MARK YOUR CALENDARS, it read in loopy cursive,Straight From the Heart, a romance-only bookstore, is coming to this space soon!
Soon. Thirteen days by my count. Vera seemed to be cutting it pretty close with every task, a fact that made my palms sweat.
As I tried to rub a dark scuff mark off the top of the white wood, I heard someone calling my name and looked up.
“It is a blessing to see your face out here, Ms. Maggie Andrews.” The male voice made me smile.
“Rodney!” I cried, walking over to the tall older man, who folded me into a hug.
Rodney Heath was the president of the chamber of commerce, which had its offices downtown. He’d been a close friend of Dad’s since high school.
“You’re looking good,” I said, studying his dark-skinned face and brown eyes. “How’s Ginny and the kids?”
He laughed. “She’s out of town for a few days, visiting the grandkids in Fort Lauderdale.”
“How many do you have now?”
“Three.”
“Wow!” This, of course, was a reminder for me that Dad never had the chance to be a grandfather. He’d never pushed us, of course, but since his death it had been in the back of my mind that he’d never meet our children. If we had any, that is. I wasn’t sure if I wanted them. Vera, on the other hand, did. My thoughts went to smarmy Tyler and I shoved them into the recesses of my brain. That was the last thing I wanted, to spend holidays and family milestones with him and his crotch goblins.
“We’re working to get everything set for the store’s grand opening,” I said, changing the subject while rubbing my hands together.
“I’m glad you’re home and helping Vera out. I think she could use your levelheadedness.”
A slight frown crossed my face. What did he mean by that? “It feels good to be home.”
“I’m sure it does. I haven’t seen you since your dad’s funeral.”
We looked at each other glumly. “You miss him, don’t you?”
He nodded his head. “Something fierce.” He paused. “Hey, did you hear what happened last night?”
Prickles of awareness flowed through my body. “Not sure,” I hedged.
“Gator Gene was found dead.” His voice dropped. “Word around town is that he was murdered.”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, I was the one who found him.”
“No! Oh, sweetheart.” He reached to squeeze my upper arm.
I nodded. “I was out on a gator call.”
“Oh, hon, I’m sorry. That’s terrible. I heard that a woman found him, but didn’t know it was you.”
“If it was murder, I wonder who killed him?”
Rodney shrugged. “Could be anybody. It’s not as though he was well liked around town. Well, he was well liked, but by a certain type of person.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I could guess. Sketchy biker gangs, off the grid white supremacists, meth dealers...they were Gene’s brand of buddies.
“Although...” Rodney tapped his chin with a long finger and I perked up. “I’m hearing that his wife stands to get a substantial life insurance payout.”
I squinted. “I thought he was divorced? I remember last year my dad said something about it. You know how Dad would call me every week to update me on the gossip in town.”
Chuckling, Rodney shook his head. “That’s right. Your father told me he did that. But Gene and Barbie, they were going to split but never did. She filed but then rescinded the paperwork.”
“Weird. Maybe she stuck around hoping he’d get that reality TV show and some instant fame and money. Where’d you hear about the life insurance thing?”