His words resonated with callousness, and he quickly felt ashamed. “Have a lovely Christmas,” he told Dr. Ruth, and then slunk from the office. As he walked out to his car, he realized that he was now in possession of information that Lucy would need to know.
“It’s time for an emergency supper club meeting,” he declared to himself as he flipped open his cell phone.
NINE
“There’s only one thing for us to do,” Bennett stated as he set aside his copy of The Encyclopedia on World History and brought his mug of frothy cappuccino to his lips. “We’re gonna have to crash your Martine family dinner party tonight-get a firsthand look at these suspects ourselves.”
“What dinner party?” Gillian asked.
“Milla and the rest of the clan are getting together at Mamma Mia’s in New Market,” James answered. “I’m driving her there so I can check out the suspects myself.”
“I’m not on the same plane with you, James.” Gillian frowned in disapproval, her silver eye shadow winking as she did so. “It seems rather judgmental to call these out-of-towners suspects. The Star indicated that Paulette’s death was natural. Her body and spirit have simply been returned to the ever-welcoming arms of our Mother Earth.”
After sending a perplexed look Gillian’s way, James recklessly forged ahead with his plan to include the supper club members in the Sheriff’s Department’s investigation. “I don’t know about the redistribution part, but ask Lucy whether it was natural or someone helped her reach Elysian Fields or what have you.”
“Are you holding out on us?” Lindy tugged on Lucy’s sleeve, threatening to spill her mocha latte.
Lucy freed herself from her friend’s grasp and stirred a pink packet of artificial sweetener into her latte. “Way to put me on the spot, James,” she muttered crossly.
Willy, the owner of the Custard Cottage, forestalled her from continuing by arriving at their table with a tray bearing five small cups of custard. “I’ve made up a new flavor, folks,” he said while passing out the plastic spoons and paper napkins he had stored in the front pocket of his pin-striped apron. “Give this a taste and tell me what you think. I’m not sure if it’s ready to be added as a flavor-of-the-week, and since y’all have experience bein’ food judges, I’m gonna leave the decision to the experts.”
Relieved to be out of the spotlight, Lucy spooned an oversized bite of custard into her mouth and then winced as the coldness coated her latte-warmed mouth. Her friends followed suit, taking more reserved bites.
“I taste chocolate, and that’s always a good thing,” Lindy stated.
Bennett wiped some custard from his toothbrush mustache. “Yeah, but marshmallow’s the main attraction in this one.”
Gillian closed her eyes and hummed for a long moment, her hoop earrings bobbing against the skin of her neck. “There’s a very subtle integration of a cakelike cookie. It tastes so familiar, like something from childhood. Nostalgically delicious.”
Willy beamed. “Yes ma’am! All three of you are right, but our Gillian gave me the answer my ears were searchin’ for. I may now introduce y’all to my newest flavor: Memories of MoonPie .”
The dozen or so patrons in Willy’s cozy eatery burst into spontaneous applause. Smiling like a proud parent, he passed out rounds of samples to everyone and listened to their feedback with careful consideration. Willy was a relative newcomer to Quincy’s Gap, but one would never know it by watching him work. Not only did he know the name of each of his patrons, but he knew their favorite flavors and toppings as well. He was aware of their current dieting goals, their occasions for celebration, and when they just needed to be cheered up. Most of the townsfolk viewed him as some sort of magician and paid him weekly visits, no matter how cold it was outside, because Willy was filled with enough warmth and good cheer to change a person’s outlook in the twinkle of an eye and a carefully selected dish of frozen custard.
Because of the enchanted setting, James had thought that the Custard Cottage would be the perfect place for the supper club members to put their heads together and form a plan to identify Paulette’s murderer, but everything depended on Lucy’s willingness to share information with her friends.
“All right.” Lindy put her spoon down, crushed her empty custard cup with the flat of her hand, and stared daggers at Lucy. “Time to level with us. We’ve helped out your department before, remember? We can help again. Or are we unnecessary now that you’re a deputy, even though we helped get you in that uniform you’re so proud of?”
Lucy glanced at Lindy in surprise. “Sheath your claws. I’m not your enemy.”
Lindy was instantly contrite. “Sorry, sorry. I’m such a grump today. See, when I finally talked to Luis this weekend, he told me that his mama’s fadin’ fast and that her last wish is for him to marry the daughter of her closest friend.”
“Ouch!” Bennett exclaimed. “The dyin’ wish of a boy’s mother. Man, that’s heavy. He can’t ignore that one too easy.”
“Thanks, Bennett.” Lindy was clearly crestfallen.
Gillian nudged Bennett’s arm so that the spoonful of custard he was about eat ended up smeared across his cheek. “Luis loves you , Lindy. He might be tormented by his mother’s wishes for a space of time, but eventually the true feelings of his heart will shine through. He’ll acknowledge the fact that his sweet mother was simply trying to be the vehicle of his happiness by pushing him to marry.”
Lindy brightened immediately. “You mean his mama’s pushing this other woman at him so that he’ll make a commitment to me?”
Gillian shrugged. “Destiny moves in mystifying ways. Who can tell what chain of events will draw one soul to another?”
The rhetorical question hung in the air as each supper club member fell silent, thinking of the person who caused their heart to beat faster. James flicked his eyes at Lucy and found that she was staring at him intently, her gaze tender and somewhat sad.
“Why are you doing this?” she demanded, a glimmer of anger crossing her features. “Splitting me between my friends and my job.”
“I’m forcing your hand for Milla’s sake,” James answered. “And because it’s the right thing to do. The five of us make a great team. You know that, Lucy. If justice is what you seek, then we’re on the job beside you. Just like we’ve always been.”
She studied him for another moment and then searched the curious faces of her friends. Nodding, she seemed to come to a decision. “Paulette was poisoned,” Lucy whispered softly. “At least that’s what the medical examiner believes.” She held up a finger and pointed it around the table. “And that fact doesn’t go further than this table.”
“Maybe she killed herself,” Bennett suggested flatly. “She didn’t seem too happy.”
Lucy shook her head. “That’s pretty unlikely. Unless we count her family reunion, there’s no evidence to suggest she was disturbed to the point of wanting to end it all. Plus, most folks don’t like to suffer when they make a deliberate choice to check out. Paulette definitely felt a lot of pain.” She glanced at James. “The way we found her body made that clear.” Lucy succinctly described the scene in the kitchen.