Page 125 of The Homewreckers
“But what if it wasn’t Holland?” Elise’s pointed chin quivered, but her pale blue eyes stared directly into Hattie’s.
“I don’t understand.”
“We were there that night,” Elise said. “At Granny Hoffman’s beach house. We stole a bottle of vodka from my dad’s liquor cabinet and drove my Toyota out to Tybee. Davis wanted to fuck, but I wouldn’t, because he didn’t have a condom or anything. We had a huge fight. He called me a tease and all kinds of nasty names. I was so mad, I jumped in my car and left.”
“This was the night of the Super Bowl?” Hattie asked. “The night she disappeared?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. We started watching the game, and drinking, and fooling around. I didn’t know anything about football, but he was a big Patriots fan. We even had matching jerseys.”
“Did you see Lanier Ragan that night? Or Holland?”
“I didn’t see anyone. I went home right after the game started.”
“What happened after you left? How did he get home?”
“He said he rode his bike back home that night. To Wilmington Island. He did that a lot in the summertime.”
Hattie pulled her phone from her purse.
“Wait. Who are you calling?” Elise asked, suddenly sounding panicky.
“I’m calling Makarowicz. So you can tell him what you just told me.”
“No way,” Elise said, standing abruptly.
“If you won’t tell him, I will,” Hattie said.
Elise stepped over the wadded-up engagement ring receipt. “You repeat one word of what I just told you, and I’ll tell everyone in town that you’re a fucking liar. I’ll make itmybusiness to ruin you and your shitty business. And don’t think I won’t sell that alleged engagement ring of yours.” She turned and walked out the door.
57A Moment of Zen
“Who was that skinny-ass bitch?”
Hattie looked up to see Zenobia standing in the doorway.
“Remember Hank’s friend Davis Hoffman?”
“The one whose family owns that jewelry store downtown? I remember him. That boy was kind of sweet on you way back in the day, wasn’t he?”
“Way, way back. That was his ex-wife, Elise. She’s under the mistaken impression that Davis and I have a thing.”
Zenobia’s braying laugh somehow cheered Hattie. “Haaaaah. He wishes.” She took the chair Elise had just vacated.
“Something else is bugging you. You know I still need to mother my girls, even if you and Cass are grown and gone. What’s going on out at that job site that’s got you all twisted up—I mean, aside from finding a dead body buried in the backyard?”
“Oh, Zen,” Hattie said with a weak smile. “I’m beginning to think Tug was right and that maybe the Creedmores’ house really does have bad juju.”
“And what’s an old cracker like Tug Kavanaugh know about juju?”
“Okay, whatever you wanna call it. It seems like nothing is going right. First the code cops, then the fire, then the body—and not just any body. My favorite high school teacher.”
“Well, yeah, that’s real sad. Especially her poor little girl, wondering all these years what happened to her mama.”
“Lanier Ragan helped me so much, after my dad went to prisonand Mom left town. Aside from you and Cass, she was my biggest champion. Then I find out she had this whole double life. I mean—sleeping with a high school kid? One of her husband’s football players?”
