Carolina shook her head. “Not pregnant. I’m sure Taylor has a bunch of attorneys on staff. But this won’t be comfortable for Emily or any member of her family, much less the two guys who are here from Dazzle.”
A knock at the door made Andy jump up. “That must be Troy or Emily.” He opened the door to see Emily, out of breath, rush in. “Wind’s picking up out there. We may be in for a storm.”
“It’s already hit,” Carolina said. “Dark wall cloud with a mezzo cyclone located on radar. Already touched down north of town.”
“A tornado?” Emily’s eyes widened in surprise. “Those don’t happen round here much.”
Andy smirked. “Carolina’s being metaphoric. We just watched breaking news on the tube.”
“Oh.” Emily crossed the room and sank down in a side chair. “I guess local news is already reporting about the dead body. But I’ve got the real inside track.”
“You’ve been scooped,” Daddy Blue told her. “This hit the national news, and they’re smearing your brother’s name all over the world.”
Emily frowned, her eyes downward and her mouth flattening. “That’s not fair. Taylor didn’t do this. He was trying to help the jobless, get more enterprise to the area.”
“Well,” Maggie said, “to hear the news, you’d think Taylor was the villain, a bloodthirsty millionaire out to make his mark by murdering innocent foreign nationals.”
“Great.” Emily threw her arms up. “That’s outstanding for stocks.”
“Spoken like a true Taylor Franklin sibling,” Carolina said, shuffling sideways in her seat. “How about what this is doing to your family and the town?”
Another knock on the door made Andy spring back up. Carolina bit her lip, knowing her hubby didn’t want to get in the middle of this conversation. No way.
Nick raced in and gestured at the television. “Please excuse me for forgoing introductions for a minute. Turn on the set. You gotta see this.”
“We already know about the broadcast,” Emily told him.
“I’m not talking about the news. I’m talking about this evangelic preacher.” He gave the channel number to Andy.
The TV lit up to see a young charismatic man, pale and sandy-headed, standing outside on a makeshift stage in front of a congregation.
“Oh, my word,” Emily squealed. “That’s live just outside Climax. I recognize that old barn. And look, there’s Katherine Laslow right there near the front.”
“So I say to you,” the preacher said, in his best evangelic stance, “if my name isn’t Luke Lincoln, is this not horror knocking at our very door? Is this not the devil himself coming up from the fiery depths of Hell trying to consume our people with greed? We must stand up to this outrage that is marring out fair town with the taint only deserved by ancient Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Bela. Don’t let this Satanic business sink its bloody talons into the heart of our community. We must fight back!”
People began to shout words of support. Emily watched in revulsion, when even old Mrs. Laslow threw her arms into the air and shouted militantly. “No demon here! No demon here!”
Lincoln sank to the stage. “Let us pray. Pray to God to lead us from this temptation. Pray to save our souls until we meet again at Heaven’s Gate Church.”
Nick grabbed the remote from the coffee table and switched it off. “Excuse me, but I can’t watch them pray about that.”
“I don’t blame you.” Maggie stood. “It reminds me of one of those war hate rallies in the seventies.”
“Except under the guise of religion,” Daddy Blue told her. “That’s far more dangerous, especially now. Extremist preachers have got a toe-hold in this fear-riddled economy.”
“Fear-riddled country,” Andy added. A rap on the door sent him scrambling yet again.
As he opened it, Cindy Merriman rushed in, covered with water blotches on her jacket and carrying a huge tray of goodies. “Raining out there. Just made it in time. Anybody in the mood for dessert?”
Daddy Blue’s eyes twinkled. “Got any angel food cake?”
****
“Well that dang smooth-talkin’ Bible-carrying polecat, he’s not anything but a hate monger, greed-riddled God-abusin’ sinner his own danged self. If I came face-to-face with the lyin’ shit, I’d tell him so.” Cindy cut a piece of lemon pie for Carolina and stroked her shoulder. “Here, darlin’, feed the baby.”
