Free Pearls and Poison (A Consignment Shop Mystery) by Duffy Brown

but true and tight, and that counts.” Meaning Earlene wasn’t a hot young chickie, but she was someone you could count on and she was nice. My bilingual skills were improving.
    “How Mamma make out?” Big Joey asked. “My inside man buzzed to a new area. Not cool.”
    “You didn’t arrange for Mercedes?”
    “The ride?”
    “The woman. She looked out for Mamma and my auntie KiKi, and I thought you got her there somehow.”
    A flicker of recognition sparked Big Joey’s eyes, a slow smile on his lips. “
That
Mercedes.”
    “Meaning . . . ?”
    “It’s all good.” He eyed the shoe and basket, the grin expanding. “Troubles?”
    “A little misunderstanding.”
    “Keep it real, babe. Gotta bounce.” Big Joey took the backdoor into the bar, and I slid on my shoe and hung the basket from the doorknob. I headed for Mamma’s house. The campaign meeting had to be over by now, and I needed to check that she was okay with my own two eyes. Besides, I was dying to see her new do.
    A stiff breeze off the ocean made me button my denim jacket and turn up my collar. Thank the Lord Savannah never got beyond jacket cold. Snow was an occasional fluke, and icy conditions were found only in sweet tea and drinks on the veranda.
    I cut across Oglethorpe Square catching a glimpse of the Owens-Thomas House and wondering if Miss Margaret strolled the gardens tonight. She died back in ’51 of course, but that didn’t mean she didn’t take a stroll now and then. This was Savannah after all.
    I turned onto York as Walker Boone ambled down Mamma’s front sidewalk and got into the Chevy. Okay, what was with Mamma and Boone? There was a connection, but what and why? I did my stop-the-bus routine of standing in the street, waving, and looking ridiculous. Considering the night I’d had so far, the ridiculous part fit right in. Boone hit the brakes, and I took the passenger side.
    “You and Archie Lee have a nice visit?” he asked.
    “Don’t know if I’d jump right to nice. You do realize he has a victory banner right there in his bar? He knows liquor, and his brother knows about toxins from plants. Sounds like a murder suspect to me, and the Cemetery is sure in a party mood. I think he did it; he knocked off Scumbucket and framed Mamma.”
    “You really think Archie Lee would advertise winning if he killed off the competition?”
    “It’s genius. He looks innocent and simply the beneficiary of an unfortunate . . . or fortunate, depending on your point of view . . . occurrence that just happened to fall his way. He’s just one lucky guy, real lucky. I wonder where Mr. Lucky was when Seymour got knocked off.”
    “You going to ask him?”
    “Is there some reason you’re at Mamma’s?”
    Boone pulled the convertible to the curb. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s going to muddy the waters. They’re bringing in a detective from Atlanta. Ross is second fiddle on this case. You’re mother’s well liked by the police here, and this new guy is to make sure there’re no cover-ups. It’s good in that when Gloria’s found innocent, the prosecuting attorney can’t cry foul play, because there’s an outside source.”
    “Putting a judge away could be a feather in Atlanta boy’s cap. Did you ever consider that?”
    “He’ll be fair.”
    I made a strangling sound of disbelief.
    “Keep in mind he won’t think twice about throwing your meddling butt behind bars for obstruction of justice.”
    I got out of the car. “And what if Atlanta boy catches you snooping around?”
    Boone gave me a fat-chance eye roll and motored off. The porch light was still on at Mamma’s, meaning she hadn’t gone to bed. I gave a little knock and went inside. Mamma met me in the front hall. Her hair was flipped out instead of tucked under, her bangs swept to the side and tucked behind her ear. I touched a strand. “You look mighty fetching, Judge Summerside.”
    Mamma smiled, then sobered. “What in all that’s holy happened to