Page 76 of Family Jewels

I was bursting with curiosity, especially after finding Neely Kate at the kitchen table with her phone that morning, but I decided to let it go. For now.

She gave me a quick once-over. “You changed. And that’s not your shirt.”

“It’s Violet’s. Since I spent the morning working with Bruce Wayne on a job site, I wasn’t exactly fit for a social visit. I didn’t have time to go home, so . . .”

“Good idea.”

“But when I left, I saw Miss Mildred.”

“That was bound to be trouble,” she said as she started walking toward the entrance.

“Well, shedidthreaten to call the police over me stealing Violet’s shirt.”

She stopped in her tracks. “What?”

I waved it off. “That’s not important. What you need to know is that Miss Mildred knew Raddy’s grandmother.”

“Oh my word,” she said, lightly smacking her palm against her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Miss Mildred said his grandmother wore gaudy Woolworths costume jewelry. From the way she told it, there’s no way that necklace is real.”

She put a hand on her hip. “But the owl pin was.”

“I know. None of it makes sense.”

Shaking her head, she continued toward the entrance. “Let’s talk to Trixie and see what she has to say.”

I was nervous about meeting her, more so than I would have been before that night in February, but the array of self-defense weapons in my purse made me feel a lot better about the situation.

We stopped a few feet inside the bar that reeked of stale beer and sweat. The walls were covered in cheap pine paneling and rodeo photos. The tables were all thick pine, but the patrons seemed to favor the bar.

“Do you see her?” Neely Kate asked.

“No.”

“It’s barely one. Maybe she’s running late.”

“Maybe.” But I didn’t have a good feeling about this. “What if she set us up?”

“How would she set us up? It’s not like we have anything she wants. Shoot, we don’t even know where the necklace is.”

“I don’t know,” I murmured and started to walk toward a table for four. “I just have a bad feeling.”

“Do you want to have a vision?” she whispered.

“That’s not a bad idea.” We both got settled at the table. I reached for her hand, but a waitress walked over to us before I could start.

“What can I get you girls?”

I was starving, so I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone. “I’ll take an iced tea, and if you have hamburgers, I’ll take one with fries.”

The waitress turned to Neely Kate, who ordered a salad and water. As the waitress walked away, Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open.

“What?” I asked, turning to see three women walk in, silhouetted by the bright sunlight from the open door.

“It’s Leah Dyer.”

“What’s she doing here?” I asked, more to myself.