by Tamara Woods
"That's fine. I'll get to know him as we go on." Isa grabbed a glass and filled it up with filtered water from the fridge. "I'll be seeing him again, really soon. And a lot of him."
Auntie rolled her eyes.
"And I do mean a lot." Isa wiggled her eyebrows.
"What in the world? What has gotten into you?"
"I'll tell you what hasn't..."
"Don't you start with me."
Isa lifted her baggie of leftovers. "Dessert. I was too full. Couldn't finish it all."
"Get out of here. And consider yourself disowned."
Isa laughed and walked away. She had to mess with her aunt every once in a while. It kept her on her toes. Her laughter dissipated as she thought over her options. She sank onto her bed, and called up Clare.
Her bestie answered immediately. "What happened on your date?" She didn't even say hello!
"Not a whole lot. I do think I like him, but that's not really the point."
"It's not? I thought the point of going out with a hot boy was to see how much you liked said hot boy. And maybe seeing how hot he is under the clothes..." Clare trailed off.
"Clare!"
"What? What? I'm here."
"I meant that's not the point of my call."
"Okay, I'll bite. What's the point?"
She gave her friend the rundown of the conversation about the legitimate paperwork and Jussy's betrayal.
Clare gave a low whistle. "That's crazy. What are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure. Do you think Jussy's been stealing from my aunt's account?"
"I don't know. Something has been happening to the money. But why would she steal? She seems to be doing well."
Isa shook her head, forgetting that her friend couldn't see her. "This is all craziness."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure yet, I'm going to think of something."
"As long as it's not a B and E type of situation, I'm down. We are definitely not master burglars."
"Not even close."
THE NEXT DAY, ISA PULLED a book from the shelf and offered it to LuLu. "I think you might like this one," she said. "It's about this girl's glow-up from being the town's whipping post to becoming a powerhouse."
"Sounds good," she said, and reached for it hesitantly.
"What's wrong?" Isa asked.
"Nothing. I just really like being here. And I heard that you were going to be closing down soon."
"We're not planning on closing, but somebody's spreading rumors. Do you know who said it?"
Isa grimaced. She'd realized the rumors were rampant in the church arena, but the Robinson family didn't attend services. It was all over town then. They walked to the register together.
The rest of the shop was empty except for Aunt Maybel holding court with the rest of the Ladies Who Lunch in their usual spot.
Isa rang up LuLu while the girl sent off a video message to someone.
"What are you up to today?" Isa asked her, hanging over her change and purchases.
"Job hunting. It's a pain in the butt, especially around here," she said with a sigh.
"I hope you find something," Isa said, wincing at the prospect of looking for a job in Whisper Valley. It was not exactly a hotbed of commerce and opportunity.
"Thanks Isa. See ya later." LuLu grabbed her bag and shuffled out of the shop, her head down.
Isa watched her shuffle away, considering. She looked around and The Ladies Who Lunch were leaned over the table, expressively arguing, the tones of their voices was ardent. What's going on here? she wondered.
She grabbed a tray, and added a coffee pot and the fixings to it.
"Hey ladies. How are y'all doing? I just brought some refills for you." She studiously avoided her aunt's glare, putting her tray down on an empty chair and poured coffee into their cups.
"I just don't know what we can possibly do to combat it," *** said, with a resigned sigh.
"You don't? Oh really? Because you sure had some ideas about things when you wanted us to go after your niece's slimeball ex."
"Her slimeball ex deserves whatever we served up to him," she said with a sniff.
Old women are ruthless, Isa thought, refilling **second lady's** coffee with a smile. "Do y'all need anything else?" Isa asked.
"Oh, just take that extra cup and sit down. YOu ain't fooling nobody," *** said, pointing to the offending cup and the chair.
"Nobody else is here and if I don't have some human contact, I'm going to fall asleep standing up."
"If you didn't stay out from all hours of the night, maybe you wouldn't be so tired," Aunt Maybel said.
