Page 119 of For the Birds

“A bunch of yellin’.”

“Did you see anything?”

She shook her head. “They said they were havin’ a painting party. A few of their friends came over to help.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I suspect they were drinkin’. Pam’s boys are kinda rough.”

“Do you know who any of their friends are?” Neely Kate asked.

The woman gave her a wary look. Neely Kate was asking questions that didn’t pertain to rental houses or her supposed cousins.

Neely Kate laughed. “There I go again. My momma always told me I was as nosy as a squirrel lookin’ for banana bread.”

The elderly woman continued to give her an odd look. “I need to be gettin’ back to my talk show,” she said. “If you want Pam’s number, I can get it foryou.”

“That would be great. I’d love to see if she has any of their family tree plottedout.”

She left us on the porch with her front door partiallyopen.

“We need to check out that house,” Neely Kate said under her breath. “I don’t see any cars out front, and we know that Elijah Landry and his friend aredead.”

“But Paul and Merlin aren’t. I saw them both in my vision with Jeanne at lunch.”

“Yeah,” she conceded with anod.

“The strange thing is how these guys all seemed to come out of nowhere. You would think at least one of them would have a foot in the crime world here. What have they got against James?”

“Maybe it has to do with J.R. Simmons,” she said. “Maybe some of his allies are lookin’ for revenge.”

She was right. “We should start lookin’ in that direction, but I have no idea where to start.”

The elderly woman reappeared in the doorway with a piece of paper. “Here’s Pam’s number. How did you say you’re related toher?”

“Her momma’s sister.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Mary Ellen didn’t have a sister.”

“Oh! Silly me,” Neely Kate chuckled. “I meant her grandmother’s sister. Those family trees get so confusing. Thanks for yourhelp.”

Neely Kate spun around and went down the steps, and I followed her as she got into thecar.

“Well?” Witt asked.

“She’s still watchin’,” Neely Kate said. “We’re gonna have to comeback.”

“We can try to find out more about Paul Beagle. Let’s go by the church. The church secretary’s been there forever and is a gossip to boot. She’ll be liable to remember not only the Constants and the Beagles, but everything about the anniversary party, including if the cake was toodry.”

“So why didn’t we go there first?” Witt asked.

I grimaced. “Because I’m not one of her favorite people.” She’d heard enough of the phrases I’d blurted out after visions to hold my nosiness—the way many people dismissed my knowledge of the intimate details of their lives—against me and my mother.

“Well, it’s still a good idea,” Neely Kate said. “Do you know how to get there, Witt?”

“Yeah.”

It was a ten-minute drive to the church, but the parking lot was empty when we pulled in. “Let me check,” Neely Kate said, hopping out of the car and walking up to the front doors. She gave them a good jerk before shaking her head and returning to the car. “Locked up tight as adrum.”

“What time is it?” I asked as I dug out my phone and groaned. “It’s already three thirty. They always did close their offices early.”

“So now what?” Neely Kate asked.

“I have an idea,” I said. “But I need to do this one alone.”

It was time to see my sister.

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