“Hmmph,” Ida Belle said. “I know who you mean, and I’m going to guess that he has more on his mind than cheering up widows. He blew into town a little while ago, and dove right into things at church. It didn’t take long to get an idea of what he was up to, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t doing God’s work.”
“Rumor has it that he’s a real estate developer,” Gertie said.
“Real estate?”
“That’s right. Although the mind boggles at the thought of what he might plan to develop here in Sinful.”
“Waterparks on the Bayou,” Ida Belle said. “Mudslides and mosquitos and the chance to get your toes nipped by an alligator if you don’t watch out.”
“So you think he was coming around to see about Mrs. Langstrom’s property?”
“Wouldn’t put it past him,” Ida Belle said.
“Well, at least that makes her seem a little less paranoid,” I said. “She does get awfully concerned that someone is out to take what’s hers. She told me that she fired a girl a while back after she caught her taking too much interest in her jewelry.”
Ida Belle laughed at that.
“If that’s what she told you, well, I wouldn’t count on holding your job too long. Gladys would show off her jewelry to a fruit fly if she could get it to pay attention. She’s been flaunting that trash for as long as we’ve known her, and that’s a long, long time.”
“She does go through helpers like tissues,” Gertie said. “Which is why it’s nice to actually meet one of you. Usually, her help hits the road before anyone in town actually sees them.”
“Well, you might not have seen me if it weren’t for Deacon Ryan. When Mrs. Langstrom wouldn’t meet with him, we chatted for a few minutes and he invited me to church. Not that I wouldn’t have come on my own!” I added hurriedly.
“Too bad he didn’t let you know when to show up.”
“My fault,” I said. “I told him that I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to make it, and then when Mrs. Langstrom agreed to let me go, she didn’t say anything about church starting so early.”
“Odd,” said Gertie.
“Not odd at all,” said Ida Belle. “The old bat hasn’t been to church in so long, she thinks it still starts at 11:00 a.m.”
“That would make sense,” I said. “Even if she never comes to church anymore, though, I’m pretty sure that she still considers herself a Baptist.”
“She can consider herself the Queen of England,” Ida Belle said. “Doesn’t make it so.”
“No, I think that Lindy here is on to something,” Gertie said. “It’s been years since Gladys has been to church, and it must be killing her to know that we’ve all been getting along just fine without her. Still, you know Pastor Don would love to have back in a pew when the offering plate comes around, and the building certainly could use a slap of paint here and there.”
She got a crafty look in her eyes, and even I – who had known her for all of half an hour by now – could see that some sort of scheme was being hatched. She tapped her fingers on the table for a moment, and then sat straight up in her chair.
“The Directory!” she said. “That’s how we’ll do it. You said it yourself, Ida Belle. She’s as vain as they come, and the prospect of getting her picture into the Church Directory should be just the ticket to get her coming back again.”
“The Directory,” I said.
“Yes, the Directory. You know, the list of people in the church, with pictures next to their names.”
“Oh, I know,” I said, thinking of blue eyes and sandy blond hair, for some reason.
“If we play our cards right, Gladys won’t let anything get between her and the photographer,” Gertie said.
It appeared that Mrs. Langstrom and I had more in common than I had thought.
“Seems like a lot of trouble to get that troublemaker back on board in order to repaint the belfry.”
“It’s the Christian thing to do, Ida Belle,” Gertie said primly. “And I would think that you would want to do the Christian thing, especially on a Sunday.”
“It would be awfully nice if she could see some of her friends again,” I offered up. “I think that she’s lonely, a lot of the time.”
Ida Belle looked at me shrewdly. “It can’t be easy for anyone out there in that old house, I imagine. Not much to do, probably. Can’t say I’d blame you or anyone else for looking for a way to keep the old woman occupied.”
“No, Lindy’s right,” Gertie said. “I think she’s lonely. And, Lord knows, it’s her own fault. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t do the right thing and ease her pain.”
