Sticks and Bones Read online

  Aurelia wasn’t the judgmental older woman I’d expected.

  “What did you do after you left the McFees?”

  “Oh, I went on to school and became a teacher. Taught fifth grade for decades over at the Greenville Middle School. I worked on Saturdays at McCormick Book Inn. I’ve always loved books, and Hugh and Mary Dayle McCormick know books and Mississippi. It was a wonderful time in my life.”

  “Tell me about Colin and Liam. What were they like?”

  “Liam was the quiet one, always busy with his projects. Engineering was what interested him, though he could never have gone to college. He was … slow. But smart. Just a little slow. He wanted to build tunnels and bridges and such. Lord, there was one time he and Colin decided to dig a tunnel under the creek in the back of Evermore. The thing collapsed on him and I thought he was dead.” One tear moved slowly through the rouge on her cheek. “Scared me nearly to death. I dug and dug in that muddy water. I was afraid to run for help and I was terrified I wouldn’t get him out. But I did. That time I saved him. When the ice fell on him, there was nothing I could do.”

  “What was Colin like?” I asked gently.

  “Now that boy was wild from the moment I met him. He brimmed with mischief and grand ideas. He didn’t see danger because he was fearless. He was always dragging poor Liam into trouble, but Liam adored Colin. One time Colin found some dynamite in one of the farm sheds at Evermore and blew the dam on the pond.” She laughed. “It’s funny now, but at the time I was terrified. I guess you could say those two cured me of illusions of being Jane Eyre and made me realize I was closer to that poor governess in Turn of the Screw. Those boys took years off my life, but they weren’t mean. Colin was all boy and filled with endless energy.”

  She told her tale of woe with a smile. It was clear she loved Colin and had loved Liam. “So Colin was the bad one.”

  “Bad only in the sense that he thought up more mischief and compelled poor Liam to participate with him. Liam was older, but Colin was the leader. He seemed to really love his brother. And me. I was the surrogate mother who gave him affection and played with him. I never believed he’d forget that. But he did. The boy I knew and the man I see today are miles apart.”

  “There’s some thought that Colin might not be such a … good person.” There wasn’t any easy way to say it.

  “I remember him as a child. I don’t recognize the man he grew up to be. The McFee house was always in emotional turmoil. Angus and Bethany fought, and they took no prisoners. There were physical altercations, and they both hurt each other. In front of the kids. That takes a toll on any youngster. If Colin is the angry, ugly man I see on those television ads today, talking about how the Russians are the great Satan, then I blame it all on Angus and Bethany. He started out sweet. They turned him into what he is today.”

  “Do you think Colin is capable of killing his wife?”

  Another tear slipped down Aurelia’s cheek. “I do. I hate to say it, but I do. Colin became a man driven by the need to succeed. That was all that mattered. He buried those tender feelings and became so cold and unpleasant. When he came here—it was like he wanted to shake the words out of me, as if we’d never been close at all.”

  “He visited you here?”

  “Only for a minute to ask if I would keep quiet about the past. He tried to give me money, but I wouldn’t take it. What would I do with money? I can’t be bought.”

  “Is there something Colin would want you to keep secret?”

  She folded her hands together. “Possibly many things. But I don’t need to be paid to keep my mouth shut. I told him to leave me alone. The last time he dropped by was five years ago, just before Son disappeared. He wanted me to sign something saying Jamie wasn’t fit to manage his own affairs. He said because I’d lived in Evermore with Jamie and Angus, it would hold weight. I refused to do it, and he told me he had no more use for me. Not until four days ago, I guess.”

  “Why was he here four days ago?”

  “It’s his campaign. He wants the past in the past. He didn’t want me talking to the media about the family. Of course, I had no intention of doing that anyway.”

  Colin McFee was a callous moron. There had been one person in the whole world who believed in him. Who stood up for him. And he treated her like she was a used tissue. “He might have been decent once, but he isn’t any longer.”

