Page 52 of It Runs in the Family

Ruckus? Had he pounded on my front door? I started to feel light-headed.

Mrs. Whittleman shot a dark glare at me. “Why don’t you ask her? She was with him, hootin’ and hollarin’. He was tellin’ her to hush.”

The blood drained from my face as Garrett turned to look at me with wide eyes, not that I was shocked by his surprise. While he didn’t know all the details of my love life, he did know I wasn’t the kind to go for one-night stands.

“It wasn’t like that,” I said.

“You were fornicatin’,” Mrs. Whittleman said in disgust, then sighed. “Although it must have been a slam, bam, thank you ma’am type situation, because he was in there for less than nine minutes.”

“That seems pretty exact,” Garrett said.

“I was timin’ it,” she snapped. “You know, back in my day, there used to be fornicatin’ laws.”

“Yeah, which is why the dinosaurs became extinct,” I said under my breath.

“What?” She held her free hand up to her ear. “What did you say?”

Garrett gave me a warning glare, then shifted his full attention to her. “What about last night or this morning? See anyone then?”

“Nope, but I do know that that one”—she pointed her gnarled finger up at me—“didn’t come home last night.”

“She stayed over at my house,” Garrett said matter-of-factly, then pulled out his wallet and handed her a business card. “If you see anyone lurkin’ around, would you give me a call at the number on the card?”

She took it from him and held it closer then farther away from her face before she said, “I don’t have my dagnabbit reading glasses.”

“It says I’m Deputy Sheriff Garrett Riggs and it has my number on it,” Garrett said. “So, if you see something, I’d appreciate it if you let me know.”

“Ida’s got herself in trouble, has she?” she asked, a little too smug for my liking.

“That’s Iris,” Garrett corrected without malice. “And she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“She was drinkin’ and fornicatin’,” she said snidely. “She was drunker than a skunk. That man could barely keep her upright.”

“Welllll,” Garrett said drawing out the word. “Thanks for the information. I’ll let you get on with your day.”

“Since you’re a deputy, let me tell you about the man up in 3B,” she said, taking a half step out the door.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but that’s out of my jurisdiction.”

“Then why are you helpin’ this one?” she flung her gnarled finger toward me again.

“I’m helpin’ Iris because she’s my cousin.” He gave her a tight grin. “You have a good day, ma’am.” Then he grabbed my upper arm and dragged me through my open front door and promptly closed it behind us.

“How’d you like Mrs. Whittleman?” I asked, hoping to distract him from some of the information she’d shared with him. “I think she’s lived here since the place was built back in the 1800s.”

“This place can’t be more than sixty years old, and what man brought you home when you were drunker than a skunk?” He lifted a brow. “Who was he?”

“I met him at the bar, okay?” I said in a huff. “Nothing happened. Ava and Mary Ellen ditched me at T-Birds, and after my run-in with Billy, I knew I had to get out of there. So I asked him to drive me home. That’s it.”

A vein began to pulse in his forehead. “Ava and Mary Ellen ditched you?”

“I should have driven my own car, especially after I sat in the backseat while Ava was driving, but I was feeling sorry for myself after losing my job and I wanted to drown my sorrows with tequila shots.”

He was quiet for a moment. “And you trusted this guy to bring you home? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because you were on your date in Waco, and I doubt you could have gotten there in time, not to mention I didn’t want to ruin it. I mean, at least let Mazie grow to love you before your crazy family scares her off, right?”

“Irie…”