Sera squeezed Maggie’s arm.
Her breath becoming shallow and rapid, Maggie said, “Sera, quick, try to get dinner on the table. Abby Ruth, stand watch at the back door. If Lil and Angelina head toward the garage, stall them. Somehow.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. Shoot your gun in the air and swear there’s a rabid skunk in our midst. Be creative.”
Abby Ruth’s grin went wide and somewhat evil. She leaned over and pulled a small pistol from her boot. Was she always packing heat?
Maggie didn’t have time for that conversation. She dashed to the front door, then slowed and strolled out to join Lil on the porch.
“Angelina. You’re becoming a regular around here lately.” Maggie hoped the words didn’t have too much of an edge, but it probably wouldn’t bother Angelina if they did. She had a the-sun-rises-and-sets-on-me attitude that couldn’t be penetrated.
“Just had to ask Lil a few questions about the High on the Hog event. Being a past chairperson, we share information about these things, don’t we, Lil?”
The memory of Angelina pitching the idea of using the Tucker at the High On The Hog event made Maggie’s stomach flip. Having to tell Lil about the damage to the car was bad, but having Angelina witness it? Now that would be the worst thing ever.
“Maybe you can set up some time later in the week.” Maggie nudged Lil toward the door. “We were just putting dinner on the table.”
Angelina looked as if she would argue, but then she smiled sweetly and patted Lil’s arm. “I’ll be in touch. Soon.” She spun on her boot heels and swished her bedazzled hips back to her pearly white SUV.
“Good riddance to her.” Maggie stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Lil. “If she isn’t the most conniving creature I’ve ever met.”
Lil pursed her pink lips. “Oh, honey, she’s not even an evil stepsister compared to some of the women I just spent nearly a year with.”
Was Lil on Angelina’s side?
When she and Lil walked back into the house, Sera and Abby Ruth had somehow transformed the dining room into dinner party mode, and by the look on Lil’s face, she was impressed.
The table was set with Lil’s fine china and the goldware. A pitcher of sweet tea sat at the edge of the table, but Abby Ruth was already pouring wine in glasses at each place setting.
A broad smile spread across Lil’s face. “You’ve gone all out. Thank you.”
“We have to celebrate your homecoming,” Maggie said as Sera entered the room with a glass cake plate. It held a beautiful layer cake decorated in soft creamy frosting outlined in the shape of Summer Haven.
“It’s lovely, Sera.” They all took their seats and Lil raised her glass. “To the three women who, in my absence, have taken care of Summer Haven and my reputation. May you never have to skirt the truth again.”
“Hear, hear!”
“We’re starting with cake,” Abby Ruth stated. “Because this is just that special of a day.”
Maggie knew it was really because dinner was nowhere near ready, but what the heck? Lil seemed happy with the plan and that was all that mattered.
Dinner was filled with light conversation as they tried to bring Lil up to date on all the Summer Shoals happenings while she was away. She needed to be in the loop on the cover-up stories they’d concocted to keep her absence on the down-low.
“When Maggie left this morning to pick you up, I made a quick stop in at the diner and the post office, mentioning I was preparing for your homecoming from your trip. You know how quickly things get around in this town. Everyone should know by tomorrow.” Sera leaned her forearms on the table. “I photoshopped a slew of pictures for you so you could share them with people. I mean who goes on a cruise like that and doesn’t come home with pictures? I even put you in a few of them.” Sera pulled the phone from inside her tank top and with one sweep of her finger, flipped through photos for Lil.
Lil’s eyes were soft and wistful. “Isn’t that beautiful? Wish I had been on that trip.”
“Me too,” Sera said. “Maybe we could really go sometime. I’d give anything to see the northern lights.”
“What’s that one?” Lil pointed at the phone’s screen. “Looks like a hunk of junk. Is that supposed to be in Alaska?”
Sera pulled the phone back in front of her. “Oh, whoops, that was in the wrong folder. It’s one of Colton Ellerbee’s art pieces. We’re working on a—” She cut her gaze toward Maggie.
