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Stiffening her spine, Birdie said, “Hello there, Mrs. Jeffries. I take it Luc… the mayor, called ahead of my arrival?”
“Yup.” She sucked on her teeth and sniffed. “I can hardly deny you a room, considering the mayor asked as a special favor.”
“Yes, I can see where that would be a dilemma. If it’s any consolation, I won’t be here long.”
“Why are you here at all?”
Ah, yes, the intangible cost of securing a room.
Gossip.
“That’s personal information and up to the mayor to share.”
“You know,” she said, with a scrutinizing glare. “I ought to call Grant.”
Birdie’s eyebrows rose. “Lucas’s foster brother, Grant?”
“That’s right, he’s the Chief of Police here in Wayward. I ought to let him know there’s a known felon in our midst.”
There was no way she was going to allow this woman’s threats to keep her from getting a good night’s sleep.
“I think that’s a great idea. I would love to say hello to Grant. Catch up.”
Erma continued to stare daggers at her.
“Heard you had words with Lilith.”
Lilith? Oh yes, Lucas’s troll of an assistant.
Birdie’s face was about to seize up from the smile plastered on her face. “Such a lovely young lady. Did she tell you she gave me a personal tour of the city building?” Whereby she threw herself headlong into the lion’s den.
“Lilith said you threatened to whore around with her husband.”
“Really? Funny, I could have sworn she told me she wasn’t married.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Hard to believe. She’s such a ray of sunshine and so informative.”
“She said you had plans to scam our mayor and then rob the bank on Main Street.”
“Now, Mrs. Jeffries, do you really think I would share such dastardly plans with such a stalwart civil servant? That would just be… foolhardy”
“Guess so, but you never were very smart. Now, your sister, Maisie, she was always the smart one.”
Of course she was.
“Yes, be that as it may, I would like a room, please.” She was bone-tired and her face was about to break from all the smiling.
Erma entered information onto her iPad and turned it toward Birdie, “Run your card through the reader at the bottom.”
“I’d like to pay with cash.”
“I don’t accept cash.”
“Why not?”
“Could be counterfeit.”
