“I have no idea, Mouse. Why do you always think I know all the answers?”

“I’m going to sleep now.”

I hung up, but I didn’t go back to sleep for a long time. Why would Eugene Mahall want everyone to think he couldn’t walk?

“I’m scared,” I heard Betsy say.

What a can of worms. Basket of snakes.

I finally got up and fixed some decaffeinated tea. Ended up sleeping on the sofa with Muffin.

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter
Sixteen

The next morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper and having a second cup of coffee when there was a knock on my back door.

“Any sweetrolls and coffee?” Officer Bo Mitchell of the Birmingham Police Department asked when I opened the door.

“For you, always.”

I hugged Bo and took her coat.

“Lord, you’re skinny, girl!”

Bo twirled to show off her new figure. “One twenty-five. And that’s it. I’m at the sticking point now. So one sweetroll and that’s it.”

“You look wonderful.” And she did. Bo has the most beautiful skin, a light milk chocolate color and her eyes have a slightly Asian cast. She is also one of the nicest people I know, funny and brave. Her friendship is one of the best things that has happened to me since I retired from teaching.

“Sit down and I’ll get you some coffee.”

I put her coat over a chair in the den while she sat down at the table.

“Where’s Joanie this morning?” I asked. Joanie Salk is Bo’s partner.

“We had the night shift. I just came to hear about your trip. How’s Haley doing?”

“So good you wouldn’t believe.” I put a cup of coffee in front of Bo and got some sweetrolls from the refrigerator and stuck them in the microwave. “She’s loving being married and living in Warsaw. And, Bo, guess what? She and Philip are in Rome today. They’ve got an audience with the pope. Not one of those big things with a crowd, but a small group. They’re really going to get blessed by him personally.”

Bo has a terrific grin. Every time I see it I think of the thousands of dollars we spent on our kids’ teeth just praying for smiles like that and missing it by a mile. “I’m so happy for her. That’s great.”

“Yes, it is.”

She reached for the sweetener. “How’s Mary Alice? She and Fred get along on the Concorde?”

“They did fine. Peter Jennings was on the plane with us coming back so she rearranged everyone’s seats.”

“She get engaged to him?”

The microwave dinged and I took the rolls out.

“He slept. I can’t believe she didn’t wake him up.”

“The poor soul. He doesn’t know what he missed.”

I put the rolls between us and sat down.