“Ease her pain, and ease the Church Board’s pain at the same time,” Ida Belle grumbled. “You’re right about one thing, Gertie. It’s her own damn fault.”
I didn’t say a thing, but I raised my eyebrows in my most inquisitive way and hoped for the best.
“Well, you’ll hear it from someone if you don’t hear it from us, so you might as well hear it the way I heard it,” Gertie said. “The truth is, Gladys was always a pain in the neck, but when her husband died she did try to do right, in her way, by her daughter. But you know how girls and their Mamas can be, and when little Janey grew old enough to know her own mind, she got a bee in her bonnet about the Delcroix boy, and wouldn’t have it when Gladys tried to shut the whole thing down. There were rumors of a shotgun wedding, but Gladys was right about that boy – there was no way he was settling down. Ended up on an oil rig, and blew himself to high heaven one night. Not the worst thing for the world, but not great for Janey. She disappeared soon after, headed off to Lafayette or somewhere, and that’s when Gladys turned into the recluse that we all know and love today. No family, just a house falling to ruin and a pile of money somewhere or other that will never be used.”
“Unless you have your way, and turn some of it toward the belfry,” Ida Belle said.
“’Store not your treasure on earth,’” Gertie replied. “’but use it to support your local Baptist church.’ I’m pretty sure that’s how the Bible verse goes.”
She turned to me.
“Let’s get you back to Gladys, Lindy,” she said. “I’ll give you a ride. And you come, too, Ida Belle. It will do you a world of good to see that woman again.”
Chapter Three
I had walked into town, clicking off some of those 10,000 steps you’re supposed to take each day, and enjoying the sweet spring air and the feel of freedom, but I knew that my feet would drag all the way to the Langstrom place if I had to walk back. I jumped at the chance for a ride.
Ida Belle shot me a look, and I didn’t read it correctly at the time, but I’m pretty sure I understand it now. She was trying to let me know that I would be better off walking.
Something that I should have figured out for myself when I saw Gertie’s old pickup truck at the curb.
“Car’s in the shop,” she said breezily. “This is a loaner.”
“The only thing they were willing to trust you with,” Ida Belle said under her breath.
“You know darn well that light post wasn’t where it usually is. If it hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have hit it!”
Ida Belle snorted at that, but she hopped into the cab.
“Get in,” she said. “I won’t bite you.”
I was only 80% sure of that, but I was 100% sure that there was probably something in that cab ready to bite, or sting, or poke. The stuffing was coming out of the bench seat in tufts, and someone had decided to use cardboard to cover up the rusted out holes on the floor. Most of the holes, I should say. I could see daylight through the ones that hadn’t been patched, and I was leery of putting foot in there and having it go right through to the ground.
“Don’t dawdle!” Ida Belle said, and she slapped the space next to her and sneezed when the cloud of dust she stirred up tickled her nose.
“All right, all right!” I said, and I gingerly hopped up and started to swing my legs in. Ida Belle had been serious about not dawdling, thoug
h. I hadn’t even shut the door when Gertie revved the motor and ground the gears as she released the clutch.
“Every stick’s just gotta be different, doesn’t it!” she shouted over the roar of the engine, and as the truck jerked forward I found myself toppling back out.
“Hold on!” Ida Belle yelled, and I grabbed the door handle for dear life as Gertie slammed on the brakes and the engine died. For just a moment I hung half way between the pickup cab and the ground, and then I dropped…
Right into Jack’s arms. His strong, muscled arms, biceps bulging against the fabric of his suit.
“Woah! What do you think you’re doing?” he said.
I slid between those arms, found my footing, and turned to face him.
“You think I wanted to do that? I may need a new career, but it sure wouldn’t be as an acrobat.”
“Hey, I was just helping out here.” He raised his hands in the air and stepped back, and I heard snickering behind me.
“You think that’s funny?” I said to the old women in the truck.
