“She’s trying to decide whether or not she likes the color of her hair,” Sister said. “It’s supposed to be Summer Marigold, the same thing I have on mine, but it’s slightly redder.”

Major Bissell looked at me sympathetically. “That happened to my mother. If you decide you don’t like it, she went to a beauty parlor in Shalimar called Curl Up and Dye. They could probably help you.”

“That’s good to know, isn’t it, Patricia Anne? They sound like specialists.” Sister smiled. I might kill her yet. “Sit down, Lieutenant. What can we do for you?”

“Mrs. Brown called. Lolita Brown? She said she had talked to you, Mrs. Hollowell.”

“She did. She showed me the earring.”

“Patricia Anne told me about it,” Sister said.

“Well, I know the morning she was killed, Mrs. Weatherby came over to tell you she was okay.”

We both nodded.

“Do you by any chance remember if she was wearing those earrings that morning? I’ve asked Mr. Weatherby and he can’t remember.”

Sister and I looked at each other.

“She had on the same outfit she was wearing the night before at the Redneck,” Sister said. “The same one she had on when she was killed. An off-white jumpsuit.” She turned to me. “Did she have on earrings?”

“I’m trying to think.” I closed my eyes and tried to picture Millicent. “Her makeup was messed up. Mascara smeared. I remember thinking she looked a mess.” I opened my eyes and looked at the lieutenant. “No earrings. I’m sure. At least not those turtles. You couldn’t miss them.”

“Mr. Weatherby said they were a gift from Mrs. Peacock.”

“They were both involved in the turtle watch program,” I said. “The earrings would have been a nice memento of that.”

Lieutenant Bissell got out his notebook and jotted something down. “I know you saw Mrs. Weatherby at the Redneck Riviera the night before her death,” he said. “Can you tell me about the meeting?”

“We’ve already told you,” I said. I didn’t have time for this.

But Sister was cooperative. “We were surprised when we saw her,” Sister said. “She’d lost about fifty pounds and had her hair streaked a nice blonde. And she may have had a face-lift. Anyway, she looked great.”

“She said she was meeting someone for a drink and then the Blue Bay folks were having a birthday party. Mrs. Brown told me it was for her,” I added. “And she had the earrings on. I noticed them.”

“Do you know by any chance who she was meeting?”

“We didn’t see who it was. We were leaving when we saw her,” Sister said.

“Had either of you met Jason Marley before this visit?”