She’ll Stitch You Up Page 7

  “I know more about the needs of Bliss than most,” he said. “Especially when it comes to beautification. And I donated the money for most of the flower beds you see around town. Of course, they should have put some in the town square, but I didn’t have a choice, so most went over by the new library.”

  She hadn’t known he had an interest in the town’s upkeep, but it made sense since he spent more days than anyone else out on the streets of the town on his route.

  “Well, that’s good,” she said. She wished she had something interesting to tell him, but she didn’t think he’d want to hear about crochet class or her garden.

  “I wish we had better weather for this,” said Calvin. “I’d see if you wanted to walk out back with me and see the trees.”

  Velma shuffled on her feet, taking a step back. “I’ve already seen them, thank you. And how do you know about what’s in back of this place? Don’t postmen stop at the front door?” Leave it to Calvin to be a busybody.

  “I’ve come around a time or two to see Everett. We’ve known each other for years. He doesn’t have many friends our age, and when his wife died, he went through a hard time. Besides, he’s got a great spot for fishing down on his dock, and me and him have been known to wet a hook together. Do you like fishing?”

  “I don’t see much excitement in it.” She crossed her arms and turned away from him, not wanting to seem too interested.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “I bet you’d have a lot of fun. It’s nice to sit and talk, even if you’re not catching anything. Some of my best talks with the good Lord have been while I’m fishing.”

  “I can talk to God whenever Ethel’s done with him.” The thunder boomed, and the guests all made a fuss over how loud it was. Even Velma had to admit that it was getting nasty outside.

  Everett walked to the center of the room and tapped his glass with his large diamond ring to get everyone’s attention. “Why don’t you all follow me, and we’ll take a little walk to the new wing of the house. I haven’t had a chance to show it off yet, but I’m sure you’ll love it.”

  Alice looked out at the storm and then at all the stuffed critters lining the room. “I think that’s a much better idea than staying here near these large windows.” She took Mrs. Reynolds by the hand and led her to the door, with Mr. Reynolds quick on their heels as if they wanted to be first in line.

  Velma and Calvin waited for the others to file past, and then Ethel joined them as they walked down the hall to the other end of the house. “I wonder if there are any more animal carcasses on display,” she said as she put Ethel between her and Calvin.

  Ethel moved across the hall, and even though she had to walk with Ray, she didn’t want to give Velma a chance to get away from Calvin. She knew how much her sister liked the man, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

  Velma knew exactly what Ethel was doing, and she gave her a pointed look as Calvin cleared his throat. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those empathetic people who don’t like the idea of taxidermy.”

  “Of course not, but there’s a big difference between a hobby and an affliction.” Everett had more dead animals in his house than she and Ethel had yarn crafts, and all of it was a vulgar clash against the mostly Victorian style that was left over from the days his wife had her influence on the place.

  Calvin chuckled. “You should see some of the houses on my route. There are many men who like this kind of stuff, and in Southeast Texas, why, it’s practically a status symbol.”

  “That explains a lot,” said Ray. “I happen to have a couple of deer heads mounted as well. The ladies love them.”

  “Oh please, you old buzzard,” snapped Velma. “The last woman you had at your place brought you that cologne.”

  Ray gave her a wide smile, still not bothered. “Maybe you should come over and see me sometime.”

  Calvin cleared his throat and stood a little closer to Velma.

  Velma gave Ray the side eye. “Who do you think you are? Mae West? The only reason I’d come over to your house is to burn it down or bring you a can of bug spray. And while we’re on the subject of repellants, shouldn’t someone have run you off by now?”

  Ethel gave her a hard look. “Don’t engage with him, sister. It will only cause a scene, and I’m not going to like it.”

  “I have more reason to be here than you,” said Ray. “You didn’t do anything but spend a little money on park benches. I have served on the committee for years.”

  “You mean they put up with you for years.” Velma had endured enough of the man in their crochet class.

  Ethel let out a sigh. “He has a point, sister.”

  “Then maybe we should go home now.” Velma was ready.