"All night? I was home by 10," Isa said, affronted. She was by no means a prude, but she didn't want this group of older ladies to think she was a "fast girl."
**second lady** scoffed. "Maybel out here trying to act like she's above a little romance."
"We remember you before you had this fancy bookstore."
"We definitely got stories to tell."
"And as my grandkids say, we got the receipts!" They started laughing and Maybel's eyes narrowed into tiny slits.
"Let's just go and not do that," she said, her voice gruff.
"Oh no, let's get some stories. Aunt Maybel never tells us anything," Isa settled into her seat, early waiting for a gossipfest.
"No, no, she looks like she's going to pop her top. She can dish it out, but she can't take it."
"What do you mean? Of course I can take it."
"Nope, no you can't. Don't want to injure your sensitive feelings."
Isa watched in amazement as these women worked her aunt into not only agreeing to talking about her (misspent?) youth, but to actually insist on it. That would not work with her though. That was the kind of craftiness that only years of friendship could bring.
"Remember that one dress you made?"
"Which one honey, I made so many dresses back then, you'd think I was trying to clothe all of Whisper Valley."
Already surprises were in store. Isa hadn't known her aunt designed clothes. There wasn't even a sewing machine in her home, as far as she knew. She suddenly felt a little uncomfortable that she was going to learn so much about a person she'd spent so much time with. Maybe she didn't know her aunt as well as she thought?
"The one where your bazooms were out to here and the slit came up to here," **Badass Betty** said, making hand gestures to really get the point across. "It was orange, red, and black. That was a baaaaaad dress."
*religious one* sniffed. "That dress showed off way too much for my comfort."
"Well thank goddess that I wasn't dressing for you," Aunt Maybel said.
"Now Maybel, don't get your panties all in a twist. You know that *religious one* hasn't shown her ankles since Eisenhower was in office."
"There's not need to be rude. I can just go if my tender sensibilities are too much for you ruffians."
"Feel free to dislodge that stick from you butt at any moment *religious name*. This is a storytime about Maybel's checkered past, not your prudish present."
*religious name* gave another sniff, but subsided.
"Why did you make that dress Auntie?" Isa softly prompted. She wanted to get some of this tea before a new customer came in.
After the chat with The Ladies, the rest of the afternoon flew by. A small, steady stream of customers came in through the afternoon. And Brendan sent her a thinking of you text that made her smile. She was just getting ready to close up the shop when Sally Anne walked in. The normally put together woman looked disheveled and agitated. Her normally smooth bun was mussed, and her tan pants had a stain on the leg. Isa's clenched so much, she had rubbed her stomach to try to calm it down.
"Oh hey Sally Anne. How are you?" Isa asked cautiously, walking around the counter to meet up with the other woman. "Do you need help with anything? Maybe crystals to help align your chakras?"
"Chakras? That's absurd. I can't believe they allow you to sell that tripe."
Who a
re "they" Isa thought with a frown, but held her silence, watching the other woman. She walked over to a statue, picking it up and putting it down. Look at a book briefly and shelving it in the wrong place.
"You seem unsettled. Are you okay, Sally Anne?"
She turned abruptly and looked in Isa's eyes. "Have you seen my brother today?"
"No, I'm not sure if the Mystic Eye is really his thing."
"Don't you think I know that?" Her voice rose on the last word. Isa took a step back and frowned at Sally Anne. "I can't help him. The more I try to help him, the more things go wrong."
She looked at Isa pleadingly, "You should know how that feels. Doing anything you can to help your family."
Isa's phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled out her phone. She had a text from Clare.
Clare: Finally heard back from Wes. He said the bowling alley pinsetter is hard to accidentally trigger.
He said Sally Anne worked there for a few months when he first opened.
Isa: This is not good. She's here being weird.
Clare: On my way.
Isa struggled for a neutral facial expression.
Sally Anne's gaze sharpened. She pointed an accusing finger at the phone. "What was that? What did that say?"
