Free The Diva Wore Diamonds by Mark Schweizer Page B

state by tomorrow.”
    “ That’s great,” I said. “Just great.”
    “ Look on the bright side,” said Dave. “Just think of the folks that’ll come into town to shop. Let’s see. They’ll need pickaxes, backpacks, burros…”
    I laughed. “Seen Nancy this morning?” I asked, as we made the corner and walked the half-block to the Slab.
    “ Not yet.”
    “ I guess she’ll know where to find us.”

    •••

    We’d just settled into our breakfast of country ham, grits and scrambled eggs when Russ Stafford barged in the door, followed a moment later by Nancy. Russ sat down at the counter after making a quick survey of the occupants of the café. Cynthia dashed into the kitchen to pick up an order, so Nancy grabbed a coffee cup off the counter, poured herself a cup, and made her way over to the table. Her plate was waiting at her place when she arrived.
    “ Aren’t y’all sweet!” she said in a voice that made us reach for our steak knives.
    “ What?” asked Dave.
    “ Aren’t y’all sweet to get me a plate?”
    “ We always get you a plate,” I said with a wary look. “What’s the deal?”
    “ There’s no deal,” she said, sitting down next to Dave and helping herself to the family-style breakfast. “Sheesh. I was just trying to be pleasant. My therapist said I should attempt to be a bit less caustic.”
    “ Well, stop it,” said Dave. “It’s creeping me out.”
    I nodded my agreement, and released the grip on my knife.
    “ Hey, Pete,” Russ called into the kitchen. “ Pete! ”
    Pete came out of the swinging kitchen door, wiping his hands on a towel. It was obviously his morning on the grill and he was wearing the better part of a Spanish omelette on his apron. His baseball cap served to keep his ponytail under control as well as proclaiming his loyalty to the Tampa Bay Rays.
    “ Yeah?” he said, tossing the towel onto the counter. “What’s up, Russ?”
    “ You seen Noylene?”
    “ She’s off this morning,” said Pete.
    “ Well, she’s not at home,” said Russ.
    Pete shrugged. “So? Have you checked over at the Beautifery?”
    Russ got to his feet and looked around impatiently. “I need to talk to her. If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her, will you?”
    “ Sure,” said Pete.
    Russ walked out and banged the door behind him. Pete watched him go with a shake of his head.
    “ That’s the second time he’s been in this morning,” he said as he walked up to our table. “The first time, he grilled Cynthia for about ten minutes.”
    “ Must need to see Noylene,” said Dave, through a mouthful of grits.
    “ Brilliant detective work, Sherlock,” said Nancy.
    “ I thought you were going to be a bit less caustic,” said Dave. “You might have hurt my feelings.”
    “ I tried it. Didn’t work.”
    “ Glad to have you back,” I said.
    The cowbell clanged against the glass door again, and Wormy walked in and sat down at the counter where Russ had been just moments before.
    “ Was Stafford looking for Noylene?” he asked.
    Pete and I looked at each other, then back at Wormy.
    “ Yep,” said Pete. I took a sip of coffee.
    “ He’s been up at the double-wide,” said Wormy, his eyes narrowing. “I seen him up there twice since Sunday talkin’ to Noylene. I was in the woods and seen him. He was up there last month, too. One time, Noylene even asked him inside. He’s up to something. I knows it.”
    “ Maybe he’s trying to find out about the diamond mine on Quail Ridge,” said Pete.
    “ That’d be my guess,” I said. “He’s a real estate developer. Maybe he’s trying to buy the ridge.”
    Wormy shook his head. “She won’t sell it. Been in the family for years. And anyway, I’ve been all over that ridge since Sunday. If there’s a cave, I can’t find it.” He stood up, walked to the front door, then turned and looked at our table. “I’m keepin’ my eye on him. That Russ Stafford’s a snake or I ain’t a capon.”
    We watched him