Nick smiled in appreciation, really liking this woman. He sure as hell wished his own mother were more like she was. “Well don’t hold back, Cindy. Tell us what you really feel.”
She cackled. “Come on, Nick Troy. You and me, we’re getting on like a field on fire. Men my age better watch out. I might just turn into a cougar.”
Blue laughed and hugged Maggie to him. “You’re not a cougar, Cin. You’re a snaggle-toothed lion getting ready to get dentures.”
Maggie slapped his hand. “Honey, he’s just playing with you. You’re a fine figure of a German woman, and Chris better hurry up and make a move.”
Cindy waved her hand. “Come on, sugar-pie. It ain’t Chris. It’s me. I just can’t consider a relationship right now. Maybe in a few years.”
“When you have the dentures,” Blue said, grinning.
“What are we going to do about this fubar anyway?” Emily asked.
“What the hell is a fubar?” Cindy asked.
Carolina smiled. “An f you beyond any recognition or repair.”
Cindy’s head bobbed. “Good word. Now that word’s in my vocabulary.”
“So how about a solution here?” Emily urged.
Maggie slapped her leg and stood. “I say we go to that church, stand up in the service and tell that little wimp just exactly what he’s doing to our town.”
“Oh, hell.” Blue winced. “Now you’ve gone and done it. Once Maggie gets hold of something, it’s gonna get chewed up beyond identification. I don’t think my poor weak heart can take it.”
Maggie laughed and patted his arm. “You’ve seen lots worse. Besides, if I know you, you’ll be the poster child for the whole campaign telling folks how they’ve maligned your boyhood home.”
Nick grinned. These people were his kind of folks. Maybe he’d fit in here after all.
****
“We just missed the Dazzle bashing on TV.” Millie walked back into the kitchen from the living room.
Grady looked up from Millie’s chicken and dumplings and put down his fork. “Emily called to give you an update?”
She nodded. “Women from Climax stay informed. We have our own network. I’ll call my person on the phone chain later.”
He shook his head. “Most other places would call that gossiping.”
She stared at him wide-eyed. “I can’t believe you said that. Do you call a TV News update gossip? It’s a lot more likely to be made up. Our news is what actually happened and usually no more than two to three hours old.”
Grady exhaled slowly. When a woman looked at you like that, it was best to agree with whatever she said. “What did the fear mongers have to say?”
Millie sat down at the table and sighed. “According to Emily, who saw it, the company got a one-two punch. First Zachary Almond called Taylor a tightwad and then our new local evangelic preacher equated our hometown boy to Satan. Emily said the words the preacher used were ‘the devil himself coming up from the fiery depths of Hell trying to consume our people with greed.’”
Grady raked his chair back and threw his napkin on the table. “I’ll show that little shit who’s gonna meet the devil.”
“Sit back down,” Millie commanded.
Grady’s eyes opened wide as he sank back in the chair. “You’re good. Felt just like I was back in Catholic school.”
A trace of a smile played over her lips. “Might not have had my own children, but sure as hell dealt with enough of them between Emily and all the kids who come in the pharmacy.” She shook her head. “I swear I can’t stand those hellfire and brimstone preachers who scare folks
beyond an inch of their life while making them shell out money they don’t have for projects they never see all in the name of the Lord. As I see it, poor people end up, more or less, paying for their salvation. I call this guy the Reverend I.D. Ceive.”
She bit her lower lip. “He preys on poverty and ignorance, and those seeking a miracle. You know, lost a job, a loved one, fighting terminal illness. They need—are hoping for—a shot of divine intervention. Once he’s milked as much as he can out of the people, I fully expect him to pack up and move on to another group of sitting pigeons.”
“Do you believe the same thing about all organized religion?” Grady asked.
“Hell no!” Millie slapped the table and he lurched. “I go to Sunday church every week, went through confirmation as a kid, sang in the choir despite no one wanting to hear my voice, and taught Sunday school until one whole generation graduated from high school.” She shook her head. “But, I don’t call Heaven’s Gate Church a sanctuary for God. It’s a cult run purely for profit, and I now have a mighty good reason to ensure it goes away.”
