The Sassy Belles

The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright Read Free Book Online
Authors: Beth Albright
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
to discuss a missing brother-in-law! I took Vivi by the arm and we headed
into the abyss.
    The bar in the Tutwiler was massive, made of deep, rich
mahogany wood with intricate carvings. The ceilings were at least twenty feet
high and the moldings had the same beautiful etchings. There was a huge mirror
over the bar that reflected everything and everyone. It was all done in dark
mahogany. The hardwood floors were a throwback to the 1920s. Just entering the
bar was an event. You went through time to the elegant era of Bugsy Segal and
flapper dancers and it always felt like you needed a long strand of pearls to
twirl. They even had music from the 1920s playing, usually by a live band over
in the corner. Maybe this location would help to ease the tension of the
moment.
    Though Harry and Sonny were both waiting at the bar, neither of
them was drinking. Sonny was on duty so he had his usual, a Dr Pepper. Harry had
club soda. We all knew this was going to be very uncomfortable, so there was an
agitated, prickly uneasiness in the air. Like trying to swallow hot peppers with
a whisky chaser followed by dill pickle juice. It was just too much at one time
for the tongue.
    Vivi and I stepped up and slid onto our stools. I ordered a
seltzer water with lime, and Vivi ordered a Jack Daniel’s straight.
    “Ms. McFadden,” Sonny began, “I’m going to be recording this
and taking a few handwritten notes. You are not at this time a suspect of
anything. There is no crime at the moment. We are treating this as a missing
person case, and we will until such time as it becomes something else. Any
details you can provide may go a long way in helping us locate Mr. Heart. But
this is informal, so please feel relaxed and try your best to remember
everything. Even some things you don’t think are important might become just the
details we need later on. You were the last one to see Mr. Lewis Heart. Can you
please describe your encounter with him?”
    Oh, Lord, I thought. Here we go.
    “Okay.” Vivi looked over Sonny’s shoulder to where I had
positioned myself next to Harry. She grabbed her shot glass and threw her Jack
Daniel’s back in one swig, her mop of orange frizz flying.
    “Lewis called me this mornin’. I was out at the Big House.”
(That’s what Vivi called her family’s plantation.) “I had been tendin’ the rose
gardens with Arthur, my gardener. I love it when I can get my hands in the soil
and feel the earth damp and squishy in my palms. Know what I mean, Mr.
Sonny?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Sonny answered. “But, please, can we jump on over
to when you met up with Lewis?”
    “I’m gettin’ there, Mr. Sonny. Another JD straight up, please,”
Vivi said to the bartender. “Make it a double. Anyway, when the phone rang, I
told Arthur I’d be right back. I ran in the house and grabbed the receiver. It
was Lewis.
    “He said, ‘Hey, Red.’ Only Lewis calls me Red.
    “‘Hey, baby,’ I said. ‘Whatcha need?’
    “‘You, baby. Lots of you,’ he said. Lewis sounded,
uhh…needy.
    “‘Okay, sweetie. You name the place and I’ll be there,’ I told
him.
    “‘Fountain Mist,’ he said. ‘Our room.’ I knew that meant
106—it’s where we always met.”
    “Miss Vivi, you said you always met Mr. Heart there,” Sonny
said. “How many times would you say and over what period of time? Were these
encounters going on for a while?”
    Vivi stopped him. “What do you mean by a
while? ” Vivi was being difficult and by this time I had ordered a
strong drink. I’m usually a margarita kinda girl but I drink those when I’m
celebrating something, not when I’m trying to spring my best friend in a missing
persons case. When the bartender served me my Bloody Mary, I looked over my left
shoulder at Harry who had ordered his usual dirty martini by now. It was our
anniversary, after all. He cocked his eyebrow and toasted me silently. We took a
simultaneous “Yeah and happy anniversary” swig, then turned our attention

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