Ever the vigilant detective, he surveyed his surroundings with eagle eyes. I suppose he could have been searching for an empty table, but he appeared to be looking for someone to arrest. Then he spotted me. I quickly glanced away and hoped he hadn’t recognized me. No such luck. Dee Dee waved to Detective Bowerman like he was our long-lost friend. I promptly kicked her in the shin, but it was too late; he made his way toward us.

Removing his cigar, he addressed us with a nod of his head. “Ms. Montgomery. Ms. Lamont.”

“Hello, Detective,” I replied. “This is my Nana—”

“Are you the detective who interviewed Trixie this morning?” Of course, Nana couldn’t let it be.

“Yes, ma’am. And who are you?” He shot right back.

“I’m Belle, Trixie’s aunt. Everyone calls me Nana.” She smiled at Detective Bowerman and continued. “Detective, you sure are lucky my Trixie was at the museum this morning.”

“Oh?” His facial expression didn’t reflect someone who felt lucky. “Why would that be, ma’am?”

“Because. This is not the first murder Trixie’s been involved in.” Columbo’s caterpillar eyebrows crawled up toward his forehead.

“Really?”

“That’s right. She cracked a case wide open in Dahlonega last year. And I helped,” she said proudly.

Oh-my-word! She sounded like the little girl on the old Shake and Bake commercial. You know, the one where she’s helping her mother bake biscuits and at the end she states, “And I hel-lped” making helped a two-syllable word.

“Yes, Detective, and I was on the case, too,” Dee Dee said with aplomb.

CHAPTER NINE

I don’t think the conversation with Detective Bowerman went over as well as Dee Dee and Nana expected. Twirling an empty chair around, he sat down, eyes leveled at me. His arched brows led me to believe instead of seeing three astute amateur detectives; he ranked us right up there with the three stooges. He quickly confirmed my suspicion.

“Well, now. This is interesting, Ms. Montgomery. I don’t recall any of this from our conversation this morning. Perhaps you were too modest to share this bit of information with me?”

His probing eyes bore right through me. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it was like trying to swallow a cantaloupe.

Bowerman didn’t wait for me to respond. “You can rest assured I’ll follow up on this. Let me tell you right now, there will be no interference in my case. I don’t want or need any amateurs messing around where they don’t belong. Not only is it dangerous, but you could compromise the investigation. Do you understand, Ms. Montgomery?”

Well, shoot. Why ask me? I wasn’t the one who brought up my involvement. He should interrogate Nana and Dee Dee. I’d deal with those two later. In the meantime, I didn’t have a choice but to give him the answer he wanted. “Yes Detective, I understand.”

“Good.” He stood up, replacing the chair. “Don’t forget to call the station and let them know where you’ll be staying, in case I need to get in touch with you.” Nodding again, he said a curt, “Good day, ladies.” He stuck his cigar in his mouth, pivoted, and went on his way.

I turned to the two culprits. “Thank you. Between the both of you, I’m up to my neck in hot water.”

“Well, who stuck a bee in your bonnet? We just sang your praises.” Dee Dee came to their collective defense.

“Yeah, that’s right Missy.” Nana called me that when she wanted to remind me who was in charge. “Don’t you go getting on your high horse with me. I just told the truth. No harm in that is there?”

I knew better than to answer a loaded question.

The crowd in the restaurant had thinned. I imagined the churchgoers headed home to take a Sunday afternoon nap, and I wished I was one of them. The night’s activities were catching up to me. I didn’t know about Dee Dee, but I could use a snooze. Between ghostly visits and Doc’s harrowing dawn-thirty arrival, neither of us had slept much. At this point we didn’t even have a place to lay our heads.

“Dee Dee, let’s find a hotel for tonight.”

Nana spoke up. “Take me over to Dora’s first. I need to pack her some clothes to take to the hospital. And she has a couple of cats I’m sure she wants me to feed and water.” Nana swigged the last of her iced tea. “Hey, why don’t y’all sleep there for the rest of the afternoon until visiting hours? I know she wouldn’t mind.”

To tell the truth, I was too tired to go hotel hunting. I acquiesced quickly. “Nana, that sounds wonderful.”

“Yes, it does. Lead the way young lady,” Dee Dee said.

Of course, I thought she was talking to me. Before I could take my assignment, she grabbed Nana’s elbow, and together they walked arm and arm to the car, leaving me to my own accord.

The drive wasn’t far to Dora’s, and soon we were pulling into her driveway. The gracious homes in the community shouted “old money.” Whoever chose the dwelling’s color must have loved blue bonnets. The rich blue presented a beautiful background for the magenta azaleas and rhododendrons framing the front of the house. A welcoming porch lined with rocking chairs invited the weary traveler to sit and rest a spell.

A rare breeze, filled with sweet summer perfume, ruffled our hair as we walked to the front door. The varied shades of green in Dora’s yard reminded me of the Georgia hills on a spring day. God had painted a beautiful picture.

The inside of the house rivaled the outside. Dee Dee and I oooh’d and ahhh’d our way through the spacious cottage. The elegant house featured four bedrooms and two baths, dining room, living room, and kitchen. Exotic oriental rugs covered rich mahogany heart pine floors. Each room boasted crown moldings, wainscoting and wood ceilings. Wallpaper in a demure flowery pattern decorated the living and dining rooms. Unlike the understated common rooms, the bedrooms displayed deep, rich tones. I wanted to ask Nana the history later, but now I desired to lay my head down somewhere cozier than the hard, museum floor.

Since Nana already occupied one guest bedroom, Dee Dee and I picked between the two spare rooms left. We bade each other a “good nap,” and I gratefully flung myself across the bed fully clothed. I fell asleep faster than a hound dog trailing a scent.

Next thing I knew, Nana gently shook me. I fumbled for the clock on the bedside table and glanced at the time. Instead of minutes, I’d been asleep for hours.

“Hey Sleeping Beauty,” Nana cooed. “If we’re going to see Dora this evening, we’d better get a move on. I packed her clothes, and Dee Dee toted them out to the car for me. We’re just waiting on you.”

Dee Dee stuck her head in the door. “That’s right. And don’t forget we need to stop somewhere and get some supper on the way to the hospital.” Ever-practical Dee Dee.

“Y’all give me a few minutes, and I’ll be ready.” I yawned heartily and raised my arms above my head, loosening my achy spine. “I could stretch a mile if I didn’t have to walk back.”

Nana cackled. At least, it sounded like a cackle to me. “Hey, you stole one of my old sayings.”

“Yes, I did. Now you two go find something to do while I make myself presentable.”

“Geeze Louise. I don’t think we have that much time, do we?” Dee Dee grinned ear to ear. I threw a pillow at her, but my aim was off, and she escaped any serious damage. This time!

My phone dinged indicating a text message. It was from Harv and he wanted an update immediately.

CHAPTER TEN

We detoured into a drive-through and purchased burgers and fries. You’d have thought we’d eaten an adequate amount of grease for lunch, but we were in a hurry, and it was the only place quick enough. We finished our food in the hospital parking lot and headed toward ICU to check on Dora. Finding our way through the maze proved no easier than it had earlier that morning. We arrived a few minutes before visiting hours.