I texted Lizzie back and grabbed my purse, so I could stop by the post office and get stamps on the way. Before I reached the door, though, it slammed open, and a wild-eyed woman stormed into the shop.
Eleanor and I both took a step back when she stomped across the floor, straight toward us.
The newcomer looked to be in her early fifties, with frizzy brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a bulky orange sweater with a long rust-colored skirt and brown boots. She had a deep, south Florida kind of tan, and she was tall and skinny. The bony skinny, not the “I run a lot and eat only veg and tofu” kind of skinny.
And her fists were clenched.
I motioned Eleanor to step behind the counter, sent up a quick prayer that she wasn’t carrying the gun she’d tried to shoot Jack with, and stepped between Eleanor and the angry woman.
“May I help you?”
“Who are you?” she barked.
“I’m Tess Callahan. I own Dead End Pawn. And you are?”
“I’m here to warn you, that’s what I am. You need to stay away from those Phleabottoms!”
12
Tess
I wasn’t going to make it to the post office.
“Oh, boy,” I said.
“The who?” Eleanor edged out from behind me. I was pleased that she was unarmed, but I realized she hadn’t heard about Cordelia and Ish or any of the associated chaos yet.
“I’ll tell you later.”
I smiled at the angry woman. Usually, I’d be annoyed by somebody acting like this, but if she was trying to warn me away from the Phleabottoms, we might have something in common. “Now you know my name, but …”
“Henrietta Quirksley,” she snapped, but then she blew out a breath and visibly calmed down, even shaking out her hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come on so strong. But I know Cordelia and that horrible son of hers have been involving you in their plots, and I wanted to warn you. I don’t care what she promised you. It’s not worth getting involved with that snake. Not only that, but she’ll cheat you out of your share of the loot!”
“I … wow. Okay. That’s a lot to unpack. Mrs. Quirksley—”
“Just Henrietta,” she muttered.
“Henrietta, I’m definitely not involved in any plots with the Phleabottoms. And there is no loot to be shared, at least on my part. What made you think that?”
She gave me a deeply suspicious look. “I saw them come into your shop, and then I tracked them to the sheriff’s house, and you were there, too. Don’t lie to me. I’m only telling you this for your own good.”
I didn’t like anything about that. “Okay, first, why are you following me?”
Henrietta heaved a sigh. “I’m not followingyou. I’m followingher.Cordelia Cheats-Her-Partner Phleabottom.”
I knew I shouldn’t ask, but I was interested in the alleged cheating. (Yes, I watch a lot of true crime. I sometimes thought I should have been a lawyer.)
“Your romantic partner or business partner?”
She smacked herself in the forehead, apparently flabbergasted by my ignorance. “Not romantic. What did I say? How would I know about her stealing your share of the loot if she hadn’t done the same thing to me? First, she left me to take the fall. Five years in federal prison. Then she stole my share of the haul. I’m not letting her get away with that, let me tell you.”
I turned slightly toward Eleanor. “Maybe we should call Susan …”
But Eleanor, her eyes wide, was staring past me. I whirled back around to see that Henrietta was pointing a gun at me.
“Listen,” she said, almost apologetically. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just wanted to warn you, but I can’t have you calling the sheriff. I’m … technically violating my parole. By being in Florida.”
“The gun probably isn’t good, either,” I pointed out.
