever seen. There was enough square footage for three professional chefs.
“Sun’s coming up,” Bones said, grabbing his plate. “I think I’ll eat on the veranda.”
“Good idea,” Charlie said, loading her hands.
“I’m in,” I said as I rushed to follow them.
The sun was less than a speck of light on the horizon this early in the morning, but the veranda was well lit. Uncle Hank sat at a long table with Pops, who was drinking his coffee and reading a paper.
“They still at it?” Pops asked from behind his paper.
“If you mean Hattie and Aunt Suzanne, then yes,” I answered, sitting beside him.
“You going to handle it?” Pops asked.
“I think you’re more suited to handle this situation.”
Pops folded his paper and narrowed his eyes at me. “Baby girl, if you think I’m willing to risk losing the newlywed phase of my marriage with Hattie over this BS—you’re sorely mistaken.”
I looked over at Uncle Hank. “Hell, no,” he said, holding up his hands. “I’ve been married long enough to know better.”
I looked sideways at Charlie. “No way,” she said, shaking her head. “But if you go back inside, try to steal me a bowl of fruit without Aunt Suzanne seeing.”
“That’s too much butter!” Hattie yelled from inside the house.
“Mind your own beeswax!” Aunt Suzanne yelled back.
I forced myself up from my chair, squared my shoulders, and marched back inside. I found Whiskey had left his place at the table and had moved to stand between them. Both women were beyond mad, and ready to do battle.
“All right,” I said, holding up my hand. “I love you both, but obviously you two have an issue sharing a kitchen. So… You both have ten minutes to finish cooking breakfast, then you need to walk away. Everyone will eat buffet style and serve themselves.”
“But—” Hattie started to say.
“No, buts. As for future meals – Aunt Suzanne, you’ll get lunch shift today. Hattie, you’ll get dinner. All meals will rotate from there.”
“I have a wedding shower to attend this afternoon, so I’d prefer the dinner shift,” Aunt Suzanne said.
“Lunch works better for me anyway,” Hattie agreed. “Alex is taking me shopping this afternoon. I’m not sure what time we’ll get back. Besides,” Hattie smirked over at Aunt Suzanne, “that will mean I get breakfast tomorrow.”
Aunt Suzanne narrowed her eyes at Hattie, but Whiskey raised an arm between them, preventing Aunt Suzanne from reaching her.
“Ten minutes,” I reminded them.
They both blinked at me before turning back to their pans and various dishes and rushing around. I looked at Whiskey and he gave me the nod, letting me know he was staying put for the time being.
I returned to the veranda.
“Settled?” Pops asked.
“Doubt it. But Whiskey’s playing bouncer.” I took a sip of my coffee, but the air had already cooled it. It wasn’t worth going to the kitchen for the coffee carafe, though. “Both of them plan to leave the house today. I didn’t tell them they’d have to take bodyguards. I’m leaving that up to their husbands to handle.”
Pops and Uncle Hank sighed.
I turned to Charlie. “Why were you guys so late getting back? And why didn’t you warn me you were skipping the dentist office job.”
“I had to prioritize my schedule.” She crumpled a slice of bacon into her mouth before continuing. “We set up a stakeout on the truck stop where Roseline had worked. Busted a cigarette smuggling ring.”
“How does that fit in with your murder cases?” I asked.
“The manager, Sue Dodd, was the ringleader of the smuggling from what we can tell. She was selling the cigarettes to the truckers on the side. She even had fake state stickers to add to the packs. She’s also the one who hired someone to kill Roseline.”
“Did she give up a name?” Bones asked.
“She gave up an email address used to contact the hitman, and the location where she dropped the drugs and money. That’s the majority of what I squeezed out of her before they had to sedate her.”
Pops, Bones, and I looked at each other, then back at Charlie.
Uncle Hank chuckled. “Charlie shot off the woman’s elbow.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Dodd was ready to shoot her way out of the situation, so I opted to disable her shooting arm,” Charlie answered with a shrug. “It was good thing Quille already had an ambulance down the road on standby. The whole room was peppered in blood. Her elbow exploded.”
“But everyone was safe on our side?” I asked.
“Yup. Quille went home. Maggie stayed to work with ATF. And everyone else is camped out in the living room. And don’t give me any crap about Gibson and Chambers being inside the house. I trust them. Chambers is a solid cop. And Gibson… Well, let’s just say he doesn’t know enough about being a cop to double cross anyone.”
“Still can’t believe Gibson slammed his car door shut,” Uncle Hank said, shaking his head. “Stupid rookie move.”
“Maybe you should take him under your wing for a while. Show him the ropes,” Charlie said to Uncle Hank.
“No thanks. He’s all yours. I’ve got my own rookie issues.”
“So now what?” Bones asked, turning the conversation back to the case. “How do you find the hitman?”
“Quille has a team running down the email address and backtracking Dodd’s life while the rest of us sleep for a few hours.”
“You said drugs and money were left at the drop site. What drugs?” I asked.
“Liquid morphine,” Charlie answered while grinning. “The killer made