  “I fear you’re right.” She inhaled shakily. “What if I’d stayed with Colin after Liam’s death? I ran home. If I’d stayed, everything might have been different. I could have protected him.”

  I put a hand over hers on the table. “He grew to be the man he chose to be. You aren’t responsible for that.”

  “Perhaps not, but it’s the only thing that gnaws at me late at night when I can’t sleep. Somehow, I failed that boy.”

  “You didn’t.” I nudged the milkshake closer to her. “Hattie said she’ll be by to see you as soon as she gets off work.”

  “And she will. Daughters are the blessing at the end of your life, Sarah Booth. Some sons step up, but always the daughters.”

  I gave her a hug and left before I started crying myself.

  Walking down the long corridor, where several elderly women toddled about their business, I heard “Coat of Many Colors” in a clear soprano. I turned a corner and saw Tinkie playing a zither and leading a sing-along in the community room. I leaned against a wall and watched her play and sing, making the residents laugh. She was Zinnia’s own Dolly Parton, without the big breasts. When she saw me, she finished the song and returned the zither to the table.

  “I didn’t know you could play one of those things.”

  “I have many talents, Sarah Booth. Many.” She grinned. “I’m coming back next week to play again. I have lots of songs, but I need a bit of practice.”

  “You sounded perfect to me.” And that wasn’t a lie.

  * * *

  Tinkie dropped me and the critters off at the front of Dahlia House, and then she hurried home. We’d been gone longer than expected, and she’d vowed to have a home-cooked meal ready for Oscar when he got home from the bank. Tinkie’s cooking was more threat than reward, but I chose not to say that. Oscar would have to figure out how to avoid being poisoned without hurting Tinkie’s feelings.

  I stepped into the chilly foyer and stopped. At the foot of the stairs, a woman in an old-fashioned military dress suit stood at attention, her brown hair just off her shoulders and her penciled eyebrows arched.

  “I killed a Nazi with a judo chop to the throat,” the woman said in a British accent as she came forward. “I can certainly handle you.”

  “Who are you?” I asked. “And why are you in my foyer?”

  “You have to learn better strategic tactics, Sarah Booth. I was one of the most decorated women in the war. I helped save my country. I helped save England. But I lost my husband and so much more.”

  I wasn’t all that well versed in World War II history, but a tiny little bell in the back of my brain was jingling. “You were a spy?”

  “And a good one.”

  “So, who?” I couldn’t put my finger on it. Jitty loved these guessing games, but I wasn’t in the mood.

  “Nancy Wake. Like your friend Cece, I was a journalist, working for the Hearst papers. But when I saw what the Nazis were doing, I had to fight.”

  I walked around her, taking in the very neat suit, the military posture. “I can see where you’d be a threat.”

  “I was the Gestapo’s most wanted person. They called me the White Mouse.”

  “Why are you on a spy kick, Jitty?”

  She began to morph and shift into the more familiar figure of my haint. “You got to learn to be sly and work undercover. Frontal assault isn’t always the ticket.”

  “Why?” I went to the decanter in the parlor and poured a Jack Daniel’s. “This is a cold case. There’s not really any reason to be sly.”

  “You never know,” she said. “And if it’s such a cold case, why was hot lead flyin’ today?”

  “Is that a hint?” I could torment her as much as she could torment me.

  “The hint is that terrible things happen in this world, because terrible people are on the loose. Take advantage of all the love showered on you, Sarah Booth. Find someone to love and grab hold. Don’t let loose until it thunders.”

  “I’m not a snapping turtle.”

  “No, you aren’t, but I wish you were. You’re a solo turtle. And the years will pass and that’s how you’ll end up. Solo. Alone. Solitary. Hunkered down in that shell you built to keep from gettin’ hurt again. You’ve been home comin’ on two years—no man, no baby.”

  I was unprepared for the impact Jitty’s words had on me. It felt as if some mean person had thumped me in the heart. I had to change the course of the conversation. “Hold on there, White Mouse. I’m not sure how romance and spying mix, though I do love me some James Bond. Sean Connery is hot stuff.”