  Calvin spoke up. “You can’t leave in this weather. Besides, you came for dinner. Surely, this little walk won’t take long, and Everett will want to go straight to the dining room.”

  The crowd followed him down the long hallway and to the left. “This is my latest pride and joy.” He waved his hand like a gameshow host announcing the next prize up for bid. “I call it the man cave. There are also two new guest rooms, and who knows? Maybe a few of you will be invited back to stay sometime.”

  “How many bedrooms do you have?” asked Mrs. Reynolds.

  Everett turned his eyes toward Harrison and gave a smug look before answering. “With the two new ones and my master suite, we have nine. I hope to make that an even ten soon.” He put his arm around Alice, who smiled and gave his hand a pat before kissing it and holding it to her heart. “Just as soon as me and the little lady get hitched, we both want to start a big family.”

  Velma wondered if there was enough Viagra in the world to help him out.

  The other guests gave their best blessings, and while Velma and Ethel finally had a chance to walk inside the new room, she wasn’t disappointed by the décor being just what she expected. Only this time, there was a pool table and the large stuffed bear had a built-in cue stick rack which held about eight sticks and one triangular ball rack.

  Velma curled her lip at the ugly thing. Then her attention went to Harrison Spoke, who stepped over and leaned against the wall with a hard look on his face. Velma thought his expression was because Everett had the nice new wing on his large house.

  Just as soon as they all settled into the room, the lights flashed again. Everett didn’t seem too happy about it. The other guests, including Ethel, gave a loud sound of displeasure too. “We’ll be lucky if the lights hold,” he told Alice, who looked worried.

  “Then allow me to go and check on dinner.” She made her way down the hall to the kitchen.

  “Make yourselves at home, and we’ll dine shorty,” said Everett. Another loud boom occurred outside. He went to the hallway, passing Ethel, Velma, and Ray in the process.

  Reeves ran inside the entryway, panting, his suit coat soaking wet.

  “Excuse me,” said Everett. He stormed down the hall to the front door. “Where have you been?”

  “I just finished parking the cars.” The man was soaked to the bone. Even his blazer had mud stains. “It’s a real turd floater out there.”

  Velma chuckled at Reeves’s words and looked over to see Calvin watching her. “It’s not polite to eavesdrop,” he said.

  “Kind of hard to miss,” she said. “He’s not very kind to his staff.”

  Calvin gave a nod of agreement and turned his ear in that direction. “Especially considering the man saved his life in the war.”

  “He what?” She couldn’t believe what she heard.

  The man gave a nod. “That’s how they know one another. Reeves saved his life. He’s got the medal to prove it. He once told me all about it over that fishing you dislike so much. Reeves saved his life. When Everett struck it rich, Reeves, who was up to his ears in debt, called out to his old friend for help. Everett loaned him the money he needed but told Reeves he’d have to come and work it off. There were then rumors that Reeves and Loretta had a thing, but Everett could
never prove it. They’ve been both friends and enemies since.”

  “You know a lot for someone who called me an eavesdropper,” Velma said.

  Calvin shrugged. “I’m an observant person, and you’d be surprised how much you learn delivering people’s mail. They trust me.”

  The voices at the end of the hall got louder. “Go get yourself cleaned up and get back here,” said Everett to Reeves. “I need you to help serve our dinner.”

  Reeves quickly took off to the other end of the house like he was pissed off at the world.

  “Good help is much too hard to find,” said Everett.

  He headed back down to the room, where the others had gathered in a circle and were listening to the local weather on Harrison’s phone.

  “It’s not letting up,” he said. “Looks like it’s going to go on through the night. We’ll most likely have flooding. So, if anyone needs to go before it gets worse, I suggest that you do.”

  “But we haven’t served dinner,” said Everett. “Alice had me hire a chef and everything.” He took out his cigar and popped it into his mouth unlit.

  There was another flash of lightning and then a loud boom. “What on earth?” asked Ethel.

  “Sounds like a crash,” said Calvin.