Darn it. They’d agreed to avoid that topic in front of Lil. Maggie gave a tiny head shake.
“A what, dear?” Lil asked, forking up a bite of cake. But Maggie knew that look on her best friend’s face, and it meant Lil would find a way to get the truth.
So she admitted, “We’re looking into something for him.”
Lil flashed Maggie a look that was far from approving. “By looking into, you mean investigating?”
“I guess you could call it that,” Maggie said, “but it’s more like a favor.”
Lil took a long swig of her wine. “Isn’t that a little dishonest, Maggie? Representing yourselves as people with skills in this kind of thing?”
Lil’s words knocked Maggie back on her heels. “We’ve actually done a pretty good job. Naturals I’d say, and we’ve done a few favors for you, or did you already forget about that?”
“That was different.”
Meaning it was okay to do Lil a good turn, but no one else? Didn’t she realize other people had benefitted from Maggie, Sera and Abby Ruth catching two bad guys? “That Social Security fraud and an online dating scam could’ve hurt lots of people, Lil.”
“You also could have been in danger. And besides, it just wouldn’t do for me to be associated with anything related to criminal activity.” Lil looked around the table at each of them in turn. “As guests at Summer Haven, I’m sure you’d want to abide by your hostess’ wishes.”
Hostess? Lil had been home for all of a few hours and she’d already decided she was running some kind of house party.
“But we’ve already made a commitment,” Sera said.
Lil swirled her fork in the air. “Let Teague handle it. It’s his job.”
Abby Ruth sat so straight her spine could’ve been made from a power pole. “But this is personal. My daughter’s reputation and business are at stake.”
“All the more reason for a professional look into whatever this is.”
“You can’t just come in here and tell us—”
“Summer Haven is my home.”
Abby Ruth hopped to her feet and tossed her napkin onto the table. “You know what? It’s been a long time since I lived with my momma.”
Sera sat across the table with her mouth agape and her gaze darting from one person to the next.
“Goodness knows I’d never want to be mistaken for your mother.”
Maggie had a feeling Lil’s comment had nothing to do with someone thinking she was that much older than Abby Ruth and everything to do with someone thinking she would be associated with such an outspoken rabble rouser.
Oh, Lord. Just what she’d feared. Lil and Abby Ruth together were like an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico.
Chapter 16
After Abby Ruth had stormed out of the dining room the evening before, Sera and Maggie had talked her down, but with the rising tension since Lil came home, Sera thought she’d be willing to fight a Southern California brush fire rather than stay in that house any longer. Thank goodness the high school had called saying she’d passed her background check. Which meant the fake ID she’d bought on the south side of Los Angeles had been worth every penny.
She headed into town for her first teaching assignment. The only thing that had come close to creating this kind of bubbling excitement inside her was when she, Maggie and Abby Ruth were chasing down a crook together. And today, Sera was doing double duty.
Score.
Today, she’d be monitoring a chemistry class. Of course she didn’t think the
principal would appreciate Sera teaching the kids about a few of the chemical compounds she was most familiar with. What was business as usual in her old neighborhood in California was the devil’s work here in small-town Georgia.
By lunchtime, she’d consoled a girl who’d discovered her boyfriend was two-timing her with her best friend, advised a boy watching the heartbroken girl with hound dog eyes, and fixed another girl’s wardrobe malfunction. Goodness, when had fifteen-year-olds become so busty? Sera herself still wasn’t much more than an anemic B-cup.
She found her way to the teachers’ lounge for lunch. If she’d thought the hallways were a hotbed of activity and chatter, this room, packed with people ranging from their mid-twenties to three years past dirt, was just as lively.
For a minute, Sera was paralyzed, remembering the time her parents had moved her from Crested Butte to Santa Barbara and she’d been the new girl. Again. But acting like a scared schoolgirl wouldn’t get her the information she needed. She had a lot of work to do before the last bell rang at three-thirty sharp.
