life. Is that what he said to you, Wilma?â
âMore or less. He told me that money was mentioned but no figures were discussed.â
I finished my lemonade and motioned to Lily to pass me the pitcher. While I refilled my glass, she said, âYouâre Clemâs fiancée, Wilma. How much can he afford to pay Mr. Moore?â
âA zillion dollars, give or take, but I donât see why it matters. Mr. Moore has never been interested in money. He seems to have plenty of his own. Isnât that so, Loretta?â
Dottie interrupted, âIâd have to agree. The man wonât even file a missing vehicle report when his brand-new car disappears. But before we get into Vernonâs motives â whatever they may be â we need to address a more pressing problem.â
âA more pressing problem? What in the world could that be?â
âThink about it, Mary. What will happen if informationabout this deal leaks to the general membership? Weâll have a revolt on our hands. The mob will take to the streets. The Come Again will become the Bastille of the Plains.â
âArenât you letting your imagination go a little overboard?â Lo said. âAs I recall, no political prisoners were left in the Bastille when the crowd arrived. The jailer invited them in for tea.â
âUh huh, and as I recall, the mob wasnât placated,â Dot retorted. âI wouldâve offered them beer myself. That wouldâve done the trick.â
In my mindâs eye, the double-wide line from my door to Main Street was converted from a column of patient, mild-mannered petitioners into a swarm of angry French peasants waving pitchforks and teensy cups of espresso. The irony of a tea offering was instantly obvious.
Hail Mary intervened. âDottieâs right. As of now, only Pearline, Marie, and the six of us know what Vernon and Lord Clem are talking about. Is that true?â
Everybody nodded in the affirmative so she continued, âFrom this moment forward, every aspect of this deal must remain confidential to the board. That means no gossip, girls, and I mean no gossip. Zero. Lily, you need to call Marie and make sure that nothing leaks out of the River House. Wilma, you need to make sure that Vernon doesnât tell anybody else, especially Louise Nelson. That woman will talk the ears off a cornstalk.â
âSheâs at the River House every day, Mary. Sheâs going to find out anyway.â
âThen tell her yourself, and make sure she keeps her mouth shut. Tell Mona to keep an eye on John, too. If thereâs a problem â¦â
Lily looked at the rest of us like she was about to blow a gasket. â If thereâs a problem? If thereâs a problem? Am I the only one whoâs suspicious here? I never got close to Mr. Moore like some of you did, but my alarm bells went off the day that manwalked into Milletâs. What if heâs a crook? What if this is some sort of swindle?â
Loretta smiled sweetly. âYou have me, Lily. I faked a coma for six weeks while the evil Vernon Moore plotted the second phase of his plan, which was to deprive the town of a vicious religious sect. And donât forget the dastardly Wilma. She has to be in on it, too.â
âFine! But nobody knows diddly-squat about the man except that he shows up out of nowhere every two years, he stays for exactly six days, and somebody dies or doesnât. We also know that Clem Tucker is about to cross swords with the Angel of Death â which canât be a coincidence â and he has more money than Kuwait. Doesnât that sound like motive, means, and opportunity, Mary?â
âMaybe, but no crime has been committed, so theyâre irrelevant, at least for now. The bottom line is that we have no idea what Mr. Moore intends to do this week.â
âThatâs not so,â I replied. âHeâs going to sell Clem some
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