  “Danger makes the little swimmers move faster.”

  I burst into a laugh. Jitty always said the most outrageous things and would stonewall if I called her out as a liar. “I’m going to call Doc Sawyer and ask him if danger makes sperm more active.”

  “Do it, and he’s going to think you’ve lost your mind.”

  Doc had taken care of me since I was a child, and he would think I was insane if I asked such a question. I couldn’t say I was checking on Jitty, my resident haint. If I mentioned her, then he’d know I was nuts. “You win, this round.”

  “I always win,” Jitty said, and once again she was the brave British spy whose head the Nazis had graced with a five-million-franc reward.

  “Yes, we win, don’t we, Jitty. And at what cost?”

  I left her pondering the answer to t
hat and went out on the porch to sit in the sun and sip my drink. I’d started drinking early, but as the old saying went, it was five o’clock somewhere, and I needed to unwind. The Son McFee case, technically a cold case, shouldn’t be loaded with stress and worry. And it sure shouldn’t be loaded with danger, but it was.

  The McFee family was like a tar baby. If anyone touched a single one of them, he, or she, was permanently stuck to all the dysfunction, cruelty, and meanness. There was no getting away from them. And I had a terrible feeling that both Tinkie and I were now tightly stuck. We had put ourselves in a position where we would be forced to deal with Sister every day. I had no doubt we would pay a high price.

  4

  I woke up the next morning raring to get to work. I had several excellent leads, but one might take considerable more finessing than the others. I knew just who to see to make the magic happen.

  Getting records from Switzerland on Liam McFee’s death would require some badge power. And I required me some Coleman. He’d been busy with work and, aside from a Fred Astaire New Year’s Eve, he’d been avoiding the holidays, much as I had been. We were both alone—and both scared of taking another romantic risk. Essentially, we were cowards, and the holidays made us even more skittish. So much pressure to be a couple, to be with someone, to be home for the holidays with family. For those of us without family, the expectations made us hide under the bed. But now the holidays were over, and I needed to reestablish my relationship with the sheriff of Sunflower County. Would we remain friends or become friends with benefits? I found myself thinking of Coleman at odd times. We’d come very close to taking that step from friends to “more than friends” in the past, though circumstances had sent us in different directions. But I fantasized about a more intimate relationship. I’d die before I’d confess such things to Jitty, but friends with benefits sounded delightful. And dangerously wicked.

  Dressed, coiffed, and accompanied by Sweetie Pie and Pluto, I drove to the courthouse. The place was bustling, especially the tax assessor’s office. In such a rural county as Sunflower, property owners came to the courthouse to pay their taxes instead of mailing a check or paying online.

  The queue at the tax assessor’s window was long but folks were laughing and chatting, a real social gathering. Coleman had given DeWayne the week off, and he was alone in the office. The dispatcher had taken off to run a few errands.

  “We haven’t had much chance to talk,” I said as I closed the door behind me.

  “We’re always busy during the holidays. Kids are out of school and looking for trouble. They find it, and then we find them.”

  Coleman had a way with young people. He could set them straight without making it contentious. Maybe he could handle Sister. Though I feared she would be a challenge even for his skills.

  “Any interesting cases?”

  He shook his head. “I have a sneaking suspicion things will soon be a lot more active. Colin McFee is moving his campaign headquarters back to the McFee estate, Evermore. Sunflower County won’t be the same for at least a year, until the election is over.”

  “Oh no.” Politics weren’t my favorite part of being an American, especially since things had gotten so crazy and candidates had Twitter wars, no restraint, and no fact-checking. Though I did my best to avoid the political fray, I knew about Colin’s campaign. A snail living under a rock would know. Colin was everywhere. Staking his claim to become one of the U.S. senators from Mississippi, he’d decided to focus on his expertise in foreign affairs—which centered around his personal hatred of Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader. That was his campaign strategy. He intended to show he could out-macho Putin. It was insane.

