Page 105 of Half Baked

“What?”

“He asked for you and your mother to come with him, but she didn’t want to take you from your family, so she turned him down.”

I rested my hip against the counter, trying to take it in. “But he obviously came back into her life.”

“He did. He couldn’t live without her, so he left the protection program.”

“Did he move to Cockamamie?”

“No,” she said, twirling her ring again. “But he moved to some small town in Alabama, near the border. That way he could drive up to see her when you were staying with your aunt and uncle or a friend.”

“So why were they going to the Mad Hatter’s?”

“The bar owner knew Gordy from Chattanooga. He happened to see him on his bike when he was driving out of town. He had someone watching for him the next time he arrived, then he invited Gordy to pay him a visit. And when I say invited, I mean forced. He threatened to hurt Andrea if he didn’t go.”

I felt sick. “So my mom went with him?”

“Hell, no. Gordy never told her. Not until she found out he was trafficking drugs again. She swore she was done with him, but he told her that he was being forced to do it. Billy had told him that if he didn’t cooperate he’d tell Reed’s people—that’s the guy Gordy turned in—where to find Gordy and his girlfriend.”

I swallowed hard. “So why did my mom start going to the bar?”

“Because she got it in her fool head she could convince Billy to let Gordy go. She was hoping she could work something else out that would make him more money, which was the only way he’d agree to such a thing.”

“What was it?” I asked warily.

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but I met with her a few times so she could look at the books. They had a couple of meetings and, sure enough, his revenue started increasing from all his various businesses.”

“All of them? How?”

“Like I said, I don’t know, but I suspect she helped him figure out a way to launder his drug money.”

“Why?” I demanded. “Why would she do that?”

“Like I said, she wanted Billy to agree to let Gordy free.” She paused. “And he did. Your mom also helped convince me to leave Billy and get a job with Artie. Artie knew about my past employer but didn’t care. And she invited me to join the women’s club, and everything was going well until Everly kicked her out of the group.”

“What did Everly have on my mom? Did she know about Gordy or that she helped Billy?”

She snorted. “No. Everly found out about my past and threatened to tell the group. She seemed pretty smug about the prospect of ruining me and your mom by association. Your mom agreed to step down, but I could tell that she was anxious about something else. When I asked her about it, she said she wasn’t afraid of Everly, but she didn’t have the energy to deal with her right then. She had a bigger fight on her hands.”

“What fight?”

“She wouldn’t say, but I suspect she was referring to Billy. Men like him don’t stick to their word. I suspect he got greedy and wanted more—either for Andrea to work more magic for him or for Gordy to come back or both.”

“Do you think Gordy killed my mother?”

She snorted again. “There ain’t no way. That man would sooner have killed himself.”

“The day she died…someone left her a note telling her to meet them at the high school. Do you think it was Billy?”

She hesitated. “I don’t see how. Billy would have told her to meet him at the bar.”

“What if she refused?” I asked. “What if he caught wind that she suspected one of the teachers was molesting students so he knew she’d think the note was from that teacher, not Billy?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “The underhanded approach wasn’t really Billy’s style. He was more into intimidation, not shock and awe.”

“So you don’t know who killed my mother?” I asked.

“No, darlin’, but even if I did, I’m not sure I’d tell you. Billy might be dead, but there are plenty of other people connected to him who are still around to finish you off.”

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