Chapter 21 #2
The next morning we were all moving a little slower but were all excited for Mildred and her new adventure.
The home inspector did his walk-through and had no complaints, then Mildred asked Gertie if she would snap some photos of each room for her estate attorney while Ida Belle took Mildred to the closing.
“The attorney said we should have photos to prove how things were when I left,” she said, looking flustered as she dug in her purse to ensure her ID was in it. “I told him the inspector was coming this morning, but he still insisted. Then I forgot completely.”
“It’s always best to cover yourself,” Ida Belle said.
Gertie nodded. “And it’s no problem. We’ll be ready to go when you get back.”
So I walked the rooms with Gertie while she snapped away with her phone. Then we sat on the back porch in the nice breeze. We weren’t there long before Ida Belle and Mildred returned.
Mildred was practically glowing as we loaded her two suitcases in the SUV and headed off. She was beaming when we said our goodbyes at the airport after flagging a valet to assist her.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay flying alone?” Gertie asked.
“I’ve already asked for assistance,” she said.
“They’ll bring me a wheelchair at check-in and they’ll have one at the gate when I get there.
I’ve hired a car service, and he’ll meet me at baggage claim.
I’ll be fine. The rental company already has a house manager who will take care of groceries and the like, at least until I get my footing. ”
She gave us all hugs and headed inside, turning for a final wave before the door slid closed behind her.
“She looked happy,” Gertie said. “I’m really glad. I was scared for her…especially after that scientist brought that lab report to Carter.”
“It’s definitely a lot to live with,” Ida Belle said. “She’s doing the right thing leaving. Staying here would be a constant reminder and even the well-intentioned would bring it back constantly.”
I nodded. “So…Mother’s?”
A week later, I was in my hammock pretending to read a book but was mostly staring out at the water, trying to figure out why my mind was still unsettled.
Mildred had made it to Costa Rica and sent pictures of the view from the beach cabin she was renting until she decided whether or not to look for a permanent situation.
The ADA had put his own people onto Zion and information kept flowing in from other law enforcement agencies.
So far, they couldn’t pin a homicide on him, but there were so many good cases for fraud that Zion would likely spend the next thirty years or better shuffling from one state’s prison to another’s.
Kim had made some sort of deal—no real surprise there—and had gotten off with five years of probation.
The judge had issued a restraining order against her for both me and Sapphire, just to be safe.
Not that it mattered. I figured the next thing her attorney would get to work on was permission for her to leave the country.
My guess was she’d head to one of her family’s other properties and probably wouldn’t step foot in Louisiana again.
Hopefully, she’d find a good psychiatrist wherever she landed.
Ida Belle was already making noise about turning the cabins into a gun range and training camp for scent hounds, much to Walter’s dismay.
I had a feeling he’d had his eye more on retirement than starting a new business venture.
But once Ida Belle’s mind was made up, there was no stopping her. Which Walter knew better than anyone.
The files on Jasper’s and Dora’s deaths had been amended to contain the new evidence and Carter’s thoughts on the matter, and they were both now listed as suspicious. But since the person responsible was also deceased, that was really all that could be done.
So everything that could happen had happened. And all the bad guys who were still living were going to pay in some way. But still, I wasn’t satisfied. I just wasn’t sure why.
“You’ve been on that same page all morning,” Carter said as he stepped up.
He placed a bottle of water on the table next to me to replace the empty one and sat in the lawn chair nearby.
“Something bothering you?” he asked.
“Yes. But I don’t know what.”
He nodded in understanding. “You’ll figure it out eventually. Meanwhile, I’m thinking about breaking out the fryer and cooking up some fish.”
“Sounds great.”
I reached for the water and almost lost my grip as it slid from my hand.
“Sweet potatoes or regular?” he asked.
I wiped the sweating bottle on my shirt and took a drink. Then I froze.
“Fortune?”
“Huh?”
“Sweet potatoes or regular?”
I stared at the bottle of water, then dug my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the picture that Gertie had taken of the sauna. Then I sent her a text.
Send me the photos you took of Mildred’s house.
“I’ll just go with regular,” Carter said, and wandered off.
I waited until the pictures rolled in and pulled them up, flipping through them until I got to the one I was looking for.
Bingo!
That’s what had been bothering me.
I jumped out of the hammock and hurried inside. Carter looked up as the door slammed behind me and sighed.
“I shouldn’t wait on you for dinner, I suppose,” he said.
“Not unless you want to eat two- or three-day-old fish.”
“Two or three days? Where are you going?”
I shook my head. “If I’m right, you don’t ever want to know.”
He held up one hand. “I’ll see you in a few days. Are you taking the Trouble Twosome with you?”
“Not this time. It’s just a quick in and out, and I’m going to call in a favor to make it happen.”
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not that kind of trip.”
“With you, it’s always that kind of trip.”
“I’m leaving Gertie behind. Technically, you’re at more risk than me.”