Joyce was sitting so close to me, I felt her body stiffen. At the same time, a mild gasp slipped out of her mouth. “Yvonne and Milton went by the store today. He’s already welcomed them home,” she said, looking at me. “Milton, I’m glad you and Yvonne were thoughtful enough to do that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known y’all was out until I got home. And I wouldn’t have been able to share the news with Odell until he got back home Sunday.”

“Well, everything is hunky-dory now. Joyce, is your drink strong enough?” I asked, eyeing her half-empty jar.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” She gave me a tight smile before she went on. “So, do you and Yvonne have any idea who made that telephone call to Sheriff Potts?”

“Not yet,” I replied with my teeth clenched. It was a struggle to keep my anger under control. “I’m sure we’ll find out real soon.”

“I sure hope so!” Joyce’s tone was so loud people on the other side of the room looked at her. She gave me a apologetic look, and lowered her tone. “I can’t tell you how surprised I was when I heard that somebody had called Sheriff Potts at home and told him such a barefaced lie.”

“Surprised ain’t even close to what I was when I heard the news. I was downright mortified,” Aunt Mattie snarled. “If I ever find out it was one of the men that come to my house to do business with my girls, I’m going to put a spell on him a magician can’t take off.”

I looked from Aunt Mattie to Joyce with a question shooting through my head like a bullet. How did Joyce know Sheriff Potts had been called at home? “Joyce, who told you that? I thought he’d received the call at the jailhouse.” I held my breath waiting for her to respond.

A smug look crossed her face. She puffed out her chest with so much pride you would have thought she really was Queen of Sheba. “Maybe the person couldn’t reach him at the jailhouse, and that’s why they called him at home.” She took a big gulp from the jar in her hand. She was on her second large drink, so she was more than a little drunk. That was the only reason I gave her the benefit of the doubt. She could have been talking off the top of her head and didn’t know what she was saying.

There was only one way to find out. I took a deep breath before I asked. “But how did you know the call was made to Sheriff Potts at his house?”

“Odell told me,” she answered.

CHAPTER 12 - JOYCE

CHAPTER 12

JOYCE