Down Home and Deadly (7 page)

Carly laughed. “This from the man who had my sister swept away in a limo to meet him for a private dinner
at the marina
.”

“And then bought her a rock the size of
Manhattan
a few weeks later,” Elliott chimed in.

“And even more romantically, helps me with the dishes,” I said, winking at Alex.

“I think that was a hint for us to get busy.” Elliott stood and pulled Carly to her feet then put his arm around her and pulled her close. He whispered something in her ear.

The twins came running in, followed by Zac.

“Mom, can we go now?” Hayley’s query was more of a command.

“Yeah,” Rachel chimed in. “You said as soon as lunch was over we could go get ready for the basketball game.”

“Pipe down, kiddos.” Zac spoiled his big
-
brother attitude by adding, “But everyone’s goin’ down to the courts soon, right, Mom? I want to practice my jump shot before the game starts.” He turned to Elliott. “Can’t you make her hurry?”

“Hurry a woman? Son, you’ve got lots to learn”
—
Elliott winked at Zac
—“
but I’ll do what I can.”

“Out!” I made shooing motions at the kids. Then
I
stopped. “On second thought
,
why don’t you take these dirty dishes in the kitchen and tell
your
g
randma
that y’all will load the dishwasher? When you finish, we’ll show you who the athletes really are.”

“I’ll show them how to hold down a lawn chair,” Carly muttered.

The kids obediently took all the dishes and exited the dining room, but they were so busy laughing about our supposed athletic ability that Hayley bumped into the door facing. Served her right.

Forty
-
five minutes later, we were waiting for a few stragglers on the concrete basketball court just past the playground. One of the benefits of being raised at a resort—plenty of room for friendly games. And plenty of extra players. Just as Dad finished going over the rules, the honeymooners in cabin
five
came running up. “Are we too late?”

Dad shook his head. “The cops are just now getting here.” He motioned to where the black
-
and
-
white patrol car had pulled into a parking place.

The man stopped in his tracks and put a protective arm around his new wife. “Excuse me?”

Dad laughed and pointed at John, Ricky, and Seth, who were walking across the gravel parking lot toward us. “Don’t worry, son. The chief of police has a mean three
-
pointer, but he isn’t worth a dime on defense. And that tall cop gets all the rebounds, but when he shoots, you don’t need to worry. He can’t hit the broad side of the barn. And Seth? Well, he’s just Seth. You’ll see.”

Everyone laughed, even the newcomers.

A new hybrid vehicle pulled in and bypassed the parking lot, driving across the gravel directly to the basketball court. Before I could guess who the driver might be, Tiffany Stanton emerged. She waved and smiled then walked around the car and opened the passenger door.
John’s wife, Denise, climbed out, her usually slender frame struggling to hold the extra twenty
-
five
pounds
she had gained in the first eight months of her pregnancy. They already had two children, but this was Denise’s first pregnancy since turning thirty. John had apparently read that with age came danger. He’d been treating Denise as if she were made of spun gold for the last several months.

The cops
had almost reached
us
when
John
heard us greet Tiffany and Denise
behind him.
He spun around to look.
“What is she doing here? I told her she needed to rest.”

He hurried over to
Denise
and cupped her elbow with his hand. I would be annoyed by the constant attention, but Denise seemed to be coping very well. Then again
,
looks could be deceiving. Even though she smiled as she struggled to gain her balance, there was a hint of gritted teeth in the smile. She waved and began walking toward us with John scampering around her like an overgrown puppy.

“I’m okay, John. I needed to get out of the house
,
and your mom volunteered to babysit.” Denise’s words floated to us
, her exasperation clear in her tone
. “I can walk by myself.
Why don’t you get my chair out of the car?”

Tiffany had opened the trunk
,
and she stepped back to let John take the red lawn chair. Ricky waved her over to be on his team
,
and she jogged toward him.

I’d never have thought of her as athletic, but then again she was the opposite of her mother, and I sure couldn’t imagine Amelia enjoying a pick
-
up basketball game or hanging out at the Stafford Cabins play area on a Sunday afternoon, for that matter.

We all stood there gawking at the John and Denise show as they reached us and he got her settled into her chair. By the time he had her situated to suit him, she almost needed binoculars to keep up with the action. He handed her his phone and his portable radio and turned toward us.

As soon as he finished, Dad said, “Denise, you can be on my team. We need a good guard.” He winked at me.

Sure enough, John rose to the bait. “She can’t play!” As we burst out laughing, he grinned weakly. “Oh, I guess you knew that.”

“Go on, honey, you play and uphold the family honor,” Denise said, edging her chair closer to where Carly, Mama, and the twins were sitting. “I’ll just watch safely from the sidelines and cheer you on.”

After the kayaker from cabin
seven
joined us
,
we had twelve players, just enough for three teams of four. We flipped a coin to see who would play the first round. Seth, Ricky, Tiffany
,
and John drew the first game against Alex, Elliot, Zac
,
and me. That left Dad, the honeymooners
,
and the kayaker for the third team.

During
a
water break, Tiffany and I joined Carly, M
ama
,
and Denise on the sidelines.

