Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Summer
I ’d been shocked when Magnolia called and said she wanted me to help her find out more about her mother, but Dixie was beyond excited.
“We have to straighten up the office,” she announced as she bounced out of her seat and started tidying up papers on the table by the door.
“She’s already been here, Dix,” I said. “And it’s not messy.”
“Still,” she said. “No reason not to put our best foot forward.”
“What time is Bill coming back?” We’d been working on which cases to include in our film schedule, and Bill had left to scope out a few locations for filming. Good backdrops and B-roll sometimes helped us make those decisions.
“I texted him after we heard from Magnolia and told him to stay away until he heard back from us.”
“Good.” Magnolia was already skittish. Something told me that Bill being here would send her running. “We won’t be filming any of it anyway, so there’s no reason for him to be here.”
Dixie returned to her desk and started shoving papers into drawers, practically jumping up and down in her seat.
“Dix, seriously. She won’t care if you have paperwork out. We’re a working office. If she was going to judge us on the appearance of the office, she wouldn’t be coming back.”
“It looked bad?” she asked in alarm.
“No. It looked the way it did a few minutes ago, minus the whiteboard.” I gestured to the board that was leaning against the hallway wall. We’d been using it to list our potential cases for the next Darling Investigations season.
Dixie jumped up out of her seat. “I should move it.”
“No,” I said with a sigh. “You need to sit down and take a few deep breaths.”
“It’s just that I never met a famous person before.”
I lifted my brow and gave her a pointed look.
“Well, besides you, but you’re normal.”
“And she’s normal too,” I said. “Besides, you met Connor Blake this summer. He’s semifamous.”
She rolled her eyes. “Your former Gotcha! costar is D-list at best.”
“Magnolia likely would have considered herself D-list before the mess with her father, and I can guarantee she doesn’t like the attention she’s received since.”
Dixie frowned. “Yeah, I know…”
“Just treat her like anyone else, okay? She’s had enough weirdness in her life. Our job is to help her find information about her mother and make her feel comfortable while we do it.”
“Yeah. You’re right.” Her eyes widened. “She’s here.”
I turned and saw Belinda reaching for the front door, Magnolia trailing behind her. Standing, I walked around my desk to greet them as they entered the office.
“Magnolia, Belinda… welcome back.” I gestured to Dixie’s desk. “This is my cousin Dixie. She’s my assistant and will be helping us.”
Magnolia gave her a dubious look, which I understood. With her big blond hair, Dixie didn’t look anything like a stereotypical private investigator, but then again, neither did I.
Belinda offered her hand to Dixie, who had gotten up to greet them. “I’m Belinda Steele, Magnolia’s sister-in-law. Nice to meet you, Dixie.”
Dixie shook her hand and offered her a smile. “We’re eager to help. Can I get either one of you a drink? Water? A Coke?”
“Got any wine?” Magnolia asked, glancing around the office as though searching for an already-open bottle.
“Uh…” Dixie gave me a worried look.
“She’s teasing,” Belinda said, tugging her sister-in-law to one of the client chairs. “We’ll both take water, Dixie. Thank you.”
Dixie hurried into the back while both women sat down.
“Before we get started,” I said, grabbing a file from Dixie’s desk and opening it, “Dixie and I have taken the liberty of signing NDAs.” I handed the paperwork to Magnolia. “I want that to be the least of your concerns.”
Magnolia looked it over and looked up in surprise. “Thank you.”
I pulled a chair closer and took a seat. “I promised you earlier that I want no publicity from this. I figured I’d give them to you right off the bat so we can get started with more important things.”
“Thank you,” Belinda said. “As you can imagine, we’d like to be extra cautious, so I appreciate you being proactive about this.”
Dixie walked out of the back carrying three bottles of water, handing one each to Magnolia and Belinda and the third to me. She took a seat behind her desk and picked up an ink pen to take notes.
“I also took the liberty of already doing some light research into your mother,” I said, turning my attention to Magnolia. “Just a brief Google search and an impromptu interview with a source who will keep my inquiries confidential.”
Magnolia sat upright. “What source?”
I exchanged a glance with Dixie. “Our grandmother.”
Turning back to Magnolia, I said, “People like to tell Meemaw things, but she rarely spreads gossip herself. In any case, she wasn’t very helpful. She remembers your grandparents, and she remembers your mother leaving after high school graduation, but not much else.”
I paused, then added, “She says your grandparents were Jim Bob and Celia Brewer, and that your grandmother was a saint for putting up with your grandfather.” I took in her furrowed brow. “I gather that you didn’t know much about them.”
“Not a thing,” she said.
“Did your grandmother happen to mention Lila’s sister’s name?” Belinda asked.
“No,” I said with an apologetic look. “She mentioned that Lila’s sister died, and that Jim Bob became a drunk after that, or so she thought. This is all hearsay, of course, but at the moment, that’s all we have to go on. We can check the courthouse records for births and deaths, of course, and we plan to, but you’re wanting more than the facts. You’re wanting reasons.”
