Read Online A Death On The Wolf by G. M. Frazier - Free Book Online

used to make lavender sachets to put in Daddy’s closet with his clothes because of the creosote smell,” Sachet said.
    I knew that explanation was likely to confuse Mary Alice. “She used to put them in his pants pockets, too,” I added. “Daddy works down at the creosote plant and the smell gets in his work clothes and it won’t wash out. He used to say that those little sachets were like carrying Mama around with him all the time. She died when Sash was born and Daddy named my sister Sachet because she was the last sachet that Mama left him.”
    “ That is so sweet,” Mary Alice said.
    “ You don’t know my sister,” I said, and stuck my tongue out at Sachet. She stuck hers out at me in return.
    Mary Alice let go of my hand and gave me a little slap on the leg. “I said be nice.”
    Sachet giggled and I let out an exasperated sigh.
    “ What’s wrong?” Mary Alice asked.
    “ Nothing,” I said, and took her hand again. “Tell me about your brother.”
    “ He’s ten years older than me, just like you are to your sister.”
    “ How do you know how old Sash is?”
    “ Your aunt told me.”
    “ Oh.”
    “ My brother will graduate from law school up at Ole Miss next year.”
    “ Where is he this summer?”
    “ Working for a law firm in Jackson. They have already offered him a job when he graduates.”
    “ What’s his name?”
    “ Robert James Beauregard Hadley. He goes by Beau.” I later learned that Beauregard was Mary Alice’s mother’s maiden name and she was a direct descendent of the Confederate general, P. G. T. Beauregard.
    “ Do you get to see him much?” I asked.
    “ Yes, he comes to visit me every chance he gets. And we talk on the phone. He’s driving down from Jackson in a couple of weeks.”
    “ He’s coming here?” There was a note of defensiveness in my question that I didn’t really intend. Mary Alice picked up on it.
    “ Yes. Why did you ask it like that?”
    I didn’t really know the answer, other than I wanted Mary Alice all to myself, and another male in her life—even a brother—wasn’t a pleasant thought. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” I said. “I was just surprised when you said he was coming.”
    “ You’ll like Beau,” she said.
    Sitting in the swing, I had a clear view of Aunt Charity’s side yard and our house beyond it. I looked up in time to see Frankie pulling into our driveway on his bicycle. “Hey!” I hollered. “I’m over here!” My shout startled Mary Alice and she jumped. “Sorry,” I said. “My friend Frankie is over at the house.”
    I gave another push with my foot to keep the swing moving as I watched Frankie pedal his bike across the yard. “Hey,” he said when he pulled up in front of the porch. He was staring at Mary Alice, and me holding her hand, with a bewildered expression on his face.
    “ Hey,” I said to him. “Mary Alice, this is my best friend, Frankie Thompson. Frankie, this is Mary Alice Hadley.”
    “ Hello, Frankie,” Mary Alice said, looking straight ahead and not at him.
    I waited for Frankie to respond in kind, but he just continued to stare at us sitting in the swing. Just then I saw Frankie’s brother in our driveway on his bike. He had seen us, and turned to pedal across the yard. Given what had happened Sunday when I invited Mark to go to the Colonel Dixie with us, I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I stopped the swing, let go of Mary Alice’s hand, and stood up.
    Frankie could see I was watching something off in the side yard, and he turned to look. As soon as he spotted his brother approaching, he kicked the stand down on his bike and got off. I stepped down off the porch onto the concrete walk that curved back around to Aunt Charity’s gravel drive.
    Mark pedaled up with a big smile on his face, totally oblivious to the danger zone he had just entered. Before Mark could get stopped, Frankie walked over and shoved him, sending him crashing into the grass with the bike falling on