Page 91 of Call Back

“By nearly twenty years. Her husband was a friend of his father’s. But she received a lot of money from her husband in the settlement, and Chris was struggling to provide for his kids and a wife who wanted to look like she was more well-off than she actually was.” She shook her head. “Not that it did her much good since she ended up leaving the Bible study too. The members have standards to maintain.”

“I’m sure they do,” I said absently. “How long ago were Rowena and her husband divorced?”

“Oh,” her eyes lit up. “Rowena and Charles weren’t divorced. Charles was killed in a car accident fourteen years ago. Rowena sued and won a lot of money.”

Fourteen years ago? That couldn’t be a coincidence. “I heard Rowena disappeared, but Ava says she’s still around, and I’ve actually seen her. Do you know where she lives now?”

“Up in one of those big fancy houses in Brentwood facing Highway 65, but she’s going by her middle name and her maiden name now—Nicole Baker. Frankly, I’m surprised you saw her. I hear she rarely leaves her house.”

“Maybe I just thought I saw her,” I said. “At Walter Frey’s funeral.”

Her eyes widened before she grinned. “That seems unlikely. She and Walter hated each other.”

“Why?”

Her mouth twisted to the side before she shook her head. “I don’t know. But I do know Walter was in a mess of his own last year. Something to do with an illegal property sale. Whatever it was, Ruby Frey left the group. Ava told her she didn’t have to, but she left anyway.”

Did that have anything to do with his partnership with Daddy and the others? There were so many leads to follow that it was hard to know where to start. But the whole apartment issue had crawled under my skin. “Do you know about Colt Austin?”

A knowing smile lit up her face. “How do you know Colton?”

“He’s the one who introduced me to Ava. He asked her to rent the apartment to me.” When Janine started to laugh, my stomach sank. “What’s so funny?”

“You think Colton talked her into it?” she asked in disbelief. “Magnolia, no one talks Ava into anything. Everything is always her idea, even if the people around her don’t realize it.”

This was exactly what I’d feared. “Do you know how Colt started working for Ava or what he did?”

For the first time, she looked hesitant to talk. “There was a situation that needed help outside our usual sphere. I’m not sure how Ava found Colton, but he quickly had it dispatched.”

“Situation. What situation?”

“I . . .”

The door burst open and Ava shot me a glare. “Magnolia, what are you doing back here? You’ve been absent from your post for nearly ten minutes.”

“It hasn’t been that long, Miss Ava.” I wasn’t even sure it had been five.

“Are you sassing me?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, ma’am. Just making an observation.”

Her attention shifted to Janine. “And what are you doing? Have you volunteered to become part of the kitchen staff?”

“No, ma’am,” Janine stuttered, her face flushing. “I came in to see what was taking Marjorie so long.”

“Her name is Magnolia,” Ava said, her voice dragging as though discussing this exhausted her. “And she is my staff, not yours. I will see to her.” Ava kept her hard stare on me while she stepped to the side, making it obvious that Janine was dismissed. The woman shuffled past her, nearly spilling her drink. When the door shut, Ava asked, “Did you get what you needed out of her?”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re a resourceful girl. I was counting on it. So did you get your information?”

“Enough for now, I think.”

“Good. The meeting will start in ten minutes. I’d like you to sit in the back and take minutes. A stenographer notebook and pen are on the breakfast table.”

“What—”

“Is there a problem, Magnolia?”

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