Magnolia nodded.
“Meemaw had no idea why I was asking, and since you hadn’t hired me yet, I didn’t press. But there are other people Dixie and I can talk to. People who know things about the town.” Maybelline immediately came to mind, but she wasn’t known for being discreet. Everything she discovered usually popped up on her Facebook page. I could ask some general questions, but nothing specific or she’d get curious. It was safer to find other sources first. I just needed to figure out who to talk to. It needed to be someone who would have gone to school around the same time as Lila Steele or perhaps her sister.
“We went out to the farmhouse,” Belinda said. “In fact, Chief Montgomery was kind enough to come out and make sure the house was safe before we entered.” She cast a quick glance to Magnolia, then back to me. “He was very kind and stayed with us while we toured the place.”
“That’s Luke,” Dixie said, speaking up for the first time since she’d been introduced. “He’ll give you the shirt off his back.”
“There was mention of avoiding a woodworkers’ meeting,” Magnolia said in a dry tone.
I laughed. “I forgot that was today. I can see how he might have tried to get out of it, but I’m sure he stayed to be helpful. Dixie’s right. It’s typical Luke.”
“Well, you’re very fortunate to have him as your boyfriend,” Belinda said.
“I tell her that all the time,” Dixie said.
Pushing out an exasperated sigh, I pinned Dixie with a mock glare. “They don’t need to know that.” Then I turned back to our clients. “If you’re worried about Luke telling people you were out at the farm?—”
Belinda held up her hand. “He assured us that people wouldn’t be hearing that we were in town from him. We’re not concerned.” The look she darted to Magnolia suggested she dared her to contradict her.
“I take it your search of the house didn’t turn up much?” I asked.
“No,” Belinda said. “Their furnishings were still there, but there was little personal information. We found a photo of Lila’s family when she was a little girl, but nothing to tell us anything about Lila’s sister. There wasn’t any mention of her name anywhere.”
“Not even on the back of the family photo?” I asked.
“We didn’t look.”
I pressed my lips together. “I know you said you didn’t find anything out at the house, but would you mind if Dixie and I took a look? You’re welcome to come too.”
“We already looked around and didn’t see anything,” Magnolia said. “I have to pay you to go out there.”
“Magnolia!” Belinda whisper-shouted.
“It’s okay,” I said in a soothing tone, then turned to Magnolia. “Look, I know you still have some reservations about involving me, and I understand. Truly. But I’ll be looking with a less emotional eye. There might be some clue to help me narrow down who to talk to.”
When she continued to look less than convinced, I added, “I could walk into Maybelline’s Diner and ask her to tell me everything she knows about your mother and her family, and I suspect she knows a fair deal. But I also know she’ll have questions of her own. Why do I want to know? Are you involved? And then it will end up on her Facebook gossip page, and before you know it, paparazzi will be swarming the place, looking for you. At least this way, I can try to figure out who else I might be able to talk to. It’s worth a shot, and if it makes you feel any better, I won’t charge you for going out there.”
“Of course you’ll charge us,” Belinda said. “And for your earlier research too.”
“Definitely not for earlier,” I said. “I did that on my own. But I do believe it might help point out what direction to go, so it’s worth a peek.”
Magnolia pushed out a breath and got to her feet. “Fine. But let’s go before it gets dark.”
Then she headed out the door.
Belinda stood, looking rueful. “I’m sorry she’s so rude. She’s…she’s just not been herself since…everything.”
I placed my hand on Belinda’s arm and squeezed. “I understand. She’s been through multiple traumas, and we fully intend to make this as painless as possible.”
“I knew that the moment I met you,” Belinda said with watery eyes. “You have a kind face.” She started for the door, then turned around. “She wanted to come here. She was the one to suggest it. I readily agreed because I thought it was a good idea. At least she could get answers to something in her life. But now…” She sniffed and wiped a tear trailing down her cheek. “Now I’m not so sure.”
“You two don’t have to be here,” I said softly. “You can go home and I’ll call you with any information I come up with. Then even if anyone catches wind of what we’re up to, she won’t be here to deal with the fallout.”
“I’ve already suggested that very thing,” Belinda said. “But she won’t leave.”
I nodded. “This was her mother’s life. She wants to know, but part of her is scared to find out. It’s a strange limbo that I’m quite familiar with. And at the risk of getting too personal, I have my own mother issues. Trust me, I get it.”
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “How did you know Magnolia and her mother had a rocky relationship?”
I gave her a sad smile. “Because I had one of my own. I recognize it all too well.”
Belinda nodded. “Now I’m particularly glad we decided to pick you.”
Then she turned and walked out the door.
“I’m surprised you told her that about Aunt Bea,” Dixie said softly.
“Yeah, me too.” Maybe it was time to get some answers of my own.