Bones To Pick (A Southern Belle Mysteries) by Carolyn Haines

Author:Carolyn Haines
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780758210913
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2007-06-01T05:00:00+00:00

"It isn't your fault, Bernard. Tinkie was primed for a fight with Oscar."

"She sure got one. They had it out, and then he left, and those other two women came up and said something smart to Miss Tinkie. She poured her drink on one and grabbed a drink off the bar and tossed it on the other one. Then all hell broke loose."

"If it's any consolation, those women deserved whatever they got."

He still looked down. "I know. They were no-count women. They been in here before, complainin' about everything. After the drink incident, I had to grab one of them and hold her. But that won't make it any easier on Miss Tinkie."

I gave him a hug. "She'll be fine. Please give Mollie my love." His wife was the best seamstress in the state and had created my unforgettable gown for the Black and Orange Ball last Halloween.

"Will do. You take care, and take care of Miss Tinkie."

"I promise."

When I got to the car, Tinkie was, thank goodness, out cold. I left the windows down as I drove through the clear night. The frigid air didn't even make her eyelids flutter. When I got to Dahlia House, I was in the process of dragging her up the steps when I heard someone clear a throat. I turned to find Humphrey sitting in one of the rocking chairs.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"No, I think I'll just leave her out here on the steps." Tinkie was a petite woman, but she was deadweight. I was struggling, and he had to ask if I needed help.

He laughed. "It might be easier to leave her there for several reasons. You can hose the steps down afterward."

"If you're going to sit there and crack wise, you can leave." I lugged her limp body up another step. At the rate I was going, it would be dawn before I got her inside.

He sauntered over. "Allow me." He lifted her in his arms and carried her inside.

"Put her on the sofa," I said, trailing behind.

He did and stepped back. "She smells like a distillery, with a back note of something distinctly unpleasant."

"I know." I got some warm, soapy water and a washcloth from the downstairs bathroom and set about bathing her face. Behind me, I heard the tinkle of ice and the splash of liquor. Humphrey appeared at my elbow with a Jack on the rocks.

"For you. A little hair of the dog that bit her."

I rocked back on my heels and took the drink. Tinkie looked awful, and it was only a prelude to what she was going to feel in the morning. "I should call her husband. And her father."

Humphrey put a hand on my shoulder. "No, you shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Tinkie is a grown woman. She shouldn't have to report to any man. Not her father or her husband. Secondly, you can't patch up her marriage, no matter how much you may want to, Sarah Booth. If Tinkie wants to see her husband, she'll have to call him.

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