So she put on her smile and strolled up to a table with an empty chair. “Is anyone sitting here?”
A man—blond, muscular and probably a few years younger than her—looked up from his massive ham and cheese sandwich. With his build, he had to be a gym teacher. He checked out her granny-square crocheted poncho and black leggings, then said, “Depends on what you brought in that paper sack.” But by his charming grin she knew that, as people in Georgia said, he was just joshing her.
“How does tofu stir fry and kale chips sound?”
“Like total hell on earth.” Still, he pushed the chair away from the table so Sera could sit. “You’re new here.”
“I’m subbing for the chemistry teacher.”
“Gotcha.”
“I’m Serendipity Johnson,” she said. The other four people at the table introduced themselves—an algebra teacher, the track coach, a European history instructor and a senior English teacher who happened to be wearing a pair of clogs.
When she caught Sera staring at her feet, the English teacher said, “We’re talking about poetry. I find my students understand iambic pentameter better when I dance it for them.”
Sera beamed at her. Now this was her kind of teacher.
However, making friends had to come after picking brains. Sera forked up a bite of perfectly browned tofu. “I heard something about an upcoming auction. Sculptures or something?”
“Oh, yeah, Murphy Blackwood does this every year,” the track coach said. “Last year he auctioned off a bunch of metal dustpans his students made. Between you and me, some of those wouldn’t have held boulders, much less dust. But the money raised goes for a vo-tech school scholarship. Can’t argue with that.”
“I’d love to see this year’s sculptures,” Sera commented. “My friends and I out at Summer Haven are always interested in supporting the community.”
“You’re staying with Lillian Fairview?” The clog-wearing teacher sounded doubtful.
“Yes. Have been for quite a while now. She’s such a sweetheart,” Sera said, although quite honestly she knew very little about Lil. “So where’s Mr. Blackwood’s classroom?”
The cute gym teacher next to her said, “Last year, they moved the whole shebang into a portable classroom after one of the kids had a little accident with an oxyacetylene torch.”
“Accident?”
“Caught three classrooms on fire, including part of the band hall. You shoulda seen those thirty-year-old wool uniforms go up in flames. Lord, it smelled like a sweaty pig roast in the hallways for the rest of the school year.”
Sera put down her fork at that thought. Good thing too because the electronic bell sounded and the teachers all hopped up as if metal barbs had poked them from their chair seats. But the cute gym teacher took time to hold his hand out to Sera, “It was great to meet you, Serendipity.”
Her hand touched his and her face warmed in response. “Same here.”
When she was away from the teachers’ lounge, Sera surreptitiously fanned her face. Yes, she’d been longing for companionship lately, but she was skirting a little too close to the line in flirting with that man. And since she’d recently encouraged Maggie to open herself to the chance at love again, Sera needed to keep her attention on finding out who was behind these forgeries. Maggie had her hands full trying to juggle Bruce, Lil and the still damaged Torpedo. Keeping the truth about the car from Lil wouldn’t be easy.
Sera stopped once to ask a student for directions, but it didn’t take her long to find the row of tan-colored metal trailers behind the main school building. She snuck around to the back and strolled past the windows. The first building held stacks of wood, table saws and other tools. Maggie would be in heaven inside there. The next was full of sewing machines. Probably some kind of fashion design class. As it so often was, the third was the charm. Sera pressed close to the open window and caught sight of teenagers working with sheets of metal and blowtorches.
Bingo.
And over in the corner was a pile of castoffs—metal pipes, industrial lampshades, and napkin holders. Sera homed in on something. Was that a beater from a mixer? Among the pile of misfit parts there were some familiar bits—bobbers, those old wooden folding rulers Colton loved so much, and all kinds of pipes.
Yes, yes, yes!
She’d finally found something good. She pulled out her phone and quickly snapped pictures of the pile and the students’ partially welded sculptures. Some were quite good—a large cat, a sassy rooster and a bobber-eyed dog. But the one to the far right looked like the love child of a mule and Cerberus.
