Down Home and Deadly

the newspaper back where it belonged. “And why everyone is suddenly remembering the past.”
    I nodded. “The question is, d id someone remember the past vividly enough to kill because of it?”

Chapter Thirteen

    Never miss a good chance to shut up .

    “Miss Jenna.” Marco gave me a serious look. “If that woman comes in and pinches my jaw again, I will have to look for another job. Miss Carly will fire me , because I will be rude to a customer.”
    “Tell you what, Marco . I’ll be on the lookout. When Jolene comes in, I’ll be sure Harvey seats her in my section. Deal?”
    “Thank you. Yes, it is a deal.”
    Consequently, when Jolene made an appearance toward the end of the noon rush, Harvey seated her at a table in the corner , and I took her order.
    “I must be getting back to my roots or something,” she commented as I s e t her sweet tea on the table. “I had that all the time when I was at my gramma’s when I was a kid.”
    “If you don’t mind my asking, where are you from? Sometimes you sound like you’re from Mississippi , and sometimes from New York or somewhere up there.”
    “Keeps you guessin’, don’t it?” She winked. “Actually, you ain’t far off. I spent the summers in Texas with my gramma, but my folks lived in New Jersey . Then when I was old enough to make my own way, I went wherever the spirit moved me, from Florida to California and points in between. My trusty Mustang takes me wherever the good times are. I usually find me somebody to hang out with for a while , and then I move on. I’m a pretty good waitress, so I can work about anywheres.”
    I eyed her short, low-cut dress and stiletto heels, trying to picture Carly hiring her to work at the Down Home Diner. Nope. Couldn’t see it.
    “Now, let’s get down to business. We’ve gotta hit the funeral parlor and figure out how much a buryin’ is gonna set me back. Once me and the mortician come to terms, we need to set a date and get this thing done. I ain’t one for havin’ a long drawn - out grieving. Jimmy’s dead. Let’s get him in the ground and get on with life.”
    Once again, I found myself riding shotgun in the red Mustang. We pulled into the drive of the local funeral home and got out. Jolene checked to make sure her dress wasn’t hitched up—or maybe to make sure it was. Then she pranced on her tall, thin heels into the building. I almost ran to keep up. I wanted a glimpse of Tom LeMay’s face when he saw her. The plump, bald , middle-aged man met us at the door but took Jolene’s appearance in stride.
    “May I help you ladies?” His voice was calm and courteous.
    “You betcha boots,” Jolene answered. “We wanta bury a guy. What’s the cheapest funeral we can have in this fancy place?”
    Tom looked at me , and my face turned red. I fought the urge to turn and walk out as if I’d never seen Jolene before. Instead, I shrugged slightly and introduced her.
    “I got a paper right here that says I’m the executor of Jimmy’s will, so I got to do my duty and see him in the ground. I want it done decent, but I don’t want to be ripped off, neither. You understand?” She wagged a pointed red fingernail under Tom’s chin.
    “Yes, m a’am. We aren’t in the habit of ripping people off. Now, if you will follow me, I will show you our selection of caskets.” He turned , and we followed.
    An hour later, we emerged. Jolene was torn between exhilaration and gloom, because even though she’d talked Tom down on the price of his cheapest casket, the funeral was still going to ‘eat a hole’ in her inheritance.
    “But that’s okay,” she assured me . “Jimmy had a big wad in his bank account, and it’s all mine. Whoo . . . ” She shook her head. “It just goes to show. I never dreamed I’d be an heiress. I may just have to help them rube cops find the killer.”
    “Speaking of killers, have you thought any more about why someone might have shot J.D.?” I hated to question her outside the funeral home, but I needed to know. “I mean, what was he like? Did he leave enemies everywhere he went? W e have very few murders here in our small town. And with him not being from here, I wondered if maybe he brought his killer with him, so to speak.”
    “Well, h oney, if you’re hintin’ I offed him, you can get over it. I didn’t even know where he was ’ til that lawyer dude called me. And he said he had a whale of a job locatin’ me.”
    “I didn’t mean to imply anything about you,