  To his credit, Colin had taken the high road with the other two candidates running for the Senate seat. He hadn’t aired a single negative ad about his fellow contenders, but Putin and all things Russian were on Colin’s hate list. So far, Colin had vowed to halt the import of Russian vodka, caviar, and babushkas. He’d been getting pushback on the vodka since Stolichnaya was popular with some constituents. Caviar and babushkas weren’t in high demand in Mississippi.

  “Why does Colin hate Putin so much?” I asked Coleman.

  He chuckled. “You think I’m privy to Colin’s mental processes?”

  “Does he have mental processes?”

  “He’s a smart man. The renovations he did on the library in Belgium. Incredible. And Memphis is beautiful now since he renovated most of the downtown. I hear he’s reimagining the Chicago skyline. If his plans are accepted, it will be stupendous, much like the work he did in Dubai.”

  Colin’s designs and renovations were almost divinely inspired. “Why does he want to be a senator? He’s wealthier than a god.”

  “Power. Control. He wants to put his stamp on the state in a way his grandfather never could. This goes back to the breach between Colin and Jamie. He’s still trying to show the old man that he’s worthy.”

  “Jamie is dead. He died shortly before Cleo’s wreck.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Colin thinks he still has something to prove.”

  “Men. All that testosterone and competition and proving of things.” I sighed. “It can be so tiring.”

  Before I could catch my breath, Coleman was across the room and had me pinned to the high counter. “Testosterone can be a really good thing, Sarah Booth.”

  Even if I’d wanted to argue, which I didn’t, I couldn’t have. Pressed against his chest, I put my arms around his neck. “I’m really glad the holidays are over.”

  “Me too.” His kiss was both demanding and tender, and my bones melted. When he had me at the point of total surrender, he drew back. “But I’m sure you’re not here to be kissed. You’re here on business. What can I do for you?”

  I stomped his toe hard and pushed free of his arms. “You’re right. I’m here on business, and I don’t have time for your kisses.”

  He laughed. “I love that little flush that climbs up your neck when you get all hot and bothered.”

  I glanced down at his uniform pants. “Keep talking, wiseguy.”

  He closed the distance between us again. “I could be sweet-talked into one more kiss. Maybe. Why don’t you give it a try?”

  “You should be seducing me, not the other way around. I don’t have to sweet-talk men for a kiss.”

  “But can other men kiss like this?”

  I resisted for maybe three seconds before I kissed him back. With each kiss, I came closer and closer to losing my self-control.

  The office door started to open and we jumped apart like we were red-hot. I turned away from the door, hoping for a moment to compose myself.

  “Well, well, looks like our fair sheriff has been playing naughty with the local dick.” Sister McFee’s grin made me think of a rabid skunk.

  “What can I do for you, Frangelica?” Coleman asked.

  “Someone is following me. It’s a black sedan, dark tinted windows. I believe they mean me harm.”

  “Really? Some widow you kicked out of her home? Or some war veteran whose prosthetic legs you stole?” I couldn’t stop myself.

  “Sarah Booth,” Coleman said softly. “Now, Frangelica. What kind of car?” Coleman was all business.

  “I can’t be certain of the make or model, but something bigger, maybe a Chevy SS. The car lurks in the background, but I know they’re following me. I’m afraid.” Sister looked up at Coleman like he was Zorro, Superman, and Deputy Dog all rolled into one.

  “What do they want, Sister?” I asked acidly. “Maybe they want to steal your bullying techniques.”

  Coleman snorted and tried to cover it up with a cough. Sister turned on me. “You went to New York and failed, but I took the city by storm. I’m a winner, and you’re what, a third-rate private dick who has a partner with body-odor problems?”

  The remark about Tinkie was more than I could take. I stepped so close that I was right in her face. Sweetie Pie came from around the counter and stood at my side while Pluto paced down the counter so that he was within a swat of Sister’s face. “What is this stinky business with my friend?” I demanded.

  “Ask her. All I can say is that she really was quite stinky.” She laughed.