Read Online Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Duffy Brown
Ads: Link
and tapped her left foot. “I saw him swaggering out of here last night big as you please.”
“He’s trying to prove Chantilly innocent, is all, and came over to see what I knew, which isn’t much. I can’t believe you had yourself such a good time yesterday that you’re up for round two of UPS for beginners.”
“Oh, honey, not me. I can’t be going with you today. I have a dance lesson with Bernard Thayer. Missing a lesson with him just wouldn’t be right. He pays double and in advance. You’re flying solo today.”
Dancing with Bernard was like driving a Mack truck with bad breath. “You’re a chicken, you know that.”
KiKi patted my cheek. “Cher would call it inspirationally resourceful. And there’s more.”
“I don’t want more. I don’t want any. I want to go back to bed till September.”
“Chantilly’s on her way out to the Waverly Farms this very minute to pick up a UPS package. She told Sister Donovan all about it when dropping off the pills. Chantilly intends to give Waynetta a piece of her mind about getting what she deserved in stealing Simon the way she did, then him dying on her right there at the wedding.”
“UPS sent Chantilly to the Waverly Farms?”
“UPS isn’t all that plugged into the Savannah kudzu vine.” Auntie KiKi put the phone in my hand. “You got to get a hold of Chantilly and talk sense into her right now before she gets to Waynetta or there’s going to be a catfight out there like no other.”
“If Chantilly’s intent on ranting and raving, she’s not going to pay one bit of attention to a phone call.”
“That’s just what I’m thinking.” Kiki reached into her robe and pulled out the Beemer keys. “Go get her.”
• • •
Five minutes later I was barreling out of town—or as much as anyone barreled in Savannah on a hot summer morning—heading for Whitemarsh Island and Waverly Farms. Not that I wanted to do this. The front hall of Cherry House was mouse gray and in desperate need of new paint if I could beg KiKi’s leftovers from redoing her kitchen, and somehow I had to come up with ideas on how to get more customers. Hollis’s threat of foreclosure and no business was more real than I’d ever tell him. Then there was the cloud issue. Scary thought that the moneyman for the hood knew one heck of a lot more about running a business than I did. I considered his cash flow and mine and decided he had reason to know more.
The Beemer could overtake a UPS truck any day of the week but Chantilly had a good start on me. I hoped she had a few more deliveries before meeting up with Waynetta to give me a little time. My second hope was that she didn’t cause too much mayhem in town while making those deliveries or her job was history.
I got onto East Victory and did a quick stop at Sisters of the New South to pick up a bag of delicious temptation.
If your mamma and grandma didn’t keep a jar for drippings on the stove, then Sisters was not the place for you. It was pure Southern eating and near Bonaventure Cemetery, a convenient location for those who frequented the sisters a little too often.
I crossed over the Wilmington River, sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight as it meandered its way out to sea, then took the second right off the main drag. Wild oats and marsh grasses hugged the road, a UPS truck lumbering along just ahead. Honking, I got up next to Chantilly and pointed to the side for her to pull over.
Chantilly must have guessed that I was here to head her off before she reached Waynetta because she hit the gas, leaving me in a cloud of exhaust. Poking her head out the window, she did a hand gesture that would make her mamma faint dead away then threw her head back and let out a cackle I could hear even over the roar of engines.
Chantilly was in serious need of therapy. I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to catch up with her in this state but I couldn’t let her run around town in a UPS truck either. I punched the Beemer and
“He’s trying to prove Chantilly innocent, is all, and came over to see what I knew, which isn’t much. I can’t believe you had yourself such a good time yesterday that you’re up for round two of UPS for beginners.”
“Oh, honey, not me. I can’t be going with you today. I have a dance lesson with Bernard Thayer. Missing a lesson with him just wouldn’t be right. He pays double and in advance. You’re flying solo today.”
Dancing with Bernard was like driving a Mack truck with bad breath. “You’re a chicken, you know that.”
KiKi patted my cheek. “Cher would call it inspirationally resourceful. And there’s more.”
“I don’t want more. I don’t want any. I want to go back to bed till September.”
“Chantilly’s on her way out to the Waverly Farms this very minute to pick up a UPS package. She told Sister Donovan all about it when dropping off the pills. Chantilly intends to give Waynetta a piece of her mind about getting what she deserved in stealing Simon the way she did, then him dying on her right there at the wedding.”
“UPS sent Chantilly to the Waverly Farms?”
“UPS isn’t all that plugged into the Savannah kudzu vine.” Auntie KiKi put the phone in my hand. “You got to get a hold of Chantilly and talk sense into her right now before she gets to Waynetta or there’s going to be a catfight out there like no other.”
“If Chantilly’s intent on ranting and raving, she’s not going to pay one bit of attention to a phone call.”
“That’s just what I’m thinking.” Kiki reached into her robe and pulled out the Beemer keys. “Go get her.”
• • •
Five minutes later I was barreling out of town—or as much as anyone barreled in Savannah on a hot summer morning—heading for Whitemarsh Island and Waverly Farms. Not that I wanted to do this. The front hall of Cherry House was mouse gray and in desperate need of new paint if I could beg KiKi’s leftovers from redoing her kitchen, and somehow I had to come up with ideas on how to get more customers. Hollis’s threat of foreclosure and no business was more real than I’d ever tell him. Then there was the cloud issue. Scary thought that the moneyman for the hood knew one heck of a lot more about running a business than I did. I considered his cash flow and mine and decided he had reason to know more.
The Beemer could overtake a UPS truck any day of the week but Chantilly had a good start on me. I hoped she had a few more deliveries before meeting up with Waynetta to give me a little time. My second hope was that she didn’t cause too much mayhem in town while making those deliveries or her job was history.
I got onto East Victory and did a quick stop at Sisters of the New South to pick up a bag of delicious temptation.
If your mamma and grandma didn’t keep a jar for drippings on the stove, then Sisters was not the place for you. It was pure Southern eating and near Bonaventure Cemetery, a convenient location for those who frequented the sisters a little too often.
I crossed over the Wilmington River, sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight as it meandered its way out to sea, then took the second right off the main drag. Wild oats and marsh grasses hugged the road, a UPS truck lumbering along just ahead. Honking, I got up next to Chantilly and pointed to the side for her to pull over.
Chantilly must have guessed that I was here to head her off before she reached Waynetta because she hit the gas, leaving me in a cloud of exhaust. Poking her head out the window, she did a hand gesture that would make her mamma faint dead away then threw her head back and let out a cackle I could hear even over the roar of engines.
Chantilly was in serious need of therapy. I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to catch up with her in this state but I couldn’t let her run around town in a UPS truck either. I punched the Beemer and
Similar Books
