Page 34 of Family Jewels

“So,” I said, trying to find some inoffensive topic to break the tense silence, “is Raddy your only child?”

She snorted as she sent potato peels flying into a plastic bowl in the sink. “As if. He’s the oldest though. I got five.”

“All boys?”

“Three boys and two girls.”

I couldn’t imagine her raising five kids in this tiny house. They could have moved here after the kids were out of the house, but somehow I doubted it. But even more confusing was the fact that Raddy had only mentioned two siblings.

“And the girls didn’t want your momma’s jewelry?” I expected her to shut me down, but I figured it was worth a try.

Her upper lip curled. “They didn’t want a box full of costume jewelry.”

Costume jewelry? According to Rayna, Mable had believed the pieces were real all along. Or at least she’d claimed to. “But Raddy did?”

“He wanted to give it to that hussy Rayna Wilcox.” She made a face. “Wanted to woo her with gemstones and gold.” She turned to me and pointed her peeler at me. “I told that boy that any woman who was won over with baubles and shiny things ain’t worth havin’.” She shook her head as she tossed her potato into a pot and picked up another one. “But the fool didn’t listen tome.”

“I heard you went back to get it even though it wasn’t real.”

She lifted her shoulder into a slow shrug. “What’s mine is mine. I wasn’t about to let that hussy keep my momma’s jewelry, even if it’s not worth a Buffalo nickel.”

“Did she give it all back?”

“I didn’t even look. She shoved the box at me, and I left.”

Woah. That didn’t match either of their stories.

“So has Raddy been back lookin’ for the necklace?”

“Nope,” she said in a short tone. “He ain’t been here for months.”

None of this was making any sense.

“Do you still have the jewelry?” I asked. “Can we see it?”

“Nope. I gave it to Leah. She decided she wanted it after all.”

“Your daughter?”

“Yep.”

I made a mental note to talk to Leah.

I watched Mable toss another peeled potato into the pot, and felt the awkward silence return.

But Neely Kate emerged from the hall, wearing a big smile. “Thank you so much for letting me use your restroom.”

Mable spun around. “You didn’t flush it, did you?”

“No, ma’am.”

The older woman relaxed. “Good. Homer would have a fit if he came home and found clean water in the toilet.”

I tried not to shudder. Homer sounded like a keeper.

Mable took a breath and looked like she was about to say something, hesitated, then launched in. “I don’t know what that fool Radcliffe’s up to, but you two need to leave this alone. Leah’s got all the jewelry now, and it sounds like Raddy’s fixin’ to stir up more family drama I don’t wanna deal with.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Neely Kate said, a little too eagerly for my taste. “We sure will.”