“Let’s go back to the inn and look over our notes. We can get our costumes while we’re out for the festival tonight. I’m so excited; I feel like a kid going to the carnival.”

“Yeah, I imagine Nana will be acting like a kid tonight.” If truth be told, at times I was envious of Nana’s ability to tackle life with such exuberance.

Dee Dee’s patience with Nana was nothing short of a miracle. “Don’t worry, be happy Trix. It’ll be all right.” She wiped her mouth and reapplied her cherry red lipstick.

We spent the time on the way back to Tybee Island going over the suspects.

I was beginning to lose hope, and recalled that Laura mentioned finding an attorney. Maybe it was time; she was certainly still the prime suspect, even on our list. She had opportunity and motive. Grace made Laura’s life miserable. The murder weapon belonged to Laura and her fingerprints covered it. Not good. We had to find someone who had a greater motive than Laura. I told Dee Dee as much.

“I wish we knew more about that bracelet.” Out came the infamous tablet and pen. “And what about Bert, and Grace’s attempts to control him?”

“But he’s been gone for a long time, and he’s hardly the bracelet wearing type. There wouldn’t be a need for him to kill her now; he seemed fairly content. Unless there’s something we don’t know about. I think he needs to be toward the bottom.” I remembered how controlling Wade could be. He wanted to know where I was and what I was doing.

“Let’s go over the names of the guests at Seaside Cottage. There’s us, of course.” Dee Dee gave a little snort. “What about Ellie Sloan? She seems kind of harmless.”

“That might be true, but remember we saw her talking with John Porter and she said she wasn’t acquainted with him before they met here. And the Daniels saw them downtown together that first night. I don’t know why she would lie about it. I think we need to move her toward the top.”

“Okay, she’s been moved.” Dee Dee punched me in the arm. “Stop!”

“What in the world?” I sputtered. I pulled over, alarmed maybe I’d hit something and didn’t see it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

I want to take some pictures of the boats,” Dee Dee indicated to the harbor. “Wouldn’t they make great photos? I could frame them and sell them in the shop. Customers grab up anything to do with the ocean.”

I pulled up to the road leading to the docks, next to the bridge on the way to Tybee. I had to admit the old fishing boats made great scenes. I grabbed my camera from the back seat and followed Dee Dee. We spent the next fifteen minutes snapping prize winners.

When we returned to the car we continued our conversation about the list. “Okay, Ellie was last. How about the Daniels, Cassie and Harold? That Cassie’s so sweet.”

“She sure is. I don’t see how she and Harold stay together. He’s one of the grouchiest old men I’ve had the displeasure to meet.” I turned on the wipers as large drops of rain splattered on my windshield. “But I don’t think they have any motive for murder.”

“I think you’re right. I forgot about Louise, but I can’t imagine her killing a bug.” Dee Dee checked out her pictures on her camera’s tiny screen as we drove.

“Okay, start on the list for Ocean View.”

“George is next on the list. What are your thoughts on the gentleman extraordinaire?”

“What’s not to like about him? He’s handsome, a perfect gentleman, smart, and Nana loves him,” I said. “I can’t forget about the night he took off with the bracelet. Now that was just weird.”

“That leaves Bubba, Nick and KiKi Sanderson, and John Porter.”

“Well I hate to say it, but I don’t know why any of them would want to kill Grace. The one that concerns me is John Porter. And that’s because he met up with Ellie. I would like to know what they’ve been up to.” I looked over to see the sign for Fort Pulaski, a Civil War fortress. I would have loved to get some pictures, but the rain was really driving down now, and I felt we needed to focus on exonerating Laura. “Who’s next?”

“We still have Mary Sue Bartlett and Edna Jackson. If you ask me, Mary Sue is carrying a grudge bigger than my bootie. And that’s saying a lot, if you know what I mean.” Dee Dee laughed at her own joke.

“I’m not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. But you’re right; Mary Sue has a lot of baggage from dealing with Grace. She suffered quite a few losses at Grace’s doings. She lost her job, her home, and her dignity. We need to consider her highly as a suspect.” I liked Mary Sue and it would disappoint me if she were involved in Grace’s murder. But I’d learned that nice people could commit murder.

“Then there’s Edna. I believe if I had to live with Grace for as long as she has, I might have been tempted to strangle her myself.”

“Edna has the patience of Job.” Every time I’d say this I’d think about Job and the hand he was dealt. He was often used an example of patience. And it was true he had never cursed God as his wife wanted him to, but he had cursed the day he was born. God hadn’t been too happy with him, either. God’s booming voice asked Job, “Where were you when I made the foundations of the earth?” Job had changed his attitude right quick. But what I loved about Job was how he was human, just like we were. He had fussed and groused about the things that were happening in his life, just like us; and God still blessed him in the end.

“Hey, Trix!”

I came back from my musings and looked over at Dee Dee.

“Where did you go?”

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I said Edna might not be as patient as we’ve given her credit for. She might be someone else we need to keep a close eye on.” Dee Dee scooted around in her seat. “Good thing we’ll be back to the inn shortly.” She slapped her backside with her hand and released a hearty laugh. This time I laughed with her.

“I think that covers just about everybody we’ve talked to. Is there anybody we left out?”

She took a minute to study the list. “We haven’t mentioned Jasmine.” She held up the notebook and pointed to a name with her pen. “Now there’s a scorned woman. I’ll never understand why Grace made it her life mission to make other people miserable.”

“Well, we’ll never get the answer now.” I shook my head in bewilderment. I was as stumped as Dee Dee. Why would anyone enjoy making enemies? “Jasmine must have been furious when Grace brought up her past. The question is, was she furious enough to kill her?”

We pulled into Laura’s driveway. “Come on; we’ve talked enough about death and murder. How about we take the evening off and have a great time at the pirate’s festival.” Dee Dee helped me retrieve all our stuff from the car and lug it in the house.

Nana met us at the door. “I thought you’d never get back. We have to go get our pirate costumes for tonight.” She had her jacket hung over one arm and her pocketbook strapped over the other.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Whoa there, Nana. Let us catch our breath and we’ll go pick out something to wear.” Mama walked in the room.

“Are you going with us?”

“No thanks, sweetie. I think I’ll stay here with Laura. She’s really down in the dumps. I don’t want to leave her. I imagine most everyone will be downtown tonight.” Talk about having the patience of Job. If anyone symbolized patience it was Mama. How she dealt with Nana day in and day out mystified me. Then again, I knew Mama was a firm believer of prayer and spent a lot of time, metaphorically speaking, on her knees.

I threw my arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. Mama had been my saving grace since I was a child. Where Daddy expected perfection, Mama knew perfection was impossible to achieve. When Wade left me and I was drowning in hurt and sorrow, she lifted me up and helped me out of the quicksand of despair. I was so thankful God saw fit to put us together.