Chapters (50)
- COVER
- PRAISE FOR TITLES BY MIRANDA JAMES
- ALSO BY MIRANDA JAMES
- TITLE PAGE
- COPYRIGHT
- DEDICATION
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- AFTERWORD
- LETTER TO THE READER
- SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM BLESS HER DEAD LITTLE HEART
Kanesha hesitated, obviously torn. I figured she would love to tell me to go home and mind my own business, but she might also have been thinking that Melba would find it easier to talk with me there.
“No, you can stay if Mrs. Gilley wants you to.” Kanesha shook her head. “Even if you didn’t, I’m sure she’d be on the phone to you the minute I walked out the door.”
“Good morning, Deputy.” Melba sounded more like her usual self when she entered the kitchen. She also looked more like her usual self. She had dressed in jeans and a sweater, combed her hair, and applied a little makeup. “Would you like some coffee? I think there’s still some in the pot, or I could make some fresh.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Gilley, but I’m fine. Mr. Harris told me earlier this morning that you were a close friend of Mrs. Taylor’s, and I wanted to talk to you about her. First, though, let me tell you how sorry I am about the death of your friend.” Kanesha’s sympathy sounded sincere, not the rote words of a stranger observing the social niceties.
“Thank you.” Melba resumed her place at the table, and I chose the chair to her left. Diesel gave up his close observation of the deputy and stretched out on the floor between Melba and me. “I’m glad you came by. There’s something I want you to hear.”
Melba picked up the cell phone and played the eerie voice mail message for Kanesha. I found it even more affecting than I did the first time I heard it. If anything, my fears for Melba’s well-being increased.
Kanesha sat stony-faced until the message ended. “Can you forward that message to me, Mrs. Gilley?” She pulled a business card from her pocket. “Here’s my number at the sheriff’s department.”
“Certainly,” Melba said as she picked up the phone. “I’ll do it right now.”
Kanesha and I waited until the task was complete and Melba set the phone aside once more. In the meantime the deputy had pulled out her notebook and pen and jotted something down in it.
“Was that the only contact you had with Mrs. Taylor yesterday?” Kanesha asked.
“Yes,” Melba said. She went on to explain the reason why she hadn’t taken the call. “I did talk to her the day before, but offhand I can’t think of anything she said to me that could have any bearing on this.”