Page 17 of The Secret of Emerald Cottage

Chapter Ten

“My, oh my, what an excitin’ homecomin’ this has been!” Miss Lilly licked her lips over the homemade fried chicken dinner Cat had brought, a private recipe taught by Miss Lilly herself after Chase and Cat got married last year. “Coming home to all my favorite people, a new chaise, a weeded garden, a ransacked house a-crawlin’ with police just a-finger-printin’ up a storm, and a chicken dinner to put a finger-lickin’ grin on the Colonel in his coffin.”

“Uh, a little too much excitement if you ask me,” Molly said with a wry twist of a smile, thinking hours of police and forensic experts swarming the house and the very real threat of danger to Miss Lilly made this the most nerve-wracking day of her life.

She paused. Correction: Second most nerve-wracking day of my life, she amended as Tyler and Heather came to mind. But at least this one she could do something about, and she would, she silently vowed, fine-tuning her aspiring detective skills by looking behind every door, under every rock, searching out every clue until she came up with some answers.

Cat offered the Tupperware container of fried chicken to Miss Lilly again, along with a grease-stained paper bag of her homemade French fries—also Miss Lilly’s recipe. “I have to admit, Miss Lilly, I’m downright amazed at how calmly you’re taking all of this,” she said, blonde brows puckered in concern.

“Agreed.” Chase swiped a French fry from Cat’s bag before homing in on his landlady with his pastor squint, indicating a sermon was coming her way. “That tells me you’re not taking this seriously enough, ma’am, because it’s clear to all of us here”—he motioned to everyone huddled around the rock firepit, from Detective Sloan and Pastor Pritchett, to Cat, Brec, and Molly—that someone could be out to cause you harm. Which leaves us no choice but to take it seriously for you. That said, first thing tomorrow, I’m installing a security system whether you like it or not.”

“Oh, pshaw!” Miss Lilly said with a wave of a drumstick, dismissing him along with all reality of danger. “Don’t want or require that, Chasen Griffin, and that’s that. The Good Lord is all the security I need.”

“Miss Lilly, you could have died!” Cat said, her tone a tad snarkier than before over a threat to someone she loved. “And although you don’t seem to give a flip, the rest of us do!”

“Now, now, missy, when the good Lord sees fit to take me home, it’ll be, and not a second sooner no matter who’s a-lookin’ to do me in. Sweet chorus of angels—where’s your faith?”

Sparks ignited in Cat’s eyes as she stared Miss Lilly down, her notorious Irish temper kindling as hot as the flames in the firepit. “At the bottom of the cove, I guess, where you would be right now, Mrs. McGill, if Molly hadn’t hauled you out!”

“Darn tootin’, missy, which just goes to prove my point that the Good Lord ain’t ready for me yet or I’d be a-swimmin’ with the fishes, like in that Mafia movie.” She winked as she popped a lemon wedge in her mouth. “That’s gangster talk for dead, don’t you know.”

Head resting on the back of a lawn chair, Pastor Dave chuckled, arms in a relaxed fold as he studied Miss Lilly with true affection. “It’s actually, ‘sleep with the fishes’ from The Godfather, Miss Lilly, but since you have a ‘God’ Father of your own”—he nodded toward the star-studded sky with a smile— “it’s pretty safe to say you won’t be swimming or sleeping with fishes anytime soon.”

“See?” Miss Lilly shot Cat a smirk as she gnawed on a lemon rind. “Even Pastor isn’t a-worrying, so why should you?”

“Now, I didn’t say that,” Pastor Dave said with a quick swig of his tea. “After all, wisdom doesn’t cancel faith out, Miss Lilly, only strengthens it. Which means as Chase’s boss, I not only agree with him installing a security system, but I’m giving him the day off to do it.”

Cheers rose in the air along with sparks from the fire as Molly grinned, Miss Lilly gumming her lemon rinds a little more forcefully than before.

“Shore didn’t figure your faith was smaller than mine, Pastor”—Miss Lilly scowled, lips edged with the faintest tinge of a smile—“but I guess it is.”

“That’s okay, Pastor Dave,” Molly said, challenging Miss Lilly with a smug smile, “because your wisdom is obviously bigger than hers.”

Jaw dropping, Miss Lilly wagged a bony finger at Molly, a full-fledged grin breaking through. “You’re spending entirely too much time with Catherine Marie, young lady,” Miss Lilly said with a twinkle in her eyes, well aware Cat hated the use of her full name, “’cause you’re becoming as sassy as her.”

Molly took a sitting bow from her lawn chair before she shot Cat a wink. “Why, thank you, Miss Lilly. As I recall you once told me you knew you liked Cat from the get-go because she was as sassy as you, so we both consider that a compliment.”

“Hear, hear!” Cat raised her tea in a toast.

Pastor Dave rose from his chair with a wide stretch. “Well, I hate to leave the party, but I’ve got a busy day tomorrow if Chase is going to be off, so I need to head home.” He bent to give Miss Lilly a kiss on the cheek, patting her shoulder for good measure. “But I’ll be setting up meals for you with Gladys, Mrs. McGill, make no mistake.”

“Hogwash, Pastor Pritchett!” She gave an affectionate nod toward her nephew that Molly could have sworn made Brec sit a bit taller. “My great nephew there is an even better chef than soccer player, and that’s a-sayin’ somethin’, so we’ll be eatin’ high on the hog, I can tell you that.” Her gaze shifted to Molly. “And missy there, sassy though she be, is a master at the microwave, so they’ll both do just fine till I can get back in the kitchen.”

Pastor Dave paused. “If you’re sure …”

“Shore, I’m shore. And if you stay a little longer, I can prove it with Brec’s homemade trifle made especially for my homecoming.” A twinkle lit her eyes as she grinned at Brec. “I already had a little snitch, and I’ll tell you what, Pastor, it’s downright sinful.”

Pastor Pritchett chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. “All the more reason to decline, I suppose then, Miss Lilly, since I have a mandate from the Good Lord to ‘flee temptation,’ but thank you.” He shot her a wink. “Hopefully it’ll be all gone when I check in on you later this week.” He turned to wave to everyone else. “Enjoy the trifle and the rest of your evening, everyone.”

Goodbyes followed the pastor as he disappeared around the corner of the house, resulting in Miss Lilly rubbing her palms together with a mischievous gleam. “Glory be! Now that the head-pastor contingent is gone, we can finally get down to business. After a week chained to a bed in that poke place, I’m just a-itchin’ to get busy lickety-split with a little action the doc won’t mind one iota. Shoot, I was so bored in that poke prison, I had to stoop to gamblin’, which I don’t like to do. But I had no choice but to fleece those sweet nurses just to keep from going plumb loco.” She winked, tiny butterscotch teeth glinting along with her eyes. “Else they’d be a-workin’ on my brain along with my body.”

“Miss Lilly!” Molly gaped, hardly able to believe that the most godly person she knew actually dabbled in games of chance. “You gamble?”

“You bet your royal flush I do, when it comes to the soul of one of God’s lost sheep. Told those young things flat-out that it was a miracle I was alive because God wasn’t through with me yet down here. One of ’em said she could almost believe it even though she don’t believe in either miracles or God. But I got my licks in with a few games of poker.”

“So, how much did you stiff them for?” Cat said as everyone laughed, well aware Miss Lilly’s brain was as sharp as her tongue when it came to cards.

Hands behind his neck and one leg casually crossed over his knee, Sloan delivered a lazy smile that made Molly grin. “Now, I’m not going to have to take you in, Miss Lilly, am I? For taking innocent victims to the cleaners?”