“And just what did Doc Stone’s receptionist tell you I’ve done?”
“You’re wasting Aunt Lottie’s money on the most foolish notion I’ve ever heard of,” Val said. “Hiring a bodyguard for that stupid dog is outrageous. Whatever were you thinking?”
Sticking her nose in the air, hoping for a snooty look since she couldn’t quite pull off defiant, Penny Sue replied, “I was thinking that Lucky needed protection from whomever is trying to kill him.”
Val groaned. “Nobody is trying to kill that mutt. You have no right to spend Aunt Lottie’s money—”
Penny Sue stuck her index finger right in Val’s face. “It’s not Aunt Lottie’s money anymore. It’s Lucky’s money.” Val’s expression hardened, putting wrinkles in her forehead and between her eyes. Val wasn’t aging well. Another trait she must have inherited from the other side of her family. The Paines always aged well. “Have you forgotten that someone shot Lucky and nearly killed him?”
“It was an accident. All the men around Alabaster Creek own guns and many of them target practice in their backyards, so it’s not that big a stretch to think a stray bullet might hit something other than its intended target. Even the police think that Lucky was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and—”
“Hogwash.”
“What?”
“You heard me—hogwash. One of my relatives—” she looked pointedly at Val “—is willing to murder Lucky in order to inherit his money.”
Val huffed, then sucked in her cheeks and pursed her lips.
Penny Sue wondered if Dylan had ever noticed that his wife was not a pretty woman. Sexy. Yes. Attractive in a floozie kind of way. Yes. But pretty. No. And as she grew older, the good Paine genes she had inherited from her father—a first cousin to Lottie, Dottie, Douglas and Percy—were being ravaged by the less-favorable genes she had inherited from her mother. Valerie’s mother had not been a pretty woman either. None of the Good-wins in and around Alabaster Creek were good-looking.
“You should know that I’ve called a meeting for this evening so that we can discuss what you’ve done,” Val said. “Even Aunt Dottie is upset with you.”
In her peripheral vision, Penny Sue caught a glimpse of Hazel Carruthers cautiously coming up the aisle, her eyes wide, her attention focused on the loud disagreement. “Call all the meetings you want. I’ve done what I thought best for Lucky and there’s really nothing you can do about it.”
“I think someone other than you should be named executor of Aunt Lottie’s will and made Lucky’s guardian.”
Penny Sue took a step toward her cousin, who took a step back, her eyes rounded in surprise. “I’m not going to hit you, even though a part of me would like to slap you silly. You’re such a twit. Aunt Lottie chose me for good reason. And Uncle Willie made sure there’s little chance of her wishes being overturned in any court of law. Lucky inherited Aunt Lottie’s money and I’m her executor and Lucky’s guardian and I intend to see that Lucky lives to a ripe old age. He’s only four. He could easily live another ten or twelve years.”
“Do you intend to throw away millions on a private bodyguard for the next ten years? If you do, you’ll be certifiably insane and we might be able to have you committed.”
Penny Sue grinned. “Get real, will you? I’m a Paine. I’m supposed to be eccentric. And as for keeping a bodyguard indefinitely—I don’t think that will be necessary. Once we find out who tried to kill Lucky, Uncle Willie says it’s possible that we can legally remove that person from the list of heirs.”
“You can’t do that!”
“No, I can’t, but Uncle Willie probably can. There’s a provision in Aunt Lottie’s will that speaks to that issue.”
“I don’t remember Uncle Willie reading anything about—”
“It was worded in legal jargon and everyone was so upset and making all kinds of threats that day that I seriously doubt anyone was listening when he read the specific provision concerning disqualifying heirs.”
“Well, I can assure you that Dylan and I would never harm a hair on Lucky’s head,” Val said. “And I really don’t think anyone else in the family tried to kill Lucky, but if they did, then they should definitely be removed from the list of heirs who will inherit when Lucky dies.”
Penny Sue’s grin widened. Valerie had changed her tune rather quickly. No doubt she was calculating how much more money she would inherit if the list of heirs was cut by one. That meant either she was not the would-be killer or she was trying to figure out a way to frame someone else.
“I’ll let the others know that this bodyguard you’ve hired for Lucky is only a temporary thing,” Val said. “However, since you’re the one who hired him, I think you should be the one to pay him—out of your own pocket. It’s not fair to take money away from the rest of us, now is it?”
Penny Sue glowered at Val. The bell over the entrance door chimed again. Since Hazel stood only a few feet away, that meant someone new had entered the shop. Momentarily taking her eyes off Val to check on the newcomer, Penny Sue saw her cousin Eula, who had retired from her job at Alabaster Creek Utilities last year, at the age of sixty-two. Eula worked part-time at Penny Sue’s Pretties now. And today was one of her three half-days, which included Wednesdays, Saturdays and Fridays.
Val turned and smiled when she saw Eula. “I’m glad you came in before I left. I’m phoning everyone in the family to let them know I’m hosting a meeting tonight to discuss Penny Sue’s decision to hire a bodyguard for Lucky. Telling you in person saves me a phone call.”
Eula’s faded brown eyes glanced from Val to Penny Sue. “You hired a bodyguard for Lottie’s dog?”
“An expensive bodyguard who’ll watch Lucky twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,” Val said. “Isn’t that a ridiculous waste of money?”
Frown lines wrinkled Eula’s forehead as her narrowed gaze confronted Penny Sue. Eula was a true Paine in looks and personality. A first cousin to Penny Sue’s father, Eula possessed the same dark eyes, hair and complexion as Lottie and Dottie, as well as the high-strung, opinionated and eccentric nature for which all the Paine women were infamous. And, she, too, was an old maid.
“You still think one of us tried to kill Lucky, don’t you?” Eula asked.
“I know one of the heirs shot Lucky and it’s my job to protect him,” Penny Sue said.
“Then you’ve done the right thing by hiring someone to guard him around the clock.” Eula moved past her cousins and headed toward the back of the store.
“Eula!” Val shrieked the name.
Eula stopped, turned and said, “Valerie, did your mother not teach you that it’s very unladylike to scream?”
Scowling, Val walked toward Eula. “I believe Penny Sue should cover the cost of the bodyguard herself and not take the money out of our inheritance.”
Eula cocked her head to one side. “Hmm…” She cocked her head to the other side, then sighed dramatically. “No, that wouldn’t be right. Lucky is Lottie’s dog, so Lottie’s money should pay for protecting him.”
Val fumed. You could practically see the steam rising off the top of her bleached-blond head. “Since you’re apparently on Penny Sue’s side in this matter, there’s no point in your being at tonight’s meeting. I’ll tell the others—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Penny Sue said. “Eula and I are family. We’re two of the heirs who will inherit when Lucky goes to puppy-dog heaven, so we will most certainly