“I do not,” said Ida Belle between chuckles. “I think that’s dangerous as heck, and that you should think twice before accepting a ride with Gertie.”
“Don’t blame me! If there had been a decent loaner, this never would have happened. I don’t know why you think that I’m always at fault, when it’s clear as day that…”
I let the two of them bicker, smoothed my Sunday dress, and regained my composure.
“What I meant to say,” I paused for a moment, and took a breath. “What I meant to say was ‘thank you’”. I looked him square in the eye, and tried out a smile.
“No problem,” he said, and I noticed a glint in those gorgeous blue eyes. “Just happened to be in the right place at the right time. How’s the food in there, anyway?”
“In the café?” I said, and swiftly gave myself a mental kick. Of course in the café. “Great! Outstanding. Just the thing!”
The corners of his mouth began to twitch, and I could see another grin coming on.
“That’s my opinion, anyway,” I said. “But I’ll stand by it. After all, if you want an expert opinion of food, I’m your girl.”
“We’ll see about that,” he said. “As long as there’s plenty of it, though, I’ll be happy. You can take the football player off the field, but you’ll never get him away from the table.”
“Football, huh?” I said.
“High school only,” he replied. “Not enough bulk to go on in college.”
From where I was standing, his bulk looked pretty amazing. I would have let it go on in college.
I noticed the silence behind me, and turned back to the pickup truck, where both Gertie and Ida Belle were staring at me without any subtlety at all.
“Where are my manners?” I said with a smile that I trusted looked sincere. “Ida Belle, Gertie, I’d like you to meet Jack.”
“We already met,” Gertie said. “In church. This morning.”
“That’s right. You’re the poor guy who has to take all our pictures without breaking the lens,” Ida Belle said, and then she shot me another one of her patented looks. “Though I’m a little surprised the two of you have already met,” she said under her breath.
“Then it doesn’t take much to surprise you,” I said out of the side of my mouth, and turned again to Jack with a smile. “Anyway, don’t let us keep you, Jack.”
Gertie was cranking the engine as I was speaking, and Jack held out a hand to help me back into the cab. I took it, and settled myself in with as much dignity as possible as he slammed the door after me, choking me in yet another cloud of dust.
“See ya later, alligator!” Gertie shouted, and with a roar we were off. I could see Jack in the rear view mirror, one hand lifted in farewell, and that darn grin on his face.
“You want to watch out for those football players,” Ida Belle said. “Too much glory, too young. It goes to their heads.”
She shook her own head of white hair.
“Not that it takes a lot to puff up a man,” she continued. “Buncha idiots, mostly.”
“Mostly,” Gertie agreed, and we headed on down the road.
Chapter Four
We rumbled down the oak allée to the Langstrom house, Spanish moss blowing above us in the breeze, and Gertie pulled up in front of the porch and slammed on the brakes. The engine choked and died with a loud bang as it gave a final backfire, and the truck jerked to a stop. It didn’t take a small explosion to get Mrs. Langstrom’s attention, though. I imagined she had been keeping an eye on us from the moment we had turned off the main road, and the twitch of a curtain confirmed my opinion. She was well aware that we were there.
“I’d better go in first,” I said.
“Nonsense,’ said Ida Belle. “Gertie will go with you.”
“Oh she will, will she!” Gertie said as she opened her door and stepped out. “We’re all going. You’ve come along this far, Ida Belle. No backing out now.”
“That’ll teach me to get into a pickup truck with you,” Ida Belle said.
“If you haven’t learned that lesson by now, you never will,” Gertie said. “Now come on!”
We all trooped up to the rambling Victorian like girl scouts selling cookies, and I tapped on the door before opening it and going inside.
“I’m back, Mrs. Langstrom! And these lovely ladies were nice enough to give me a ride.”
There was a moment of silence, and then a soft thud as the door to the parlor was thrown open, hitting the heavy velvet curtain draped behind it. Mrs. Langstrom had made her entrance.
