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“We have a problem.” I slipped into the chair next to Carter, careful to keep my voice low.
“Now you know why I’m here. It’s not as if I attended the party like any other resident. You know, expecting to have a nice time while visiting with friends and neighbors.”
“And I’m sorry about that, but this is out of my control.”
“Now you know why I told you to steer clear of Gertie and Ida Belle. Remember that conversation? If there’s trouble to be had, those two are in the middle of it, stirring it into a shit storm. What have they done now?”
“They didn’t have a dog in this bed...I mean race.” I fidgeted, but gauged Carter’s level of interest. Thanks to my Freudian slip, he was certainly amused. “Race. I meant race.”
“So you’ve said.” He peered around me and carefully studied Gertie and Ida Belle as they escorted the newcomer up to Celia’s porch. “Any chance surfer boy is the one you’ve got your eye on for this race?”
Landry looked as if he’d seen a ghost as soon as he spotted an officer in uniform. Carter apparently picked up on it. “Seems nervous. He fidgets almost as much as you do when you’re trying to cover for Ida Belle and Gertie.”
I shook my head. “I’m not arguing about my friends right now. There isn’t enough time. This guy says he’s trying to find his son.”
Carter arched a brow. “I haven’t even met him and I’m already certain that’s a cover story. Why is that?”
“Must be your excellent policing abilities,” I said.
“Why don’t we trust him?”
“Mainly because he claims to have spoken to Pansy recently.”
“Did you tell him Pansy’s deceased?” Carter asked, moistening his lips as he stared at mine.
I stared back at his now, but found myself a little too mesmerized. “He um, insists that he’s here searching for his son.”
Carter leaned back in his chair. “This may come as a surprise to you, since Celia seems like the motherly type and all, but Pansy was the opposite. She enjoyed herself quite a bit, to the point of earning herself the reputation that you’re aware of. Does that sound like someone who has a child?”
“Probably not.”
“Motherhood wasn’t on her list of things to do.” He stabbed a small bite of chess pie. “This is delicious. Might want to join me for dessert and leave the Pansy history to Celia. Family drama isn’t really in my wheelhouse.”
“I have a grandson?” Celia’s voice rose above the crowd. “When was he born? Why didn’t Pansy tell me? Are you sure he’s mine?”
“Um, shouldn’t I be asking that question?” Landry smiled, but seemingly spoke to the crowd. Those standing around him chuckled uncomfortably. “I mean, he could be, but I took Pansy’s word that he was mine.”
“If there’s a kid, there needs to be an assembly line at a DNA lab,” someone said.
“For sure,” someone else pitched in.
“Family drama may not be your cup of tea? But if he’s here with ulterior motives, what then?” I asked, unable to ignore the sidebar comments.
“What motives could he have? Extorting money from a grandmotherly type who didn’t know she was a grandmother? Celia’s smarter than that. We’re not going to see her open up her home to a complete stranger.”
“If you say so.” I eyed the desserts and noticed Ally cutting the pecan pie. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here,” he teased.
As soon as I approached, Ally handed off a small plate filled with chess and pecan pie. “Thanks.” I took time for one bite of tasty indulgence. Then, I asked, “Any chance your aunt will fall for a story about a grandson she’s never met?”
“She’s not that dumb. Besides, if Pansy were pregnant at any point, Aunt Celia would’ve known almost immediately because Pansy would’ve used a pregnancy as a cash cow.”
I’d only known Pansy for a brief time, but kind of thought the same thing.
“Everyone, can I have your attention, please?” Celia beamed as she studied the crowd. “I have a special announcement.”
Gertie and Ida Belle met me at Carter’s table. Ida Belle sucked in a deep breath. “Stubborn woman is making a big mistake.”
“Huge,” Gertie agreed.
“What kind of mistake?” Ally asked.
Ida Belle was about to explain when Celia hurriedly said, “Friends, this is Landry Winfield. He and I just met, but he’s already won my heart. As it turns out, he’s from the Colorado Winfield family, a fine and upstanding family that made their name during the Gold Rush.”
“Grief. She thinks he has money.” Ida Belle’s voice was low, but then she stood and addressed Celia with, “You can’t be buying this.”
“Landry received a call from someone pretending to be my Pansy. Apparently, I have a grandson and he’s here to gain some assistance in finding him so we can bring....” She frowned. “What’s his name again?”
Landry whispered his ‘son’s’ name.
“Beautiful.” She turned back to her friends. “So we can bring Remington Mitchell home and he can meet his grandmother!”
“She’s buying everything he’s selling,” Gertie said, placing her hands in her lap.
Ally said, “She’s desperate to hang onto a piece of Pansy.”
“Maybe she should consider opening a rooming house then. Based on Pansy’s reputation, she’d keep a full house.” Ida Belle caught a scornful look from Gertie. “What? It’s true.”
“Might be true, but that character is running a scam on Celia.” Gertie looked deeply concerned. “Where’d Carter slip off to?”
“Ally’s chess pie,” I said.
“We need him to question this guy. If Celia thinks he has money, she won’t hesitate to front the search for her grandson,” said Gertie.
“And why is it our business?” Ida Belle asked.
“Today, a surfer guy claims to have a baby with one of Sinful’s deceased. Tomorrow, there’s another guy who claims he’s looking for his grandparents because they’re all he has left. We can’t let Sinful become a hilarious topic on Saturday Night Live.”
“I should point out that only Celia would be susceptible to such a thing. We don’t have children. If we’d had them, they wouldn’t have been like Pansy.”
“What are you saying?” Gertie asked.
“I’m saying, Celia is in this mess because she didn’t put a lid on Pansy’s promiscuous behavior while she was in high school.”
I narrowed my eyes on Landry and caught a smug look in his expression. Then, something else struck me as familiar. He had a lazy foot and dragged it as he strolled alongside Celia. I’d noticed it out front, but this was different. He’d made an exaggerated effort when he’d suspected we were watching, but now?
This was his normal stride.
“What if he’s here to harm her?” Ally asked.
Ida Belle and Gertie swapped one of their unreadable glances. Ida Belle then said, “I think you’re only half-right. He has harming on his mind, but your aunt isn’t the target.”
I nodded, reading into what they weren’t saying.
Ally sighed. “Guess we should be thankful for Carter. Without him, anything could happen.”
As soon as Ally was sidetracked for a recipe, Ida Belle leaned in. “Who is he and what does he want?”
“How would I know?”
“You recognized him,” Ida Belle said. “When?”
I said, “I recognized his walk. Other than that, I’m blank.”
“The Celia-Pansy story was a stretch,” Ida Belle said, reminding me of what I’d earlier concluded.
“But it was the safest bet. If he’s working for Ahmad, today was a predictable day. We went to church and the whole town was invited to the picnic.” I sucked in a deep breath. Lost in my thoughts as I tried to place this Landry-person, I finally admitted, “I’m too predictable. I let my guard down. Now, everyone could be in danger because of me.”
“Remember where you are,” Ida Belle snapped with an air of authority. “Just being here places us on enemy grounds.”
I narrowed my eyes on Celia as she escorted Landry inside. “What’s she doing?”
Gertie’s jaw dropped. “I think she just invited Landry to stay!”