Page 39 of Carnival Queen

“This must have been the big thing for Dad. Penn Carver’s firm and Peck, Barnham, & Dodd submitted several invoices to them for services rendered. If they weren’t paying taxes on their clubs, why did they need them? That would have been a huge red flag. It looks like Dad dug in a bit on their personal income taxes and realized they were fudging those as well.

“Douglass submitted that he only made forty-eight thousand dollars last year. Anyone buy that?” she asked, looking up at them.

“Not for a damn minute,” frowned Jean.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“This is such a great idea, Louisa!” said Lottie as they opened the door to the warehouse. They’d been given a key to finish the work on the float, which was done the day before. The girls had bonded, working together every day, and decided they would make a sign thanking Deanna and the team for all their work with them. Their plan was to place it at the back of the court float.

“Lottie? I’ve really enjoyed working with you these last few weeks,” said Louisa.

“Me too, Louisa. I’m sorry we didn’t become friends sooner. We’ll both be off to college soon, and we might not see one another.”

“Where are you going?” asked Louisa.

“LSU. I hope. My grades are good enough. I just don’t know if it’s final yet.”

“I’m hoping for the same,” said Louisa. “My grades are good, but it’s about the money. I know my mom is really working hard to submit my student loan applications.”

“Well, I’ll pray that you get in. It would be nice to have a friendly face there. I love the campus, but it’s huge, and the closer it gets, the more nervous I become.”

“Same,” she smiled.

“You know, you talk about your mom a lot, but you never talk about your dad,” said Lottie. “Is he around?”

“No,” frowned Louisa. “He left us when I was just seven.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it.”

“It’s okay. I remember a little of him, but not much. He never seemed to have a job, and Mom always seemed to have two. She came home one day to see him sleeping on the sofa and told him it was time to leave. She said, ‘I can do this all by myself. I don’t need you taking up space.’ The sad thing is he didn’t even argue. He packed his suitcase and walked out without even saying goodbye. I don’t even know where he is.”

“I’m sorry, Louisa. Your mom never remarried?”

“No. I actually signed her up for a dating app last year without her knowing it,” laughed the girl. “I had all the responses going to my e-mail so I could check out the guys and only arrange for the ones I thought would be right for her.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s brilliant,” laughed Lottie. “Did she find someone?”

“Funny thing is, I didn’t think any of them were good enough for her. They were all looking for bootie calls, and Mom deserves better. What about you? I mean, I saw you with your mom at the pageant interviews, but what about your dad?”

“My dad’s so tied up in his work he doesn’t pay attention. He just hands me a credit card and says go have fun,” she frowned.

“Gosh, Lottie, I’m sorry,” said Louisa, grabbing her hand.

“You know you’re the only girl who has ever understood how awful that feels. Most say, lucky you, Daddy’s credit card! I admit I’ve abused it on occasion just to get him to pay attention to me. Lately, he and Mom have been really weird about his work. They said he’s working with somebody really important, and I have to be more careful. Whatever that means.”

“I’m sure they love you and are worried about you.”

“I guess,” nodded Lottie.

The girls cut and pasted paper flowers, using glitter and paint to create their thank you sign. When they heard the door of the warehouse open, they were worried that it was going to be Deanna.

Stepping off the float, they peered around the corner, smiling. What they saw wiped the smile off their faces.

“We wait here for that fucking bitch. She’ll show up sooner or later, and when she does, she’s dead.”

Deanna stood, cracking her back as Jean put all the materials back into the correct folders.

“I think I’m going cross-eyed,” she smirked.

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