A Seamless Murder by Melissa Bourbon

away. The message was clear. It was bad enough that I’d discovered the body. That had happened a bit too frequently. He didn’t want me getting wrapped up in whatever had happened to Delta.
    But back at Buttons & Bows a few hours later, I was surrounded by the Red Hatters. They had shown up at the shop in a big group, gathered around me, and started asking a million questions at once, wanting to get the nitty-gritty straightfrom the horse’s mouth. “The sheriff said she fell and hit her head on a rock in the grave,” Georgia said.
    My imagination was running wild. Did she fall, or was she pushed? I had no way of knowing, so I shoved the thought away and tried to focus on the women before me.
    “How long was she there before you found her?” Randi asked.
    “Did you see anything, Harlow?” Cynthia asked, but before I could answer, Sherri, Delta’s younger sister, burst into sobs and tried to wipe away her flowing tears. “She found Delta, Cyn,” she said, steadying her trembling voice. “She didn’t see what happened.”
    “We need to pray,” Bennie said softly. “Your poor mother, Sherri. I can’t imagine what Jessie Pearl’s going through. Megan, too.”
    “Mother’s in shock,” Sherri said. She cupped her hands over her eyes, her chin quivering. “She’s lost. Delta was . . . was . . .”
    “She was horrible to Mother,” a new voice said. We all turned to see Coco Jones, Delta and Sherri’s youngest sister, standing in the doorway of Buttons & Bows. She had one hand on the doorframe, the other on her hip. Her blond hair curled above her shoulders, and though her eyes were red-rimmed and bright, her voice was steady and indignant. “You all know it. You heard the way she spoke to Mother. The way she manipulated her. I’m sorry Delta’s dead,” Coco said, “but there was no love lost between us. I’d be lying to pretend otherwise.”
    Sherri’s jaw dropped, and we all looked on in stunned silence as she stared at her sister. “Coco, Delta is dead! How can you even say that?”
    Coco trained her eyes on her sister. “And how can you
not
? You heard plenty of times how Delta spoke to Mother. You
know
what she did to us both.”
    “Shht.” Sherri glared at her sister. “Don’t, Coco.”
    Coco’s gaze traveled over each of the Red Hatters in a circle. “You can’t sugarcoat things and make Delta out to be something she wasn’t now that she’s dead. I’m not saying Mother’s better off with Delta gone, but things could be a might easier for her.”
    “You sound so heartless,” Sherri said, her voice scarcely more than a whisper.
    Coco blinked heavily, lowering her chin, almost looking chagrined.
    “Will you say a prayer for your mother, Coco?” Randi asked.
    “Well, of course. She’s my mother and I love her. I loved Delta, too, for all her faults.”
    That was all the suggestion the Red Hatters needed. The women formed a circle and clasped hands. I stepped back, joining the circle, taking Randi’s hand on my right and holding my left hand out for Coco to take.
    She’d let the door close behind her, dropping her cloth purse on the loveseat, and stepped into the open space in the circle. She took Bennie’s hand, then took mine, our gazes locking for a moment. I felt as if she were trying to send me a silent message, but I couldn’t decipher the meaning behind the look.
    Randi cleared her throat, squeezing my hand. At first I thought she was gathering strength from me, but she stood up straight, pushed her shoulders back, and exuded more confidence than I’d ever witnessed from her. She’d seemed sotimid the last time I’d seen her, but right now her expression was forceful, and I realized she was bolstering everyone in the room. “Divine Mother of us all, your essence is within us and within all things. We ask for your energy and power on this sad day, that you may fill us with your sacred light, and help Jessie Pearl find peace, wholeness, grace, and wisdom during this