“Sally Jo!”
The high-pitched cry was followed by the click of stiletto heels against tile as a woman rushed into the dealership. In those ridiculous shoes she had to be over six feet tall. She was probably closer to seven if you included her teased-up blond hair.
Moxie scrambled out of Sally Jo’s lap and hotfooted it to the other side of the sales floor. Kat wasn’t sure if it was the woman’s screeching tone, her teetering heels, or the cloud of perfume that followed her into the room that the cat found most alarming.
Sally Jo jumped out of her chair. “Beulah!”
With arms outstretched, the women rushed toward each other. Cries and shrieks ensued. Kat winced, the cacophony threatening to burst an eardrum. The women’s voices had the same pitch as an air raid siren.
Kat felt a tap on her arm. Imogene had returned from wherever she’d gone and now stood beside her, her eyebrows raised. She tilted her head toward the women, a questioning look on her face. Kat shrugged.
Beulah pulled away from Sally Jo. “Sally Jo, what on earth is this I hear about Damian meetin’ his maker?”
Sally Jo’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “It’s true.”
“My word. When Damian Junior phoned me I thought he was just yankin’ my chain. Took me longer than a preacher’s minute ’fore I realized he wasn’t tryin’ to pull one over on his Auntie Beulah.”
“Oh, Beulah.” Sally Jo choked on a sob. “I’m at my wits’ end. I can’t believe the Lord has called my Damian to him already. I nearly wet my britches when I happened to look out that window there yonder as Damian came whippin’ ’round that bend in the road like Hell’s fire was after him.”
Beulah’s blue eyes widened. “Well, butter my behind and call me a biscuit! You saw it happen?”
Sally Jo nodded as she dabbed at her eyes.
“Oh my word!” Beulah looked between Teddy, Imogene, and Kat. “Did all y’all see it too?”
“We sure did,” Teddy said.
Beulah wrapped her arms around Sally Jo again. “Oh, honey, no wonder you’re fallin’ to pieces faster than a granola sandwich.”
DJ emerged from the office. He hovered a few feet behind his mother, looking reluctant to interrupt the embrace.
Beulah caught sight of him over Sally Jo’s shoulder. “Damian Junior!” She released Sally Jo and flung her arms in his direction. “Look at you, you poor thing! You come give your Auntie Beulah a hug.”
DJ shifted his feet. “I’m okay, Aunt Beulah.”
“Hogwash. You just lost your daddy! That brave face of yours don’t fool your auntie even a lick. Now come and get some of this sugar before I give myself a cavity.”
DJ flinched as Beulah lunged toward him. Something shot out of his hands, and tiny particles exploded all over the showroom. One hit Kat square in the forehead before clattering to the floor. She looked down at her feet, her eyes landing on a cat treat.
Moxie hurried over from wherever he’d been hiding. The black cat zigzagged around the room, his paws skidding on the slick floor as he raced to gobble up the treats.
If he feared the humans would sweep up his smorgasbord before he had a chance to eat his fill he didn’t need to worry. Sally Jo was oblivious, her face buried behind a tissue, and Beulah currently had DJ immobilized in a crushing embrace. Kat thought she might even be suffocating him from the way he was squirming.
When Beulah finally released him, DJ glanced around, an embarrassed flush working its way up his cheeks.
Teddy took a step forward. “You’re Sally Jo’s sister?”
“In the flesh, sugar.” Beulah graced Teddy with a radiant smile. “You work for Damian?”
“I’m the full-time mechanic.”
If Beulah was offended by how Teddy’s gaze stayed glued to her bosoms, she didn’t show it. Kat had to figure Beulah was used to men staring at her chest. Not only were her assets on the large side, but those shoes put her chest about level with the average man’s eyes.
Sally Jo laid one hand on Beulah’s forearm. “Teddy here says Damian’s car wreck was no accident.”
Beulah gasped. She stared at Teddy as if he’d sprouted horns above his ears.
“It’s true,” Teddy said. “There’s brake fluid out where Mr. Rockport kept his car parked. Someone must have messed with his vehicle.”
“Why, honey, you sound crazier than a hog sellin’ pork at the Piggly Wiggly!” Beulah tottered toward Teddy and pressed her palm against his forehead. “You sure you ain’t runnin’ a fever?”
“No, ma’am.”
Beulah pulled her hand back and planted it on her hip. “But who on God’s green earth would want to harm Damian?”
Teddy shrugged. “Guess the police will have to figure out that part.”
