“Yep. His heart leapt.” I put the Cokes on the kitchen table and reached in the cabinet for a package of oatmeal cookies, which I also placed on the table.

“Tiffany says he’s called a couple of times, too.”

“I declare.”

Suddenly she frowned.

“He didn’t say anything was wrong, did he?”

“Tiffany said he just wanted to know if you got the flowers.”

“Well, bless his heart.” She held up the suit. “You like this?”

“It’s beautiful. No telling what Virgil’s heart will do.”

Sister giggled, laid the suit over a kitchen chair, and sat down at the table.

“Have you heard from Richard or Luke?” I asked her.

“Not yet. I told Richard that if they let Luke out, they could come to my house.”

“Well, I may have a lead on where Virginia is.”

Sister stuck a whole cookie in her mouth. “Ditny Wull?”

I took the card from the bulletin board and handed it to her.

“This is a Seattle number. I called it and got a machine saying the Gordon residence.”

Sister studied the card while she chewed, swallowed, and took a drink of Coke. “Where did you get this?”

“Betsy Mahall. The girl we saw yesterday at the church on Chandler Mountain? The dead girl’s sister? I told you I was having lunch with her today.”

“I’d forgotten. What did she have to say?”

“She told me how her sister got started snake handling and that she was sure Virginia was all right, that Monk Crawford was a kind man.”

“Well, a dead one, anyway. Where did she get this card?”

“She said it was by her sister’s phone, and she thought it might be our Virginia.”

I took a cookie from the package.

“She wanted to know if we noticed whether or not her sister was wearing a cameo, a big one on a long gold chain. I said I didn’t see one. Did you?”

“You mean in the church? I didn’t look. Why?”

“It’s missing and she says her sister always wore it, that it was her grandmother’s and she wants her sister’s little girl to have it.” I bit into the cookie. “She’s going to raise the two children.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Mouse.”

I stuck out my tongue.

“Lord, don’t do that. Mama’s turning over in her grave.”

I closed my mouth and swallowed before I said, “Betsy thinks someone at the church killed the Crawford guy and her sister. She says Monk Crawford had been the undisputed leader of that whole bunch for years, but had lost his faith and wouldn’t handle serpents anymore. And women take a secondary role so they wouldn’t have wanted her sister to take his place.”

“I’m sure Virgil will solve it,” she said smugly. Oh, the faith of the smitten.