Grady whistled. “I sure am glad I haven’t made you mad.”
Millie chuckled. “This isn’t mad. You never want to see me really angry.” She glanced up at him. “I think you’ll want to join me on my little crusade when you hear this. That preacher also said Dazzle was sinking its bloody talons into the heart of the community. Them is fightin’ words.”
“You got it,” Grady growled as his skin burned. “So, when do you want to go confront him?”
“Not yet.” Millie crossed her arms. “In Climax we fight the good old Southern way.”
“How’s that?” Grady asked.
Millie cackled. “Don’t get mad, get even. But not right away. Like my mama used to say, ‘Revenge is best served cold.’”
CHAPTER FIVE
Nick walked up the stairs to Emily’s front porch just as she opened the front door. “Wow, what timing.”
She grinned. “I knew you weren’t far behind me coming back from Blue’s house, so I got my car in the garage and came around to let you in.”
“Thanks.” Nick stepped across the threshold. “I thoroughly enjoyed your friends. Blue is so insightful and that Cindy’s a hoot.”
Emily chuckled. “I love them like my own family. In some ways, they’re just as close.”
He stared at the twinkle in her eyes, the sight blush of her cheek and her teeth, very white, even against the porcelain hue of her skin. All-American girl. It was refreshing. But then, the whole town was all American, and that’s why this whole mess with drugs and the hateful attacks on Dazzle and Taylor were so jarring and sinister. “What’re we going to do to clear the Franklin name?” he asked as she closed the door behind him.
She shrugged. “Daddy and Taylor will figure it out. They always do. And don’t count out Aunt Millie and the older women.”
Nick smirked. “They may talk big, but what can a group of middle-aged women do?”
Emily broke into hysterical laughter, wiping tears from her eyes. “Well, for starters, Aunt Millie shot last year’s serial killer in the arm, and he jumped out her upstairs window before she could take aim again. And Cindy shot the same guy in the foot.”
Nick braced himself against the doorframe to the great room. “Does this place have many serial killers?”
She shook her head. “Nope. He was the first. Let’s hope your dead body isn’t the first of many a second time. I don’t want to go through that again.”
He nodded his agreement. “I don’t want to go through it at all.” Frowning, he hesitated. “Uh, your aunt and Cindy, are they prone to shoot people?”
Emily winked. “Only when provoked. Most of the time, they prefer to kill the baddies with kindness. But murderers and people in that league are different. Forget the sheriff. Even the truly evil will get their due. It’s a given. No matter what caliber person and what type of infraction, our women have tactics that usually pay off in the long run.”
Nick grinned. “I can’t believe this sleepy little town’s seen a lot of crime.”
Emily chuckled. “You’d be surprised. This place has seen a lot of traffic, and Climax didn’t raise any people who are weak of heart, especially not born female. Remember, this town was built on moonshine running, fast cars and swifter wits. You’ve heard of Steel Magnolias? These ladies are Titanium Azaleas. They stay in the background most of the time, like border shrubs, but with the right conditions they burst into flame.”
Rounding the corner, Nick flopped on the sofa. “LA’s beginning to look fairly calm compared to the people here.”
She patted his arm. “Just stay on everybody’s good side, and we’ll have you covered.”
****
“I told you to stay on everyone’s good side!” Taylor screamed into the phone.
Nick held his cell half an arm’s length away from his ear while Taylor cursed a blue streak. Then, he timidly placed it back on his ear. “Look, this came out of nowhere, like someone already knew we were getting ready to build there. Sure you didn’t tell anyone?”
“I had to file the papers with the county and get a survey on the property. But that’s all handled through the county office in Chatham. The only other people who knew were my dad and Emily.”
Nick nodded as he listened. “You’d think if anyone knew about this, your dad, being mayor, would have gotten wind first.”
