“I know, I know. I wanted you to come out and take a look. I’d like your expert opinion on what we should do. Or can do, legally. Please?”
My gaze went to the office door, which was still closed. I didn’t feel right about leaving before speaking with Vera. What if Alex dragged her away to jail? “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m at the bookstore, helping out. My sister’s, ah, in a meeting, and I need to wait until she’s finished.”
A vision of Vera being led out of the store in handcuffs made me say a silent prayer to the universe.
“Excellent. Right now the gator’s sunning itself and doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. I’ll tell folks that the seventh hole is off limits.”
“OK. I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
We hung up, and I gnawed on my bottom lip. Why were Vera and Alex taking so long?
I tried to quiet my mind by dusting the empty shelves, then checked my watch. It was already eleven thirty. The gator probably wouldn’t even be around by the time I got there, because once they got too warm they tended to retreat to the water.
The office door swung open and a placid-faced Vera walked out, followed by Alex. He wore a soft smile.
“The call with the book distributor went well,” I trilled in a fake and cheery voice. “And I got a gator request. Apparently, there’s a large fella over at the country club. I’m going to check it out. I’ll change and grab my duffel.”
Alex’s eyes widened for a second, then his mouth turned into a frown.
“Maggie, I know that you carry a weapon. I’m going to have to confiscate your gun for tests. Do you own more than one handgun?”
“No.” I folded my arms. “Do you want the gun now?”
He nodded.
“Fine.” I went into the back and carefully took the case out of my duffel. The .22 caliber pistol I carried had been Dad’s. Some gator trappers used rifles, but Dad had preferred this, so I did as well.
I walked out and handed the case to Alex. He set it on the counter and undid the latches, as if he didn’t believe it was inside. When he saw that the weapon was where it should be, he nodded and snapped the case shut.
“Thank you. I should have this back to you in a week.”
“A week? I might have to trap gators!”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Maggie. You be careful out there with that critter.”
“Yes sir,” I said with a nervous chuckle.Inside I was cursing him. I’d never fired a gun while trapping, but it was good to have in case things went terribly wrong.
“Vera, ma’am, I’ll be in touch.” He tipped his hat at her and walked out.
So polite, in a southern-boy kinda way.
My sister exhaled and sagged against the counter.
“What happened?” I hissed. “What did he say?”
“Well, they’re finishing up the ballistics tests, but it’s definite that my gun was used to kill Gene. They want to do more tests and everything could take a while.”
“Oh no. Oh shitballs.” My hand went to my chest and clutched my fake pearl necklace. So why did he want my weapon? Gah.
“Yeah. And I don’t exactly have an alibi for those hours, since I was walking in the park.”
I felt my pulse roar in my ears. “Didn’t you say you were only there for a half hour? Aren’t there surveillance cameras at the park entrance or something? Surely someone saw you go in there. Vera, this is terrible.”
“He’s going to check on the cameras. It doesn’t help that literally everyone in town knows how much I—we—hated Gene.”
“I think you should call the lawyer.”
Vera shrugged. “Nah. I’m innocent. It will all work itself out, eventually.”