The Perfect Dress(13)

“I shouldn’t have dropped my keys in here somewhere,” she scolded herself as she fished around in her purse. When she finally located them and got inside, she held her breath and flipped on the lights.

“Hallelujah!” she shouted. “We’ve got power. The whole town isn’t without electricity like usual when it storms.”

It didn’t take her long to change clothing, dry her hair, and apply makeup. Then she made a pot of coffee and removed the doughnuts from the soggy bag.

“Hey, where’s everyone at?” Fanny Lou rushed in the door and set a dripping umbrella in the basket. “From heat to pouring-down rain. It’s true if you don’t like the weather in Texas, you can stick around for twenty minutes and watch it change.”

“Good morning to you, Granny.” Mitzi poured two cups of coffee and set them on the table.

“I see you bought doughnuts again. Bless your heart. I swear, if the pastry shop ever closes its doors, I’m selling the Taylor estate and moving to Greenville,” Fanny Lou declared. “So what did you think of Graham’s daughters? I heard that you ran into him in Walmart last night, too. Did you flirt?”

“Good Lord, Granny!”

“I’m sure Jesus is very good, but answer my questions.” Fanny Lou laid all the pastries out on a plate.

“It was love at first sight with his girls, and no, I didn’t flirt. How did you find out that I’d seen him at Walmart?”

Fanny Lou shrugged. “Honey, how often does someone as powerful as Graham Harrison move back to town? He’s divorced. He owns a Cadillac dealership. And he’s good-lookin’. So where’s Paula and Jody?” She sipped at the coffee.

“They haven’t made it in yet, which is unusual.”

“Good,” Fanny Lou said. “I’ve got news about Lyle, but it might just be gossip, so I don’t want to tell it in front of Jody.”

Every hair on Mitzi’s arms prickled. “Is it bad news? Is he sick and dying?”

“Nope, but he was seen with a young woman in a jewelry shop down in Greenville last week. I heard they were looking at rings,” Fanny Lou said.

“Maybe he was getting her take on a ring so that he could propose to Jody. I bet he wanted to keep it a surprise. That would be so romantic. He’s been in love with Jody since they were teenagers.” Mitzi hoped she was right and that Lyle wasn’t doing something stupid.

“It would be nice if that’s what it was,” Fanny Lou said. “But the person who saw them said he had his arm around the woman’s shoulders. Are you going to tell Jody?”

Mitzi shook her head. “Nope. It’s gossip for sure. She and Lyle are the same as married and have been for years.”

“‘Same as’ isn’t really married,” Fanny Lou said. “Maybe you should call those girls and see about them. If the rumors about Lyle are true, Jody might be killing him right now. Paula could be helping her dispose of the body.” She picked up a doughnut with maple icing.

Mitzi dug around in her purse for her phone and called Jody, but it went right to voice mail. Then she called Paula.

“Hello.” Paula sounded as if she’d been crying.

“Are you okay? I’m worried about you and Jody,” Mitzi said.

“I’ve got a stomach bug. I’ve taken some medicine. I’ll be in by noon,” Paula told her.

“I’m sorry. Rest all you need to. Are you home?” Mitzi asked.

“I am now. I got up feelin’ bad and went to get something to make me better. We must’ve missed each other. See you later,” Paula said.

“Let me know if you need anything. I hear Jody coming in now. If you need to stay home all day, that’s okay. Just get some rest, and maybe you’ll feel better by Monday.” Mitzi sure hoped that whatever Paula had caught wasn’t contagious.

Jody arrived looking like she could chew up tenpenny nails and spit out thumbtacks. She stood a huge umbrella beside the door on the rug and stomped across the floor to pour a cup of coffee.

“What’s got you in a mood?” Mitzi pointed toward the plate of doughnuts.

“Lyle, and I don’t want to talk about it,” Jody answered as she picked up an apple and plopped down in a chair. “Y’all ever heard of Quincy Roberts?”

“Who hasn’t? He’s buying up land out there by y’all’s trailer, but rumor has it he won’t buy without the mineral rights. He’s this big oil tycoon,” Fanny Lou said.

“He wanted to buy our property, and I said no. Ever since, Lyle’s been actin’ weird,” Jody said. “If he sells without my okay, I may leave his sorry ass or poison him for real.”

“Can he do that? Sell without you signing?” Mitzi asked.

“Oh, yeah, he can. His aunt sold us the trailer and property. She’d only do it if we put it in his name only because she said someday he’d leave me. I didn’t care at the time because she was a mean old b—witch,” Jody said.

Fanny Lou shot a knowing look at Mitzi.

Mitzi didn’t want to admit it, but her grandmother might be right. “Maybe he’s going to surprise you with something and he’s afraid to say anything. Or maybe he wants to sell the trailer and land and use the money for a down payment on a house.”