  Ray nodded. “I wonder if there was another guest driving in?”

  Ethel put her hand over her heart. “They could have hit a tree. What if they’re dead?”

  Calvin gave her a long, strange look. “That’s quite a morbid thought.”

  “You’ll have to excuse her,” said Velma. “She’s always looking on the morbid side of things. It’s what keeps her on her toes.”

  “I’m not being morbid,” said Ethel. “That really did sound like something awful happened.” Her voice had raised so everyone in the room could hear.

  “Someone should go out and check,” said Gina Tate. Her husband nodded in agreement but didn’t volunteer. She seemed like she wore the pants in the family, and Velma hadn’t seen the man take two steps away from her the entire time they’d been there.

  Alice hurried into the room, out of breath. “There’s a tree down over the bridge. Reeves is going to check it out. I heard the noise and looked outside. The weather’s getting violent.”

  Everett put his arm around her, still chewing his cigar.

  “Well, that’s not good,” said Harrison. “There’s only one way out of here. But at least Everett has enough room for everyone.”

  “As long as we share rooms,” said Mr. Reynolds.

  Everett didn’t look too happy about the possibility. “I guess we’ll have no choice but to put you all up for the night, unless we can get the tree cleared away and the damage isn’t too bad.” He turned to Harrison. “After dinner, would you care to go and take a look at it with me?”

  Harrison shrugged. “I guess we should wait for your butler before we get too comfortable or go making plans. I, myself, prefer my own bed.”

  “Don’t we all,” said the mayor, who gave Velma a hard look. She imagined he didn’t want to be stuck anywhere with her, and the feeling was mutual.

  Velma’s hopes of getting home early were dashed. “Dammit, Ethel. I told you we shouldn’t have come. Now we have to spend the night here.”

  She still had her eyes on Harrison Spoke. “That’s not so terrible is it?”

  Reeves hurried in, his hair still wet, and his suitcoat replaced with a rain slicker. “The first bridge columns are gone,” he said. “Even if we move the debris, there’s no way anyone is getting out of here tonight.

  A collective sigh fell over the room.

  “Well, at least we have plenty of food,” said Alice. “Chef Jean Pierre says dinner will be ready soon.”

  “With any luck, he’s not cooking up llama,” mumbled Velma, earning a chuckle from Calvin.

  Chapter 11

  Everett led a few of the others to see the rest of the wing, and Harrison and Bats hung back to play a game of pool. Velma decided she’d seen enough of the big mansion. She had let Calvin and Ethel roam off with the others, and she stood alone and watched Harrison rack the balls on the table.

  “I have two tables at home,” he said. “One of them is built for Snooker.”

  Bats smiled and gave a nod. “I haven’t played a game since college. Back in the day, I did rather well.”

  “I’ve won a few tournaments,” said Harrison, not to be outdone. “You can break if you like.”

  Reeves entered the room with another round of drinks. He had changed into a pair of black slacks, his hair was slicked back from being wet, and his white shirt was starched so stiff, it shined. “Would you care for a drink, Ms. Harmon?”

  Velma was surprised the man remembered her name. “Thank you,” she said, taking one for lack of something better to do. She wondered if the last drink would ever be found. But this one was much different. It smelled fruity and sweet. “Bottoms up,” she said, taking a drink. “Maybe it will wash down my boredom.”

  “Or the first helping of bullshit Gaines is serving up in there,” mumbled Reeves.

  “I tried to avoid it,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve never been one to digest it.”

  “He’s waited weeks to show everyone that wing. He’s just trying to get under Harrison’s skin.”

  “What are you going to do when he fills up the nine rooms with kids?”

  “If I’m not dead by then, I think I’ll roll off that back hill into the creek.” The old man did not laugh, and Velma had a feeling he wasn’t kidding. “But I doubt that will ever happen. The woman isn’t the marrying kind, no matter how much she wants him to think she is.”

  “Oh? Trouble in paradise?” Velma glanced around to see if anyone else was listening in.

