From Ladle to Grave by Amy Patricia Meade

Author:Amy Patricia Meade [Meade, Amy Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2021-08-09T00:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Louella Heritage, clad in an all-white golfing ensemble of polo shirt, visor, and short skirt, offered her condolences as she poured four glasses of lemonade from a crystal pitcher. ‘We’re terribly sorry to hear about Mr Carney, Sheriff.’

‘Thank you,’ Reade replied. ‘And thank you for being gracious enough to allow us to move our interview to earlier in the day.’

‘It was no trouble. Now that Frank’s retired, our schedule is wide open except for the occasional board meeting. And golf, naturally.’ She sat down at the end of the rectangular patio table, the verdant, rolling landscape of the Hermitage Golf Course stretched out behind her.

‘We’re happy to help the police in whatever way we can,’ Frank Heritage added from the other end of the table. His golfing attire consisted of a pink polo shirt, dark plaid shorts, and a white ball cap. ‘I do, however, ask that you keep this conversation private and not involve the press in any way. When Louella and I first spoke out about Benton and Delilah, we received a very large, very vocal backlash from the public for what they perceived as us betraying our friends. We don’t want to travel down that road again.’

‘We assure you this meeting will remain confidential.’

Frank gave a single nod. ‘Now, you said on the phone that you folks believe Mr Carney’s death is linked to Daisy Honeycutt’s murder?’

‘We do,’ Tish confirmed. ‘Carney’s body was found at the Honeycutt family plot in Ashton Courthouse and, as you know, he’d recently begun to re-examine the case.’

‘Yes, we spoke to him – what? – three times over the past month?’ Frank asked his wife.

‘Three times,’ Louella verified. ‘I can’t imagine why anyone would kill Mr Carney over the Honeycutt case. Daisy and Delilah have been gone for nearly a quarter-century now.’

‘Twenty-five years,’ Frank said somberly. ‘We’ve been contacted by reporters trying to book us for anniversary interviews like it’s some sort of damned celebration. I can’t stomach folks out there trying to make a buck off a dead little girl. You know, a publisher once asked us if we’d be interested in writing a book about our friendship with the Honeycutts. I told them no and that even if I were down to my last nickel, my answer would still be no. Vultures, the lot of them.’

Reade steered the Heritages back to the matter at hand. ‘What did you discuss with Mr Carney during those three phone calls?’

‘Everything we knew about the Honeycutt case, of course,’ Louella replied. ‘We were friends with Delilah and Benton for years. And our kids were friends with each other, too, but you must have that somewhere in your files.’

‘We do, but we’d like to hear it directly from you.’

Louella waved a well-tanned, bangled arm in the air. ‘Oh, where to start! I first met Delilah while waiting to pick up the kids from school one afternoon. It was a beautiful spring day and we’d both decided to wait outside our cars, so we got to

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