“Unless…”
Nick’s brows furrowed. “Unless what?” He heard the sharp exhale of Taylor’s breath and some indistinguishable muttering.
“Go to building and grounds in the Pittsylvania Maintenance Department in Chatham,” Taylor said, already back in control of his commanding tone. “This morning, got it? Ask for good ole Climax resident and county employee Yancey Caldwell. I’m faxing you some papers to take with you. This is what you say…”
An hour later, Nick entered the building on Chatham’s North Main Street. It didn’t take long to find the right office or the right person. In a matter of minutes, he was seated face-to-face with Yancey Caldwell.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Troy?”
They sat at a circular table in the corner of Caldwell’s office. Yancey laced his fingers together and stared down his nose at Nick. “I assume this has something to do with all that press occurring in front of your business site?”
Nick stared at the man, sizing him up. The guy was tall and lanky. Must’ve been a basketball player in the day. Now, he had to be about thirty-five to forty, black hair and dark brown eyes that bordered on black. His hair was cut painfully close, accentuating a widow’s peak, and did nothing for his already long and slightly pointed nose. If Nick were casting him in a play, the man would have been a great Scrooge.
Nick took a deep sigh and carefully followed Taylor’s prepared wording. “What’s occurring at our work site was brought on not only by the discovery of a body but by the preplanning by one man or a group of people. We want to discover just who those people might be.”
Nick watched Yancey and had to give him points. He didn’t show signs of nervousness or fear.
“What could that possibly have to do with the county?” he asked.
Nick shook his head. “It didn’t. Until now.” He threw the papers he’d held in his hand across the table. “Our attorneys sent me these to deliver in person. As you can see, the last one requires your John Hancock, signifying you are in receipt of the documents.” He paused, just as Taylor had instructed, and watched the man. Now, he noticed Yancey took a deep swallow. His skin blanched a bit against the already white color of his business shirt.
“You may read them if you like,” Nick said. “But I’m sure your attorneys will want to delve through them. In essence, we believe information from our filing leaked out to other parties that didn’t obtain our records properly through the Freedom of Information Act. These documents require the names and addresses of those who obtained permission to examine the documents and that the information should be d
isclosed to us in no less than seven days, a waiver of the normal channels due to the detrimental nature of a time lapse.” He grinned. “Since there was no thirty-day wait for other parties to obtain the information, we believe that’s only fair.”
“I will pass these on,” Yancey said, regaining his composure. “I’m sure you will discover everything is in order.” He leaned closer to Nick. “As for who let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I suggest you check with Taylor’s own relatives.” He nodded, getting a shit-eating grin on his face as he realized he’d gotten Nick’s goat.
Nick’s face burned with anger. “You’re wrong.”
Yancey made a tsking noise with his tongue. “Talk to the townspeople. Emily and Millie are the leaders of the grapevine. No doubt the news about Dazzle hit the line weeks ago. Besides, Robert Franklin is mayor, and don’t think the men don’t have their own jolly chain.” He pushed back a little from the table and crossed his legs casually. “Don’t go trying to pin this on us. You’ll only waste more of Taylor’s fountain of millions.”
“Why you ass…” Nick pushed his chair back and stood.
Yancey’s face darkened as his eyes narrowed and lips turned down. “If you’re threatening me, I believe I’ll need security.”
Nick fisted his hands at his sides. “You’re not worth threatening. Your own dark soul will kill you before you get out of your prime.”
“Tell Taylor I said hello,” Yancey said, a lilt in his voice.
Nick slammed the door as he left.
****
“We need to have lunch. Now.”
Emily looked up from the stack of papers on her desk and saw Nick standing over her. “Well, I’ve never been asked to lunch quite that way. It sounds like you’re starving to death.”
“For information, perhaps.” His eyes were narrow and angry. “I think you can supply the answers.”
She crossed her arms protectively in front of her and stared at him, wondering if she needed an escort to go with them. “Look, I don’t know what you’re pissed off about, but I don’t have anything to do with it. So go pick on somebody your own size.” She picked up her pen.
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