“Or Kat,” Imogene piped up.
Kat nearly fell over at the mention of her name. She caught Imogene’s eye and gave her head a subtle shake, but Imogene didn’t appear to notice.
Beulah peered at Imogene down the bridge of her nose. “Excuse my manners. Do we know each other?”
Imogene shook her head. “Kat and I were here looking at cars when the crash happened.”
“Imogene knows Damian from way back when they were both knee-high to a bullfrog,” Sally Jo added.
“And Kat here is my friend,” Imogene put in. “She’s also an incorrigible snoop and a whiz at solving crimes.”
“Is that so.” Beulah looked Kat up and down, a dubious quirk to her lips.
“You won’t find a sharper sleuth than Kat anywhere in Cherry Hills,” Imogene said, beaming as brightly as a proud mother hen. “Why, I bet she has this whole thing solved before I drive her back to Cherry Hills Commons.”
Kat’s cheeks burned. She bowed her head and stared at the shiny showroom floor, wishing it would open up and swallow her whole.
With her gaze on the floor, Kat saw that Moxie was still busy packing away treats. She watched as he inched closer to Beulah before darting forward and clamping his teeth around a morsel positioned near the toe of her shoe. He carried his prize a safe distance away before chomping into it.
Beulah gave no indication that she noticed Moxie. Her eyes were fixed on something near the back of the room.
“Oh my word,” Beulah said, pressing one hand against her chest. “Tell me I had one too many mimosas for lunch and that’s not who I think it is.”
Kat glanced across the sales floor. A twenty-something brunette in a black T-shirt and jeans had emerged from one of the back rooms. She seemed oblivious to everyone’s stares as she made her way to the beverage station.
“That is her, ain’t it?” Although Beulah had lowered her voice, it was still about twenty decibels higher than a whisper.
Sally Jo gave her a stiff nod.
Beulah stamped her foot. The clack of her heel against the tile sounded like a gunshot and sent the treat-scavenging Moxie fleeing for safety.
“Why, I don’t believe it,” Beulah said. “What’s she still doin’ piddlin’ ’round here?”
Sally Jo squeezed her arm. “Don’t make a fuss about it.”
“You talking about Amy?” Teddy asked Beulah’s chest.
“We sure are, sugar,” Beulah replied.
“What did Amy do?” Imogene asked.
Beulah pursed her lips, her gaze zeroing in on the brunette. “That woman over there dated my nephew, then for no good rhyme or reason dropped him quicker’n a pair of barbecue tongs left too long on the grill.”
DJ turned beet red. “Aunt Beulah, do you have to tell that to everybody?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because. It’s embarrassing.”
Beulah pinched DJ’s cheek. “Oh, now, Damian Junior. You’ve got nothin’ to be red-faced about. If anybody should be ashamed to show their face ’round here it’s that she-devil who wouldn’t recognize a good man if God himself stuck a bow on his head and delivered him on Christmas mornin’. And shame on Damian for not kickin’ her to the curb when he had the chance!”
DJ shoved his hands in his pants pockets, his gaze falling to his shoes. Sally Jo sniffled as though she might be on the verge of tears again.
Beulah flushed. “Gracious, my mouth has run off to Alaska without me. I didn’t mean to speak ill of the dead.” She crossed herself. “Poor Damian, may he rest in peace.”
Kat studied Amy across the room. Was it possible Damian had been thinking of letting her go because of how she’d treated his son? In that case, maybe she’d killed him as a preemptive measure.
Except, would killing Damian really provide Amy with any job security? It seemed just as likely that Sally Jo or DJ would fire her once they took over the business—assuming they were taking over the business.
Kat’s breath hitched. Who did stand to inherit Rockport Rides now that Damian was gone? Because in her estimation, whoever took over was about to become very wealthy. The value of the car lot’s inventory alone would be enough for a person to live on for most, if not all, of their lifetime.
Kat looked at Sally Jo, Damian’s most likely heir. She had a hard time envisioning the dolled-up Southern belle fiddling underneath the hood of a car. Would Sally Jo even know what a brake line looked like? It seemed doubtful.
Or was Kat not giving the widow enough credit? Just because she wore pretty dresses and kept her nails manicured didn’t mean she didn’t know anything about automobiles. In fact, given her husband’s line of work it was extremely likely she had picked up a thing or two about a car’s inner workings over the years.
Maybe she had even learned enough to put her knowledge to diabolical use, if she so desired.