Someone around here had to be the forger. Too much welding going on to be otherwise. But was the culprit the teacher or one of the kids? She couldn’t tip anyone off before she, Maggie, and Abby Ruth knew for sure, and she needed more information. She could probably walk right in and pretend she was lost, do a little flirting and get some details, but where was the fun in that?
Lucky for her, a couple of the windows were tilted open. She picked up a slim stick and fitted it against the windowsill. Then she lowered the window until it looked closed.
If no one noticed it, the gap would be her entry key later this evening.
She pulled her cell phone out and texted Abby Ruth and Maggie.
I’ve secured entry for later. Be ready at sundown.
When Sera came skipping into the kitchen, Maggie was slowly rearranging all the small appliances and cabinets back to the way they’d been when Lil left Summer Haven. Lord, the way she’d reacted to the changes, a body would think Maggie had swapped the furnishings of two rooms. Truth be told, the kitchen was more efficient the way she had arranged it.
Abby Ruth was with her but had threatened to leave if Lil so much as stuck her head in the room. “Well,” Abby Ruth said to Sera, “if you don’t look like a cat that’s been at a canary buffet, I don’t know what does.”
“That’s just wrong.” Still, Sera’s smile didn’t dim a watt. She did a few intricate dance steps that would probably make the pros on Dancing With The Stars jealous. “Did you get my text?”
“We did.” Abby Ruth twirled a chair around and straddled it. “Spill it, sister.”
“The shop teacher was a solid lead.”
“He’s our guy?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure. But when we go back tonight we can do some more digging. I’ll bet you it’s either him or one of his students.”
“Don’t you think we should at least consider calling in Teague?” Maggie asked. Lord, anything to relieve some of the pressure swirling all around her these days. She was exhausted for more than one reason. Lil had looked a little wounded that Maggie had taken over her bedroom. So, of course, Maggie had packed up her things, washed all the linens on Lil’s bed, then moved up to the Azalea room. “Abby Ruth did promise him we’d keep him up to date on anything we found.”
Abby Ruth snorted. “I had my toes crossed inside my boots.”
“It’s totally possible,” Sera said. “Have you seen how long her toes are?”
Abby Ruth reached over and squeezed Maggie’s shoulder, her way of showing concern. “Sugar, we haven’t given up on one of these mysteries yet, and we’re not gonna stop now. Besides, I think it might do you some good to get away from Summer Haven for a while.”
Guilt shrouded Maggie. Running out the front door, down those steps, and far, far away sounded like heaven right now. She could leave the Tucker Torpedo doppelganger and the newly paranoid and grumpy Lil without looking back. She’d expected Lil’s homecoming to be filled with smiles and joy. Not this…this…petulant wrestle for control of something Maggie had never wanted control of in the first place.
But Lil couldn’t just waltz back in here and behave as though she should have final say about everything. That wasn’t fair. And in all truth, it hurt Maggie’s heart.
“Sera,” Maggie said, “what do you think we should do?”
“We’ve all paid property taxes at one point or another, right?” Sera said.
Well, who knew about Sera? Since the time she showed up in Summer Shoals, she’d seemed to be rootless. But Maggie just nodded.
“And schools are funded by those taxes. So if you ask me, we own a portion of the public school system.”
“Love it,” Abby Ruth crowed. “I guess you figure our portion is inside that shop classroom.”
Sera sat back in her chair, her smile broad and uncomfortably close to an Abby Ruth-style expression. “Uh-huh.”
Lord, Maggie had heard some rationalizations in her time, but this was, as her daughter Pam would say, ballsy.
A scrape and clang came from the direction of Lil’s bedroom. Apparently, she hadn’t been happy with their cleaning efforts and was doing it all over again herself. For some reason, that made pressure build behind Maggie’s eyes. And if Lil couldn’t recognize the sacrifices they’d made on her account, how could she expect Maggie to drop Colton’s case?
In High Cotton Page 14