"Nothing that has anything to do with you. Boy things, you know how they can be," Isa said with an awkward chuckle.
"Sure right." Sally Anne walked back to the door and locked it. She pulled down the shade.
"What are you doing Sally Anne?" Isa asked, her eyes narrowed.
"One way in, one way out," she said, her voice lowered. "You know, I've been protecting my brother for years. Trying to stop him from getting hurt. Being used."
"I'm sure you've been a great big sister to him," Isa said. She looked around for a weapon of some sort. There was a huge crystal on display near her. She moved closer to it.
"Don't. Move." Sally Anne said, pulling a gun out of her purse and pointed it at Isa, who immediately froze putting her hands up in the air.
"I was telling you about my brother and you were being so rude and not listening."
"Sorry about that, Sally Anne. Maybe you can put the gun away and we can have a nice cup of tea and talk about your brother?" Isa's voice was soothing, but it had the opposite effect.
"Don't pretend like you care. Nobody in this town cares." Her hand waved wildly as she gestured with the gun. Isa winced.
Sally Anne's laugh had a cruel edge to it. "You're so scared. Look at you. Didn't you grow up in these valleys. Don't you know how a gun works. The safety's on."
She pulled it back with a click and brought her hand up so both hands were pointing the weapon. "And now it's off. I've noticed the way you look at my brother."
"The way I—excuse me?" Isa's mouth dropped open. "You can't possibly be serious."
"Oh I'm serious all right. I won't let him be ruined by a woman like you with your loose moral character."
"Loose moral...Sally Anne, this is 2019, not 1819. What are you even talking about?"
"Once I saw the chemistry between the two of you, I did some checking. I know about your homewrecking ways."
"Even if I was a homewrecker, Sally Anne...your brother doesn't appear to have a home."
"He has a home with me!"
"Then why isn't he there?"
"He's mad that I wouldn't let that Chad take advantage of him anymore. I did it for his own good." Her hands were starting to shake a little and Isa felt a shiver of fear. She was so agitated, she could accidentally fire.
"Isa, why did you close the shop early? I was planning on a few of my friends coming back today?" Aunt Maybel walked in from the office. Sally Anne swung the weapon toward the doorway.
"Stay back, she's got a gun!" Isa called out to her aunt. She picked up the crysal nearest to her and threw it at Sally Anne. She missed and it crashed through the glass of the window behind her. The woman screamed and covered her face as glass shards hit her. The gun misfired and Isa froze unable to move.
The gun had been pointing outside at the time.
Todd stood there looking at his sister, his body shaking. And he fell to the ground, holding his stomach.
Isa would never forget the raw animal sounds that tore from Sally Anne's throat when she saw what she'd done. She put the gun up to her own forehead and Aunt Maybel finally spoke.
"That's enough Sally. You've done enough. You need to stop now."
"I killed, I killed, I killed my, I."
"Put down the gun Sally Anne. Put it on the ground." Her voice was soft, compelling. Sally Anne put the gun on the ground.
"Now step away from it. And stand there quietly and wait for the police to come," Aunt Maybel said. Sally Anne stopped moving and didn't speak again until the police arrived.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ISA SAT UPSTAIRS ON her favorite chair trying to sort everything out. Sensing that things weren't right with her human, Maddie hadn't left her side since she'd come home. on one of the couches trying to make sense of everything. When Clare had realized Sally Anne was in the shop with Isa, she'd immediately rang up Watson. He hadn't wanted to believe his own sister could do such things, even with the evidence right in front of him. Police from out in Tiltonsville was going to have to take over for him. Too much of a conflict of interest. Especially after he tried to interrogate Isa for what felt like hours until Sheriff Brownstone had showed up and Aunt Maybel finally chased Watson off.
"I can't believe it was her," Isa said. "I never would have suspected Sally Anne. I thought she was weird about her brother, but not on this level."
Clare shook her head. "I don't know what was going on with her. Something snapped."
