“Francine had burned through many of the other local boys, either by her choice or theirs,” Yvonne continued. “So she turned her sights on Ignace. She’d assembled a clique of girls who were terrified of retribution if they didn’t follow her lead, so when she put them to the task of spreading vile rumors about your grandmother, they jumped on it like the Wicked Witch of the West’s flying monkeys. They knew if they didn’t do Francine’s bidding, they’d be turned from aggressors to victims.”
“What kind of rumors did they spread?”
“At first it was silly stuff, like she dyed her hair and stuffed her bra. But it wasn’t enough for Francine to steal Charlotte’s boyfriend; she had to bring her down completely. So she spread the worst rumor of all.” Yvonne leaned in and whispered to Maggie, as if the rumor still had the power to destroy. “She had her minions let it be known that your grandmother and Ignace had . . . relations.”
“What?”
“I know. You see, Francine was always what we used to call a tart. But when she started that rumor, she managed to reverse roles and paint your Gran’ as the one with loose morals. Oh my goodness, that led to such a scene. Charlotte demanding that Francine retract this horrible lie, Francine refusing. And Charlotte screaming, ‘If you don’t, I swear, I will kill you.’”
Maggie felt her stomach drop to the floor. “Gran’ said that?”
“Oh yes, to Francine, to us. Of course, when Francine ran off with Ignace to get married, everything went back as it was. Your Gran’s reputation was restored and Francine’s was back in the gutter, especially when Ignace abandoned her only weeks after their quickie wedding. From what I heard, Francine was so humiliated about the damage done to her character that she couldn’t face returning to Pelican. But my, did that trollop lord it over Charlotte while she could. She was from a very white trash family and was just sick with jealousy over Charlotte’s pedigree and beautiful breeding. You know what they say, there’s new money, old money, and no money. And around here, if you have no money, you better have class. Francine had neither. Eventually she managed to marry some money, hence that fancy crypt at Assumption of Mary Memorial Park. She wasn’t able to buy class, so she buried herself next to it. I’m guessing you didn’t notice that Francine’s crypt is right between both sets of your great-grandparents.”
Maggie tried to quell the panic coursing through her body. “Mrs. Rousseau, there’s a chance a detective may want to interview you.”
“Oh, you mean, that young Detective Durand? Who knew that family could ever produce someone so handsome? I give complete credit to the genes on his mother’s side.”
The fact that Yvonne Rousseau knew Bo was not good news. “So you’ve already been interviewed by him,” Maggie said, her voice heavy.
“Yes, but don’t you worry, dear. I didn’t say a word about your Gran’s threats when I told the detective about Francine’s visit to me last week. For heaven’s sake, that was over sixty years ago. I can’t imagine it would mean anything now.”
Maggie stared at the old woman. “Francine visited you?”
“Oh yes. Just showed up here without even a call or a box of chocolates. And I wouldn’t call it a visit. She wanted to show off. That’s when she told me about the crypt, boasting about it in a very unladylike way. I guess she never lost her grudge against your Gran’. Francine told me she was going to reveal some huge piece of news that would offer the final role reversal for her and Charlotte. She bragged that she was going to wind up on top after all.”
Yvonne rubbed her forehead and Maggie sensed the old woman was tired. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Rousseau, for sharing this all with me. And a big thank-you for being so selective about what you shared with the detective.”
“Chère, I’ve known your Gran’ since we were both born and I sincerely doubt she’d ever kill anyone.”
Maggie bid Yvonne good-bye and managed to find her way back to the parking lot. She sat in the car and stared in the distance as the sun began setting over Mississippi, but the beauty of the moment was lost on her. All she could focus on was Yvonne’s statement that she “doubted” Gran’ could kill anyone. Yvonne didn’t say she was “sure.” She “doubted.” After their conversation, Maggie was filled with her own doubts. Had Gran’ really not recognized Francine, or was she lying? Could Gran’ have been carrying a grudge against Francine that flared back to life when the woman unexpectedly showed up?
Could her beloved Gran’ have killed Francine Prepoire?
Chapter Sixteen
Maggie wasn’t ready to go home and face Gran’. Instead, she drove into town and parked in back of Lia’s shops, which were keeping late summer hours. Lia’s teen employees greeted her with shy smiles as they packed online orders for shipping. Kyle was hunched over the computer, pulling orders off Lia’s website and distributing them to the kids. He’d obviously made himself an integral part of the Bon Bon/Fais Dough Dough operation.
“Oh hey, Maggie,” he said, greeting her with a smile. “Lia’s tending to customers. I installed a search engine optimization program I wrote, and online sales have exploded, so I’m handling things back here.”
She thanked him and walked into Bon Bon, where Lia was ringing up a sale for a chubby middle-aged couple in identical T-shirts that sported a drunk leaning against a lamppost above the words, “I Left My Lunch in New Orleans.” Lia wore a flowing cotton multicolored dress, and her thick mane of black curls was piled in a bun that was held in place by two pencils. Watching her, Maggie understood what her mother meant when she once said of a happy friend: “She was positively glowing.” Lia radiated a serene happiness that Maggie had never seen before, not even during her years with Degas, who, not to speak ill of the dead, Maggie had always found to be a bit prickly.
“Enjoy your candy and mugs,” Lia told the tourist couple. Before handing them their bag, she dropped in a few chocolate coins. “That’s what we call a lagniappe. A little something extra for you.”
The tourists, thrilled with their freebie and the new word they’d show off to their friends when they returned home, headed out, and Lia came around the counter to give Maggie a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. Blame the end-of-summer rush. Is everything okay at the house?”
Maggie hesitated. She couldn’t bear tarnishing her cousin’s glow with her fears about Gran’. Lia deserved whatever joy Kyle brought into her life, so Maggie would keep her worries to herself. “As good as it can be with a murder investigation going on. Which, by the way, doesn’t seem to be bothering our comped guests one bit anymore. Never underestimate the power of a freebie.”
Lia nodded. “Something every good businessperson knows. I can’t tell you how often my gift of a little chocolate lagniappe generates repeat customers and five-star reviews online.”
“Hey, Lia, what’s Le Grand Plantation Estates like?” Kyle called from the back room.
“Trailer park.”
“Oh. Well, forget that.”
Maggie gave her cousin a quizzical look. “Anything you want to tell me?”
“I was waiting to say something,” Lia blushed. “But Kyle is looking for a house here.”
“Lia, that’s amazing!”
“I know. He can work from anywhere, really. And I guess he wants that anywhere to be here.”
“Uh, I wonder why.” Maggie grinned and hugged her cousin tightly.
“Hey, we’re going to grab a bite at Crawdaddy’s in a short while,” Lia said. “Come with us. You won’t be a third wheel, I promise. It’ll just be three friends hanging out.”
“Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check. You guys go. Have fun. Oh, Li, I’m so, so happy for you.”
Maggie promised to join Lia for lunch sometime during the week and wandered out of the store and down the street, strolling aimlessly as she tried to stave off a case of the blues. Twilight had faded into night. Pelican was far enough away from a big city for the stars to fill the sky, so Maggie tried to distract herself from troubling thoughts by identifying constellations. She gave up after finding the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt, the only two she recognized.