Love Can Be Murder

eyeing the wild brushy field that was to have been her new garden. She had thought that by now, she would be arranging to have the field cleared and would be elbow deep in seed catalogs; that her most pressing problem would be whether to plant the beefsteak tomatoes or the heirloom variety.
    Instead she had Deke's death on her hands and a dark-eyed Cajun on her mind.
    At least business was good, she thought as she entered the store. She was going to have to pay for Gloria's services to date, and for B.J.'s. A sigh escaped her; if she was going to be arrested, her threat to pay him in vitamins might not be too far off the mark. She nodded to Guy when he looked up, then kept her head down as she walked toward her office.
    "Is that her?" she heard someone whisper.
    "I think so! It's the voodoo woman!" someone shouted, and a murmur ran through the customers.
    Penny darted past Marie and into the office, closing the door behind her. She dropped into her desk chair and put her head in her hands. When would things get back to normal? A lump formed in her throat as tears welled behind her eyes. What would happen to her if she was arrested, if she was convicted? Was this her punishment for being so judgmental when someone else had been in a similar situation, for having no compassion when called upon to forgive?
    She swallowed past the lump. A good, hard cry was in her future, but she had to hold it together here. With a mighty inhale, she turned her attention to her desk, sifting through phone messages and mail. Liz called. She had forgotten to give Liz her new cell number. The New Orleans Post wants an interview. Liz called again. WNNO wants an interview. WOLA wants an interview.
    The mail consisted of bills, seed catalogs, and advertisements. Sheena's Forever Sun tanning salon was having a Voodoo Festival special—Get Fried for Only $9.95. Penny rolled her eyes, but it made her thoughts turn to Sheena and the scenario that she and B.J. had talked through at the diner. Had the woman killed Deke out of anger, then tried to pin the murder on Penny? If so, then Sheena would have had to already have killed Deke when Penny saw her at Caskey's. She replayed the scene in her head, recalling Sheena's brief outfit and snakeskin bag. She hadn't seemed out of sorts or nervous at all. Was it possible for someone to kill another person and be unaffected?
    Yes...hadn't she seen proof of that in her own family?
    She let the flyer fall from her fingers into the trash, wondering what kind of a dysfunctional childhood Sheena might have endured that would have made her so cold-blooded if indeed she had killed Deke. It didn't make her any more likable, but it would explain her flamboyance and her compulsion to sue anyone she felt had wronged her.
    The murmur of a headache began to stir in Penny's temples, and her stomach gurgled. She was hungry, but nothing sounded appetizing. She just needed a lift...
    Her gaze dropped to the locked desk drawer, and her heart gave a glad little jump. Didn't she deserve to indulge? What was she waiting for? If being accused of a voodoo murder didn't warrant an emotional emergency, then what did?
    She moistened her lips and fished the key out of the top drawer, then inserted it into the lock.
    A knock sounded on the door, and she exhaled. '"Who is it?"
    "It's me," Guy said.
    Penny returned the key to the top drawer and sighed. "Come in."
    He opened the door and slid inside, then closed it behind him. His face creased in worry, he held up an energy bar and a glass of juice and said, "Marie thought you might need some nourishment."
    She smiled gratefully and reached for the food. "Thank you."
    "How are you holding up?"
    She bit into the energy bar and shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to be af ter... everything that's happened."
    "Marie told you the police were here this morning?"
    Penny nodded. "When I called her earlier. And I've already been back to the station today to answer more questions."
    He winced. "Marie feels really bad for telling them some things."
    "It's okay," she said. "I have nothing to hide."
    He exhaled, looking relieved.
    Good grief—did he also think she'd killed Deke?
    He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "I called Goddard's Funeral Home to get arrangements for Deke."
    Her heart stuttered. It still didn't seem possible that yesterday morning, Deke had been alive and now he was lying across town in an embalming tray. She closed her eyes briefly as a