Free Wiped Out by Barbara Colley Page B

cut at four, but other than that, I’m free.”
    â€œGood, then how about letting me treat you to dinner? We thought we’d take you to August Moon, if that’s okay. We could pick you up around six-thirty or so.”
    Just thinking about the Chinese restaurant made her mouth water. “Sounds great. Any special reason?”
    â€œDo I have to have a special reason to treat my mother to dinner?”
    â€œNo, hon, of course not—I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that I know how busy you both are. But listen, no need to pick me up. I never know how long I might have to wait at the beauty shop, so I’ll just meet you there.”
    â€œGood, see you then. Love you, Mom.”
    â€œI love you too, sweetheart.”
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    Just minutes later Charlotte parked her van in front of her Wednesday client’s home on Sixth Street. Marian Hebert’s house was a small, raised cottage type, and like so many of the Garden District homes, it was well over a century old and had been lovingly renovated as well as updated to accommodate all of the modern conveniences.
    Marian was the owner of a real estate company that she ran by herself out of her home. She was a slim, attractive woman in her late thirties with dark hair and a flawless, ivory complexion, and a single mother raising two sons.
    Though Charlotte had been working for Marian on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at the end of July, Marian had decided that she only needed help once a week, and Charlotte had been left with openings on Mondays and Fridays as well as her regular day off on Thursdays.
    At first Charlotte had been reluctant to let it be known that she had openings, but only because she’d been trying to appease her son, who wanted her to cut back on work. In no time, though, she’d grown bored, and since Mary Lou Adams had been the only one of Charlotte’s prospective clients who needed a maid on Mondays and Fridays, Charlotte had decided to work for her.
    Charlotte unloaded her supply carrier and vacuum cleaner from the back of the van and trudged up the steps to Marian’s front door. She still couldn’t believe that Mimi was dead—it just didn’t seem real—and she couldn’t help wondering how Mimi’s death would affect her work schedule now. Would Gordon Adams still want a maid, or would she be left again with Mondays and Fridays open?
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    Marian left almost as soon as Charlotte arrived and was gone most of the day. Charlotte had just finished wiping off the countertops in the kitchen and was unloading the dishwasher when she heard Marian’s car pull in the driveway.
    When Marian entered through the back door, Charlotte put the last of the clean dishes into the kitchen cabinet.
    â€œWhat a day,” she told Charlotte. “At least it was productive, though. I sold that old Johnson mansion on St. Charles.”
    â€œWell, congratulations,” Charlotte said. “That’s quite a coup, considering how run-down that place is. Maybe the new owners will renovate that old eyesore.”
    â€œI think that’s the plan, and with these particular clients, money is no object. So—anything going on here while I was gone?”
    Flashes of the headlines and the article about Mimi Adams’s death went through Charlotte’s mind, but she shook her head. “All’s quiet on the home front.”
    Marian smiled as she approached Charlotte. “Good.” Her smile faded, and her expression grew pensive. “Before you leave, Charlotte, I need to talk to you,” she said. “Could you come into my office for a moment?”
    Charlotte nodded. “Sure.” She closed and locked the dishwasher door, then followed Marian into the adjoining room that Marian used as an office.
    â€œHave a seat.” Marian motioned toward a chair in front of her desk. Once Charlotte was seated, Marian crossed her arms and perched herself on the front edge