  “Nah, but they have nothing in common. She’s a tree-hugging vegetarian, and he’s set in his ways. I caught her in the study talking to one of the stuffed bears. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me that she was holding a funeral. She’s a few cards short of a full deck, that one.”

  “She seemed like a sweet enough girl.”

  “Loretta was sweet. She’s nothing like her.” He gave a little smile, remembering Everett’s former wife, and then he walked away to see if the others wanted a drink.

  The voices in the hall got louder as the others returned, and Ethel walked up to Velma with stars in her eyes. “Did Harrison ask you about me while I was gone?”

  “Why would he do that?”

  Ethel fluffed her hair. “I saw him smiling at me earlier. I think he might like me.”

  “Ethel, you can’t be serious.”

  “Whatever,” she said. “Maybe I’ll get to sit by him at dinner. I do hope there aren’t place cards. I hate those dreadful things, and I’m liable to get stuck next to Ray. Besides, I know you’ll want to sit next Calvin.”

  “I said no such thing,” said Velma. “Why would I care where he sits?”

  Calvin came back into the room, but before Ethel could say anything else to make her feel stupid about it, Alice stopped at the doorway. “Ladies and gentleman, if you would please follow me to the dining room, dinner is ready to be served.”

  The Reynolds couple was first to follow her out. Harrison and Bats cut their game short, and then Mr. and Mrs. Tate walked out with the mayor, who was still hanging on Everett’s every word from the tour.

  Ray was waiting out in the hall when Ethel and Velma walked out. “I hope they’re serving oysters,” he said, wagging his long, unruly brows. “I hear they’re an aphrodisiac.” He eyed Ethel up and down, and her cheeks flared red.

  “I wouldn’t know,” she said, giving him the cold shoulder. She waited until he walked away and leaned in closer to Velma. “Do you think that’s what we’re having, Velma? Do you think that’s true? I might try some.”

  “You don’t even like oysters, Ethel.”

  “I know, but Harrison might.” She fanned herself.

  “They make you horny, Ethel, not blind and desperate.”

  “
Velma!” she said, looking around at the others who paid them no mind. “What if someone heard you say that word? I’d be mortified.”

  “If you keep going on about Harrison, I’m going to the car.” Velma wasn’t joking. “Talk about embarrassing.”

  “You wouldn’t. You can’t leave me here with Ray.”

  “Watch me,” Velma warned. “I’m sure I’ll be more comfortable sleeping out there anyway.”

  “Oh, Velma, you don’t really think we’ll have to spend the night, do you?” She looked at Ray, who was still making eyes at her.

  “I’m almost certain we will. If the bridge is really out, what are we going to do? Swim? Take a rowboat?” She hadn’t wanted to be stuck in the house of idiots. “I knew we shouldn’t have come. Everything that happens is on you, Ethel. You owe me big.”

  Just as they made it to the dining room door, Everett had Reeves pulled to the side. “I need you to call the tree service. I want that bridge cleared by the time dinner is over.”

  “But I thought I was supposed to serve dinner.”

  “You can make a phone call first, can you not? I don’t want these people sleeping here all night. Especially Harrison Spoke.” He saw the sisters staring and lowered his voice. “Get someone on it. I don’t care what it costs.”

  Reeves nodded. “Shouldn’t I serve the first course?”

  “Get that uppity chef to do it, would you? I want Alice at my side, not doing your job!”

  The sisters walked in, and everyone was standing around the table, chatting and carrying on about the lovely flowers and the expensive china’s magnolia pattern. “These were Loretta’s pride and joy,” said Alice. “She seemed to love the trees so much around here. I’m sure she and I would have been kindred spirits.”

  “That’s lovely of you to keep her memory alive,” said Mrs. Tate.

  “I feel like she’s all around us,” said Alice. “Sometimes, I even talk to her as if I knew her, as if she’s still here.”

  That was a little too much for Mrs. Tate, and she and Mrs. Reynolds exchanged a look before turning to find their seats.