"Is her brother going to be okay?" Isa asked. Aunt Maybel took a drink from her cocktail to calm her nerves.
"He's not dead, if that's what you mean," Aunt Maybel said. "He's going to have to get off those pills if he wants to truly heal."
"Pills?" Isa asked.
Her aunt sighed. "Sometimes I don't know how I raised such a naive little thing. Yes pills. Chad was his supplier and once his sister killed him, he didn't know where to find a new supply."
Isa leaned back into the chair. "I can't believe something like this could happen in Whisper Valley."
"It's not as perfect as you've always imagined it to be," her aunt said. "There's enough skeletons in these closets to fill a graveyard."
Thinking about bodies made her shudder. Once she'd shot her brother, Sally Anne hadn't been able to stop talking. She'd followed Todd to The Rec and when she saw him meeting with Chad, she'd lost her cool. She hadn't planned to do what she did, but once it was done, there wasn't anything she could do about it.
"I can't believe she was going to let an innocent man rot in prison for what she'd done." Isa rubbed her eyes.
"You can't? I can. Her mind has always had a one-way track to it. Her way," Clare said.
Someone knocked insistently at the door. Clare went over and answered it.
"There's someone here who you might like to see," Clare said. Clare moved out of the way and in walked Travis. Isa stood up and gave him a hug. He seemed, maybe a little thinner, but ultimately he was fine.
"I thought you'd been hurt," Isa said.
He frowned. "No I wasn't hurt, why did you think that?"
"Your eyes were so dark and you sounded awful on the phone."
"My eyes looked dark because I'd been in the fight with Chad, remember? And when I talked to you..." His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat. "I was trying very hard to sound strong and to not cry. That was all."
"Oh." She didn't know what to say.
"Don't make the boy stand there all the day long. Have a seat Travis."
He flashed a smile at Aunt Maybel. "Thank you ma'am, but I have to get home. I wanted to stop here first." He turned back to Isa, "I appreciate you more than you know."
"Me? I barely figured anything out until the very end." Almost my own end, she thought.
"Yo
u believed in me when the whole town doubted me, that's amazing. You've always been amazing."
"I'm just glad you're out now," Isa said, her face heating up a little.
He pitched his voice low for her ears only. "I'm going to show you that I can be the man for you that I never was before."
She shook her head. "Now is not the time or place."
"I'm just letting you know." He smiled. "I'm going to go see my family now. Give my Mama a hug."
"You can give me one first," Aunt Maybel said, standing up. He hugged her close and rubbed his back. He gave Clare a high five on the way out and looked back at Isa before leaving.
Isa sank down into her chair again. "What even is this life?" she asked.
Then she looked suspiciously over at her aunt. "Hey what was going on with Jussy's grandmother today? When I interrupted you, you were going strong."
"I overheard you talking to Clare last night," her aunt admitted.
Isa's eyes widened. "You can hear that easily through our wall?" Now some of the mysteries of growing up in her aunt's household felt clearer.
"Oh girl, of course. How else could I keep you in line?"
Clare laughed so hard, she developed a stitch in her side. "Isa literally didn't do anything."
Aunt Maybel nodded her head in satisfaction. "And now you know why."
"For the love of..." Isa didn't bother finishing it. "Auntie, we'll talk about establishing boundaries later. What happened with Miss Viola?"
"She, my dear, found out what it's like to cross me and mine. Her ugly little grand daugther had been stealing our money the entire time since Hammill had taken over. Nasty little thing has a shopping addiction." Her aunt paused. "And a dislike for you."
Isa paused in petting Maddie. "Me? What do I have to do with any of it?"
"She wanted to finally get one-up on you, I figure. But she got the wrong one this time. I'm prosecuting her and Hammill and I will be making some changes to this mortgage. Even though he wasn't directly involved, the mismanagement of funds happened in his business under his watch." Her eyes were narrowed and her smile had a mean edge to it. "You don't mess with me and mine."
