Page 68 of A Rose of Steel
“And what poison would that be?”
“The poison they used to kill Bumper,” she said.
“Oh my,” I said. “What exactly did you tell them when you arranged for them to meet you?”
“That I needed to talk to them about one of the football players.”
“That sounds innocent enough,” I said.
“They might have read between the lines.”
“And what did it say ‘between the lines’?”
“That I knew they were killers.”
“Just don’t go,” I said. “If you’re that afraid of them.”
Auntie was driving the car. If it had been me, I would have just turned around and gone home, she wouldn’t have had a choice.
“I’m not afraid.”
“Then why are you shaking like a leaf on a tree?”
She held out a hand and looked at it. “I’m cold,” she said.
“It’s nearly seventy degrees.”
“I’m anemic,” she said.
“You’re scared,” I said. “But there is no need to be. No need to be afraid of them. No need to meet them. I don’t think they did anything.”
“Well, I do. I think they killed Bumper and I need to question both of them. I wish LaJay was coming too.”
“You want to add more people? Why? You’re not scared enough?”
“I told you I’m not scared.”
“Okay.”
“I just want to talk to him.”
“And ask him did they pay him to go to A&M and in return he’d kill his lifelong friend, Bumper?”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, I’d be scared too if I were you.”
“It’s nervous energy,” she said.
“Make up your mind,” I said. “And tell me this, what are you going to do when they all confess?”
“I don’t know now.”
“You don’t know?”
“I told you, I thought Rhett was going to be there. I can always reach him. Heck, it can be two o’clock in the morning and he answers. I don’t know what he’s doing now that he doesn’t pick up.”
I wished she’d stop implying Rhett was somehow wrapped up with that woman, Hailey Aaron, because I knew that’s exactly what she wanted me to think that was what she thought. And really, the thought of it did make my heart go all aflutter. I was going to need a defibrillator to get it back on track.