“Nice shooting there,
Tex
,” I drawled to Tiffany.

She smiled. “Two years of dating a basketball coach. He was obsessed with the game
,
and if I wanted to see him
,
it had to be on the court.”

When we went back onto the court, the game moved fast and furiously. We were up by six points when Seth went up for a shot. He missed
,
but as he came down, he yelled, “Foul!” at Alex.

Alex frowned. “I don’t think so.”

Ricky walked up to stand beside Seth. “Think so or not, you did,” he said to Alex.

“We’ll replay
.
” Alex offered a compromise.

Seth shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Before we could resume play, though, Denise hollered for John. He gasped and sprinted toward her, no doubt expecting to have to deliver the baby right there on the sidelines. But she waggled his cell phone at him.

We all sat down on the concrete for a short break while he took the call. Zac, Elliott, Alex, and I sat together.

“You didn’t foul him,” Zac murmured.

Alex shrugged. “It’s just a game.”

Elliott smiled. “Easy to say when we’re ahead.”

Zac’s face brightened. “We are smoking them, aren’t we?”

Elliott nodded. “Nice three
-
pointer, buddy.”

“Thanks. I’ve been practicing.”

I had a flash of realization. Carly was incredibly blessed that Zac and Elliott had such an easy relationship. Amelia and Tiffany were proof that even a blood bond didn’t guarantee that kind of camaraderie.

John clicked his phone shut and walked back over to the court. “Seth, Ricky, I need you to come with me. Something’s come up. Good game, y’all.” The last was aimed at us as the men headed purposefully to John’s car. I dashed after them and tried to casually stroll along beside John. Kind of hard since he took one step to my two.

“John, are you going to the station?”

He kept walking.

“Did someone have a wreck? Is anyone hurt?”

Still walking.

But my gut wouldn’t let me be quiet. “This
has
something to do with the murder case,
hasn’t
it?”

No answer.

“John Connor, you make me so mad. All you have to do is tell me what’s going on.”

Finally, he whipped his head around to look at me. “You’re wrong there, Jenna. I don’t have to tell you anything. This is official police business. Go play ball.”

After the third game
,
which, by the way, we won handily, the guests went back to their own cabins and the rest of us scattered. Carly and Elliott headed out to the glider under the elm tree. Alex had some work to catch up on, so Mama and I walked over to the porch swing.

“Mama, did you know the guy that was murdered was from here?” I sat down in the swing.

She sat down beside me. “Yes.”

“Did you and Daddy know him?” I pushed off the swing with my toe.

“We knew who he was. He left here a long time ago.”

“Tell me about him. Where did he go?”

“I don’t know all that much about him, honey. And I have no idea where he went.”

“I just want to know why he was killed. And who murdered him.”

“Honey
.
 
.
 
.
” Mama pushed the swing with her foot. “I know you. The more you learn, the more you want to find out. And before you know it, you’re right in the middle of a murder investigation.”

There was definitely truth in what she was saying, but it still stung. “C’mon, it happened right there behind the diner. Plus I found the body.” I shivered involuntarily. “It’s not like I chose this.”

“No, but you cho
o
se
whether or not
to get involved. You know I’ve always said your curiosity would be your downfall.” She turned to look at me. “And so far you’ve managed to survive, but I pray every day that you’ll be safe.”

“I appreciate it.” I pushed the swing gently. “That’s probably what’s kept me alive this long.” I grinned in an effort to lighten things up a little.

She answered my grin with a frown. “Just wait until you have kids of your own. You’ve never worried
until
you
’ve
worr
ied
about your children.” She stopped the swing with her foot and turned toward me. “Your daddy and I want you to promise to stay out of it this time.”

“I understand.” I wasn’t making any promises, except one to myself to keep my mama and daddy from worrying about me.

She reached over and patted my hand. “We’re just tired of visiting you in the hospital.”

Across the yard, a motion caught our attention. Carly jumped up out of the glider and stomped toward the back of the house. Elliott got up and followed her. She turned and said something that we couldn’t hear and waved him away. He walked slowly with his head down toward his car.

I looked back at Mama. “Do you think we should go after her?”

“No. What did I tell you about minding your own business? If she wants to tell us she will.”

But I couldn’t help noticing the worried expression on Mama’s face.

*****

*****

Chapter Five

Wouldn’t that kill corn hip high?

“I don’t know why it’s so hard for John to share any information with me,” I complained to Alex as I handed him a piece of cake later that night.

He took the plate. “Maybe you should bribe him with cake.”

I plopped down on my couch beside him. “I mean it. He’s infuriating.”

He took a big bite of cake and made an
mmm
sound low in his throat. “Who said you can’t cook?”

Very funny. He knew I’d gotten the coconut cake in the freezer section at Wal-Mart. All I’d had to do was thaw it
out
. My kind of cooking.

“While you’re changing the subject with flattery, let’s not forget my basketball
-
playing ability,” I said.

He grinned. “Oh, c’mon, Miss-Used-
t
o-Be-
a
-Coach, you can play circles around me on the court
,
and you know it.”