Milton snickered. “Pffft. That’s her problem. If we don’t tell Joyce what her Prince Charming is up to, somebody else might catch him with Betty Jean and tell her. If that was to happen before we got that other lump sum, he won’t have no reason to pay it. We done come this far, it would be foolish for us to stop now. I can’t believe you having second thoughts this late in the game. Even if we don’t get that money from him, we still have to punish him for lying to Sheriff Potts about us.”

“I ain’t having no second thoughts. I just made a comment. And there’s something else I been thinking about. Joyce is going to be hurt sure enough, but we’d be hurt even more if Odell was to do something to get back at us some other way before we chastise him, and before we tell Joyce. We been pushing our luck for a long time. Sooner or later, we’ll push him so close up against a brick wall, he’ll snap.”

Milton gave me a serious look. “Baby, believe me, I know what you mean. That’s crossed my mind, too. I think Odell is already up against a brick wall. He said something tonight that threw me for a loop.”

“Humph. He’s pretty good at throwing us for loops.”

“I’m serious, Yvonne. I think he’s cooking up something else to get back at us.”

Milton’s words gave me a jolt. “Oh? What did he say?”

“He wants me and you to go fishing with him tomorrow evening.”

I shook my head. “Fishing?” I shook my head harder. “That’s mighty suspicious to me. Odell must hate our guts by now, so why would he want us to go fishing with him?”

“There ain’t no telling. After all we done did to him, I wouldn’t feel safe going to church with him these days.”

“And how come he wants to go tomorrow evening—before we get the other money you told him we want? I hope you told him we don’t want to go.”

“I told him I’d check with you first. But I had already made up my mind not to go. I just wanted to stall him. I told him if we couldn’t make it tomorrow, we’d go next week.”

“Everything will be over by next weekend. That Friday will be the beginning of the end.” I sighed and looked toward the window. “Uh, you know it ain’t too late for us to back out. We don’t have to tell Joyce nothing, and we’ll still get that money from Odell.”