except what I told you.” I led the way into the den. “You want a Coke?”
“A beer.” Haley got one from the refrigerator and followed me. She pointed to the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the floor. “Your recipe for nerves.”
I wound the cord around it and put it in the closet. “Yep.”
“Tell me what happened.”
So I told the story of the day’s events, ending by passing the photographs to Haley.
“Lord!” she said. “You think this was the man?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“And Meemaw didn’t know him?”
“Said she didn’t. I believed her.”
Haley placed the pictures back on the coffee table. “So she’s gone for twenty minutes and when she gets home there’s a murdered man she’s never seen before in her trailer and her granddaughter’s missing.”
I shivered. “Or worse.”
The phone rang. Haley answered it. “Wait a minute, Aunt Sister. I’ll ask her.” She turned to me. “What are you having for supper, Mama?”
“What?”
“She wants to know what you’re having for supper, Mama.”
“Turkey sandwiches and lemon meringue pie. Has she talked to Ray?”
“Turkey sandwiches and lemon meringue pie, Aunt Sister. And have you talked to Ray?” Haley listened for a moment. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll tell her. Okay. Bye.”
“She’s coming over. She says she’s starving, and Tiffany, the Magic Maid, brought her some home-grown tomatoes and she’ll bring some for the sandwiches. She hasn’t talked to Ray, but she’s got call forwarding.”
“Blood, death, and guts, and that woman wants to eat?”
“It’s her reaction to stress, Mama.” Haley placed the phone back on the end table. “By the way, Philip and I are getting married Saturday. It’s what I came to tell you.”
Penney’s was having a white sale, too. We could use another light cotton blanket. I wondered how their prices compared to Sears’.
“What I can’t figure out is why the woman doesn’t ask Gabriel where Sunshine is.” Mary Alice picked up her second turkey sandwich and took a bite. She, Haley, and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating supper. Fred had called again saying he would be later than he had originally thought. Haley had talked to him and hadn’t mentioned Sunshine’s disappearance or her own wedding on Saturday. A little job for Mama; Fred would have a fit.
“Did you ask her?” Haley asked.
“I can’t remember. Did I, Patricia Anne?”
I shrugged. I sure as hell didn’t know.
“I mean, what good is a channeler if he can’t do useful things like finding people?” Mary Alice looked at her sandwich. “Didn’t I have a turkey sandwich for lunch?”
I looked at my own sandwich. So far I had managed to take one bite. “I don’t remember. The waitress’s name was Blenda, though.”
“Blenda. That’s a cute name.” Mary Alice turned to Haley. “You’re sure you’re not pregnant, sweetie?”
Haley grinned. “Not yet, Aunt Sister.”
“So the hurry-up wedding really is for convenience?”
If I had said that, Haley would have been on me like a chicken on a June bug. Coming from Sister, it didn’t bother her.
“Well, we were going to do it eventually. So when Philip got the invitation to teach a semester at the medical school in Warsaw, we figured it would be a wonderful honeymoon.”
I had already said, “But it’s so sudden,” at least a dozen times. This time I kept quiet; Mary Alice said it.
“I know, Aunt Sister. We’ll have a big party when we get back, maybe even have another wedding. But this Saturday, Judge Bennett is going to meet us in his chambers at ten o’clock. Just Philip and me and you and Mama and Papa and Philip’s kids if they can make it.”
Dr. Philip Nachman’s grown kids. I’d known this was coming for several months, but the over twenty-year age difference still bothered me. Not so Mary Alice whose three husbands had all been twenty-eight years her senior. And so rich.
“Well, I think it’s grand. My niece
“A beer.” Haley got one from the refrigerator and followed me. She pointed to the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the floor. “Your recipe for nerves.”
I wound the cord around it and put it in the closet. “Yep.”
“Tell me what happened.”
So I told the story of the day’s events, ending by passing the photographs to Haley.
“Lord!” she said. “You think this was the man?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“And Meemaw didn’t know him?”
“Said she didn’t. I believed her.”
Haley placed the pictures back on the coffee table. “So she’s gone for twenty minutes and when she gets home there’s a murdered man she’s never seen before in her trailer and her granddaughter’s missing.”
I shivered. “Or worse.”
The phone rang. Haley answered it. “Wait a minute, Aunt Sister. I’ll ask her.” She turned to me. “What are you having for supper, Mama?”
“What?”
“She wants to know what you’re having for supper, Mama.”
“Turkey sandwiches and lemon meringue pie. Has she talked to Ray?”
“Turkey sandwiches and lemon meringue pie, Aunt Sister. And have you talked to Ray?” Haley listened for a moment. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll tell her. Okay. Bye.”
“She’s coming over. She says she’s starving, and Tiffany, the Magic Maid, brought her some home-grown tomatoes and she’ll bring some for the sandwiches. She hasn’t talked to Ray, but she’s got call forwarding.”
“Blood, death, and guts, and that woman wants to eat?”
“It’s her reaction to stress, Mama.” Haley placed the phone back on the end table. “By the way, Philip and I are getting married Saturday. It’s what I came to tell you.”
Penney’s was having a white sale, too. We could use another light cotton blanket. I wondered how their prices compared to Sears’.
“What I can’t figure out is why the woman doesn’t ask Gabriel where Sunshine is.” Mary Alice picked up her second turkey sandwich and took a bite. She, Haley, and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating supper. Fred had called again saying he would be later than he had originally thought. Haley had talked to him and hadn’t mentioned Sunshine’s disappearance or her own wedding on Saturday. A little job for Mama; Fred would have a fit.
“Did you ask her?” Haley asked.
“I can’t remember. Did I, Patricia Anne?”
I shrugged. I sure as hell didn’t know.
“I mean, what good is a channeler if he can’t do useful things like finding people?” Mary Alice looked at her sandwich. “Didn’t I have a turkey sandwich for lunch?”
I looked at my own sandwich. So far I had managed to take one bite. “I don’t remember. The waitress’s name was Blenda, though.”
“Blenda. That’s a cute name.” Mary Alice turned to Haley. “You’re sure you’re not pregnant, sweetie?”
Haley grinned. “Not yet, Aunt Sister.”
“So the hurry-up wedding really is for convenience?”
If I had said that, Haley would have been on me like a chicken on a June bug. Coming from Sister, it didn’t bother her.
“Well, we were going to do it eventually. So when Philip got the invitation to teach a semester at the medical school in Warsaw, we figured it would be a wonderful honeymoon.”
I had already said, “But it’s so sudden,” at least a dozen times. This time I kept quiet; Mary Alice said it.
“I know, Aunt Sister. We’ll have a big party when we get back, maybe even have another wedding. But this Saturday, Judge Bennett is going to meet us in his chambers at ten o’clock. Just Philip and me and you and Mama and Papa and Philip’s kids if they can make it.”
Dr. Philip Nachman’s grown kids. I’d known this was coming for several months, but the over twenty-year age difference still bothered me. Not so Mary Alice whose three husbands had all been twenty-eight years her senior. And so rich.
“Well, I think it’s grand. My niece
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