Free Snoop to Nuts by Elizabeth Lee Page A

Huntsville, where they put bad folks to sleep; my love life over before it got a running start. All that and a few old and new complaints about me—too damned bullheaded; out to save the world when I couldn’t even protect my grandmother; too dumb to see the guy right in front of my nose. I would have come up with a much longer list if Jessie hadn’t shown up when she did.
    “I stopped by your house but Miss Emma said Miss Amelia was in bed.”
    “She’s been there since Ethelred left. I asked that woman not to come out but you know Ethelred. Takes a cannonball to stop her if she’s on a mission.”
    “Been looking peaked lately. Ethelred, I mean. You notice? Maybe age catching up with her.”
    I shrugged, thinking I had a lot more important things to mull over. I took a long swig of beer, then settled back to enjoy a few minutes with my friend.
    “Kind of sad, when you think about it,” Jessie said. “For all that swagger of hers, she’s got nobody but your meemaw. The rest of the people here in town don’t care about her. All that ‘old family’ stuff, like it means a hill of beans when it comes down to getting through the day.”
    “So she came out and dropped her troubles on Meemaw’s shoulders, like she always does. That woman doesn’t have one thought about anybody but herself.”
    I pushed papers into their file folders, set them at the front edge of my desk, and finished off my beer in one long drink.
    “What’s up?” Jessie asked. “See you’ve got a lot on your mind. Not that the family troubles wouldn’t be enough.”
    “I guess I dumped Hunter.” I look up and felt the pain behind my eyes that comes before tears.
    “Oh, no.” She leaned across the desk and put her hand on mine. “What happened?”
    “Hunter’s coming in the morning to take Meemaw to the sheriff’s.”
    Her dark eyes grew large. “Is he arresting her?”
    “No. Just taking her in for questioning—again.”
    “You took her last time. Why the formality?”
    “Sheriff said it wouldn’t look good if they didn’t follow procedure and I guess his procedure is to send a deputy to bring in a suspect.”
    “She’s a suspect?”
    I nodded. “They found spotted water hemlock in the dish she brought out for the parson to taste.”
    Jessie couldn’t find words for that bit of news.
    “I know,” I said. “Me, too. I’ve been practically speechless since Hunter told me.”
    “What was wrong with the first bowl? The judging bowl? If that one was poisoned, how come the judges didn’t all fall over right then?”
    “First bowl had alum in it. That only makes you pucker up. But what the hell, Jessie? Both of the bowls were tampered with. Sure looks like Meemaw’s got an enemy.”
    She raised her eyebrows at me. “What do you figure’s going on?”
    “Maybe it’s all of us—the Blanchards—they’re after.”
    “Are you working with Hunter on this like you did before?”
    I shook my head a little too hard. “Not anymore. That’s for sure.”
    “What’d he do?”
    I sniffed and nodded and swallowed—all the while trying to hide a misery attack coming on me.
    “What kind of a friend is he? He’s treating Meemaw like a criminal. For all I know, they’ll be throwing her in jail. I just can’t . . . I can’t forgive him for turning on us like this.”
    “Not turning on you, Lindy. He’s doing his job.”
    “But his job will destroy my family. I can’t have anything to do with him. Not anymore.” I took a swipe at my nose with the side of my hand.
    Jessie leaned back in her chair and made a face at me. “Why don’t you just wait and see what happens before you go dumping him? He needs your help—you and Miss Amelia. And you need his.”
    “Meemaw is not doing a single thing to help herself. All she’s doing is lying in bed. I’m getting mad at her, too. I can’t do anything all by myself.”
    “All three of you need to find a way to get moving. You sure need Miss Amelia. That woman can figure