Page 6 of Diamonds in the Mud

“Okay.” I waited.

“I saw you meeting with Beau, and the whole town is talking about his mother’s death, so I figured you’d be calling Wyatt next,” she added.

I nodded. “I was just about to call him in.”

She smiled. “Now you don’t have to.” She started to get up, but I held my hand up, stopping her.

“I’ll still need to talk to him personally,” I said and motioned for her to sit back down. “Plus, I’ll need more details from you.” I flipped open my notepad while she sank back in the chair.

“I’ll need your address,” I asked.

Clara rattled off an address on the east side of town.

The Taylor’s plantation sat directly outside the highway circling Gemsville, to the northeast. Not a long drive from Clara’s house.

I’d pegged her from the first day as having been raised with money. The clothes she wore, her hairstyle, and the fact that she always had diamonds in her ears weren’t the only clues. She walked and talked like someone who had done everything she could to avoid letting anyone know she was from a small town in Louisiana.

“Do you live there alone?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered. I raised my eyebrows at her. “My parents summer in Maine.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “And they live in Gemsville the rest of the time?”

She sighed. “No, they bought a winter home in Florida last year after I graduated.”

I nodded. “They left you the house?”

She shrugged. “They haven’t sold it out from under me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Are you going to college?” I asked.

She shrugged again. “I was going to community college, but after getting this job and…” She dropped off.

I waited. “Go on,” I said when she didn’t continue.

She sighed. “After I started seeing Wyatt, I dropped out.”

“Any reason?” I asked.

“Wyatt is important to me,” she said, and once more I waited for more details. “He doesn’t like to date women smarter than he is.”

I chuckled and then balked when I realized she meant it.

“Seriously?” I asked.

She nodded. I rolled my eyes and could tell that she was embarrassed at her admission.

“What time did you and he meet up yesterday?” I asked, trying to focus on the questions.

“After I got off work. We went to Louie’s for dinner.”

Louie’s was an upscale restaurant that sat on the banks of the river. Most nights there was music on the patio and deck area that hung over the water’s edge. Still, the place charged more for a burger than I wanted to pay, so I didn’t normally frequent the joint.

“How long did you stay?” I asked.

“Until the band stopped playing, around midnight. Then we headed to my place. I tried to convince Wyatt to move back in with me…” She shook her head, sending her spiky hair to sway. “He was there until he got the call from his dad this morning about what had happened.”

I had a few more questions for her but my phone rang and she motioned that she had to get back to work.