“These ladies weren’t lovely back when they were young enough to have a chance to pass it off, and there’s no reason on God’s green earth to think they’re lovely now.”
“It’s great to see you, too, Gladys,” Gertie said. “Good to see you’re still yourself.”
“And who else would I be?”
“Now that’s a question,” Ida Belle said.
“But we’re not here to dredge up old memories,” Gertie smoothly went on. “We’re here because Lindy seemed confused about who’s who at church, and we want to make sure that she gets the latest copy of the Church Directory. Of course, she asked when you would be getting your picture taken, and we realized that we just weren’t sure about that. So I figured we should give Lindy here a ride back, and take the opportunity to see when you’ll be able to come in to town for your portrait session.”
This was all news to me, and I was in awe. Full frontal assault seemed to be Gertie’s mode of operation, but if anything was going to take down Mrs. Langstrom’s defenses, it would probably have to be something along those lines.
“Portrait session!” she scoffed. “Why, the church can keep using the same picture they’ve been using for years. I have no problem with that.”
She touched her hair as she spoke, and straightened up as if she were already sitting for her portrait. Gertie and Ida Belle were right – she was a tiny bit vain.
“I imagine they would, but it’s all whatchacallit, digital, something. Anyway, they can’t use the photos they used in the past. Not anymore.”
“Hmmph,” was her only reply, but she seemed to be thinking. Her first line of defenses had been breached, and it looked like Gertie thought it was time to use the big guns.
“I know the folks at church sure would hate to leave the space for your picture blank. Heck, the way they do things now, they would probably put in a drawing of an alligator or something, just to spice things up. No telling what people will think is funny these days.”
I heard Ida Belle snort, and I have to admit that the thought of an alligator representing Mrs. Langstrom wouldn’t be totally inappropriate.
“Anyway,” Gertie continued, “you know you do have a reputation.”
I saw that Mrs. Langstrom didn’t much like to hear that. Her eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Gertie cut her off.
“For best dressed, you know. You always did have fla
ir, Gladys, no matter what anyone said.” She elbowed Ida Belle in the ribs as she said that, which might have been a good idea. The look of surprise on Ida Belle’s face was unmistakable.
“Best dressed?” Mrs. Langstrom said. “Well, I don’t know about that.”
Gertie just smiled, and Ida Belle took the opportunity to join in.
“Right. Let’s not go overboard, now.”
That got her another nudge in the ribs from Gertie.
“I’ll bet you never knew that, did you, Lindy,” Gertie said. “Gladys here could really put on a show. And really, Gladys, I have to say that it’s your duty as a Christian and a Baptist to show these girls today how it’s done. Remind folks who you are. Prove you’re not a heathen.”
Ida Belle snorted again, and dodged the elbow that came flying her way.
Mrs. Langstrom seemed to be thinking things over, and I started to get my hopes up. After all, if she did get out of the house now and then, I’d have a chance to get out, too. With a little luck, she’d be joining the choir or something, and I’d have an evening off once in a while.
“You may be right, Gertie,” she said, “and you know I don’t say that lightly.” She pointed a finger at Ida Belle. “As for you, Ida Belle, if you think you’ll ever live long enough to hear me say that you’re right about anything at all, you’ve got another thing coming. And, frankly, I’m surprised to see you taking an interest in things like this. I would think you would have given up on getting your own portrait taken, old as you are.”
“Old enough to know better than to stuff an old goat into lambswool,” Ida Belle said.
“I don’t even want to know what you think you mean by that,” Mrs. Langstrom said, “but it appears to me that things haven’t changed much since I saw you last. I imagine things have gone to you-know-where in a handbasket around the church since I became sickly.” She paused and gave a delicate cough. “You, Lindy, go get me a glass of water.”
“Yes, ma’am!” I said, and I headed to the kitchen.
“Sickly!” I heard Ida Belle’s voice clear as a bell as I was running water into a glass. It carried.
miss fortune mystery (ff) - jewel of the bayou Page 2
