do you charge per night?”
“Fifty for that front room.”
“It’s a nice room.”
“It belonged to my grandparents and then my parents. Who’ll be paying?”
“Nobody you’ll ever know.”
She pursed her lips. “Fine, have it your way.”
“I will.”
“Do I get a Junior G-Man badge, too?”
His mouth twitched. “If you want one.”
She glared. “Forget it.”
As he’d done before, he carried his dishes to the sink and rinsed them. “I’m going out for a while. Do you always leave the back door unlocked?”
“Everybody in Amaryllis leaves their back doors unlocked.”
“Not a good idea.”
“It has been so far.”
“It’s not now.” His feet, encased in white tennis shoes without a logo, made no sound on the tile as he moved toward the back door. “You go by Penelope or Nellie?”
“My father calls me Nellie. How did you know my name was Penelope?”
“I know stuff.”
“I just bet you do, Mr. Eastwood.”
He smiled a little. “You saw ‘In the Line of Fire’?”
“Three times. He’s a hunk.”
“A hunk?” He appeared to be trying not to laugh.
She nodded.
He lifted his hand to wave as he disappeared through the door, and Penelope’s eyes fell on the clock to the right. With luck, she’d slide into Mass before anyone knew she was late.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jake’s truck wasn’t in the drive when Penelope got home from Mass. That meant he was either with the Toney Twins at a coffee shop on the interstate or hitting balls on the practice green—which was as far as he’d gotten in learning to play golf.
She parked in the garage and then went around to check out the attached shed. Sure enough, Tiny’s—or Sam’s—cycle nestled in a corner covered by the tarp that used to be on Jake’s riding mower, the one he’d bought as a concession to his reduced endurance after his stroke. Daddy’s not going to like seeing his favorite toy sitting out like that. She replaced the tarp and went into the house for an old blanket to put over the cycle.
She had trouble finding the keys for the garage and the padlock on the shed, but when she finally had everything locked up, she felt better. No use anybody snooping around and seeing something out of place. If those bikers thought Tiny had gone off Rosedale Bridge into Pine Branch Creek, so be it. R.I.P. Tiny.
Mary Lynn sat at the kitchen table drinking warmed-over coffee and eating a blueberry cream cheese muffin. “What were you doing out there?”
“Nothing.” Penelope returned the keys to the hook by the back door and washed her hands at the sink.
“Nothing took you a long time. I’ve been here fifteen minutes.”
“Where’s Harry?”
“We went to early Mass because he had a ten o’clock tee-time this morning.”
“Oh.”
“I saw Jake at early Mass, too.”
“I guess he was going to meet the Toney Twins somewhere afterwards. Tim and Tom Toney, whom no one but their mother could tell apart, had lived eighty years as ‘the Toney Twins’, never marrying and still occupying the house they were born in.
“Everybody gone?”
“Yes. That nice little family with the twins left right after breakfast.”
“I thought I’d help you clean this afternoon, and then we don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the week.”
“That sounds good.”
“Did you know there was more trouble at the Sit-n-Swill last night?
Penelope didn’t know, but she was sure she looked guilty anyway as she wondered if Tiny and the Bikers had been involved. “No, what happened?”
“Bikers. Got into it with a couple of guys from the Hollow and started tearing up the place. Parnell called for backup from the county, but nobody showed. So he went in and broke up the fight and cleaned the place out.”
“Parnell can do that. Did he make any arrests?”
“I think those two from Possum Hollow cooled their heels in the jail overnight, but the bikers took off.” Mary Lynn popped the last of the muffin into her mouth.
“Fifty for that front room.”
“It’s a nice room.”
“It belonged to my grandparents and then my parents. Who’ll be paying?”
“Nobody you’ll ever know.”
She pursed her lips. “Fine, have it your way.”
“I will.”
“Do I get a Junior G-Man badge, too?”
His mouth twitched. “If you want one.”
She glared. “Forget it.”
As he’d done before, he carried his dishes to the sink and rinsed them. “I’m going out for a while. Do you always leave the back door unlocked?”
“Everybody in Amaryllis leaves their back doors unlocked.”
“Not a good idea.”
“It has been so far.”
“It’s not now.” His feet, encased in white tennis shoes without a logo, made no sound on the tile as he moved toward the back door. “You go by Penelope or Nellie?”
“My father calls me Nellie. How did you know my name was Penelope?”
“I know stuff.”
“I just bet you do, Mr. Eastwood.”
He smiled a little. “You saw ‘In the Line of Fire’?”
“Three times. He’s a hunk.”
“A hunk?” He appeared to be trying not to laugh.
She nodded.
He lifted his hand to wave as he disappeared through the door, and Penelope’s eyes fell on the clock to the right. With luck, she’d slide into Mass before anyone knew she was late.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jake’s truck wasn’t in the drive when Penelope got home from Mass. That meant he was either with the Toney Twins at a coffee shop on the interstate or hitting balls on the practice green—which was as far as he’d gotten in learning to play golf.
She parked in the garage and then went around to check out the attached shed. Sure enough, Tiny’s—or Sam’s—cycle nestled in a corner covered by the tarp that used to be on Jake’s riding mower, the one he’d bought as a concession to his reduced endurance after his stroke. Daddy’s not going to like seeing his favorite toy sitting out like that. She replaced the tarp and went into the house for an old blanket to put over the cycle.
She had trouble finding the keys for the garage and the padlock on the shed, but when she finally had everything locked up, she felt better. No use anybody snooping around and seeing something out of place. If those bikers thought Tiny had gone off Rosedale Bridge into Pine Branch Creek, so be it. R.I.P. Tiny.
Mary Lynn sat at the kitchen table drinking warmed-over coffee and eating a blueberry cream cheese muffin. “What were you doing out there?”
“Nothing.” Penelope returned the keys to the hook by the back door and washed her hands at the sink.
“Nothing took you a long time. I’ve been here fifteen minutes.”
“Where’s Harry?”
“We went to early Mass because he had a ten o’clock tee-time this morning.”
“Oh.”
“I saw Jake at early Mass, too.”
“I guess he was going to meet the Toney Twins somewhere afterwards. Tim and Tom Toney, whom no one but their mother could tell apart, had lived eighty years as ‘the Toney Twins’, never marrying and still occupying the house they were born in.
“Everybody gone?”
“Yes. That nice little family with the twins left right after breakfast.”
“I thought I’d help you clean this afternoon, and then we don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the week.”
“That sounds good.”
“Did you know there was more trouble at the Sit-n-Swill last night?
Penelope didn’t know, but she was sure she looked guilty anyway as she wondered if Tiny and the Bikers had been involved. “No, what happened?”
“Bikers. Got into it with a couple of guys from the Hollow and started tearing up the place. Parnell called for backup from the county, but nobody showed. So he went in and broke up the fight and cleaned the place out.”
“Parnell can do that. Did he make any arrests?”
“I think those two from Possum Hollow cooled their heels in the jail overnight, but the bikers took off.” Mary Lynn popped the last of the muffin into her mouth.
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