Laura shrugged and handed us our Cokes. “Who knows? But I’ll tell you what I told Fairchild. Eddie’ll have the best care money can provide. That’s about all you can hope for with that awful disease.”

No. You can hope for someone who remembers what you once were and who still loves you.

Mary Alice held up her glass. “To Eddie.”

“To Eddie,” Laura and I echoed.

“Now,” Laura ran her palm across her cheek. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

“A couple of questions,” Sister said. “For starters, Major Bissell told us there was no record of you getting a threatening phone call.”

“That’s because I got it in my car. That was one of the scariest things about it, that whoever was calling knew where I was.” Laura shivered. “Why would I lie about it?”

“True,” Sister said. “We were just checking.”

“Well, there’s no need. I got the call just like you did, and Eddie and I are getting the hell out of town. I suggest you do the same.” She set her glass of Coke down with a thump on the coffee table.

“We knew there was some explanation,” Sister said.

“We told Major Bissell that,” I lied.

Laura seemed appeased. “What else did you want to ask me?”

“Did Millicent have several hundred acres of land over on the bay that didn’t belong to Blue Bay Ranch?”

“All I know about’s Blue Bay Ranch.” Laura picked her Coke up and took a sip. “And getting Jason Marley to develop it to suit her was like pulling teeth. You can ask Jason. He said Millicent and Emily were both so hung up on those damn turtles it was driving him crazy. When they made us put a special kind of light on the end of our boathouses, one that doesn’t shine very far, he said, ‘Hell, that sort of defeats the purpose of a light on the boathouse. Somebody hits it, we’re in trouble.’ We did it, though.” Laura drank some of her Coke. “What do you want to know for?”

“Patricia Anne and I were having an argument,” Sister lied. “I told her Millicent said she still owned some land by the bridge and Patricia Anne said it was Blue Bay she was talking about.”

“It was Blue Bay.”

“Why did she give in and let it be developed, Laura?” I asked.

“Her family. You saw them today at the funeral. Millicent couldn’t let them want for anything.”

“She looked happy the other night at the Redneck,” Sister said.

“I think she was pleased at the way the development’s going.”

“No, I mean she was glowing. You know that look women get when they’re in love.”

“Or pregnant,” I added. Sister frowned at me.