“I’d really like that,” I said, surprised by how much I meant it.

At least someone was telling me the unvarnished truth.

Chapter Nineteen

I woke up to strange sounds in the middle of the night, but Muffy was sleeping soundly next to me. I laid in the dark, my ears straining to make out the noise, but I only heard silence, broken by Muffy passing gas. I buried my face in my pillow. “Muffy!” I really needed to change her dog food. Again.

When the air cleared, I listened to the still night. When I didn’t hear anything else, I fell back asleep.

I let Muffy out the side door the next morning and looked around, not finding anything amiss. I decided that it was probably just the wind blowing the tree branches against the house. I really needed to get the limbs on the back trees cut.

Only I was sure whatever I’d heard came from the front.

So I slipped my robe on and walked around the house, fully expecting to find nothing. And I did, except for a big rock in the middle of my front porch, sitting on top of a piece of paper.

I tiptoed over to it, although I wasn’t sure why. It was a rock, not a snake, so it wasn’t going to jump up and bite me. I was more worried about that piece of paper flapping underneath it.

Muffy ran around my feet, wanting me to pet her. Keeping my eye on the rock, I squatted and absently rubbed her head, wondering what I should do.

“I’m scared of a rock, Muffy. Have you ever heard of such foolishness?”

She wagged her tail.

My curiosity won out. It was a piece of paper, for heaven’s sake.

The rock was almost too big to pick up with one hand. I pulled the paper out from underneath and dropped it on the porch.

The paper was white and had been pasted with letters cut out of a magazine that spelled Stay Away.

Stay away? Stay away from what?

Since I had no idea who or what I was supposed to stay away from, I had no idea who could have left the note on my porch. It could have been worse. At least they weren’t destructive about it. They could very well have tossed the rock through my window.

The person who left the note had done it in the middle of the night, so I was sure there weren’t any witnesses.

Or were there?

Muffy followed me as I crossed the street, and I rapped on Miss Mildred’s front door.

The door cracked open and disapproval covered her face as she pushed her screen door open. “Has Henryetta turned to Sodom and Gomorrah overnight?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the hem on my robe.

I self-consciously tugged at it. How could I have forgotten I was still in a robe that barely covered my butt? “Speaking of overnight, did you happen to notice any strange goings-on in my front yard last night?”

“You mean other than the parade of cars coming and going from your house?”

I suppressed a groan. “Someone left a note on my front porch in the middle of the night.”

“Probably some man tryin’ to schedule time in your brothel.”

“Miss Mildred, someone left me a note saying Stay Away.” I shoved the paper at her.

She grabbed it and held it in front of her as she read it. “Stay away from what?”

“I have no earthly idea. That’s why I was hoping you saw something.”

She held the paper out to me, some of her feistiness fading. “I didn’t see or hear anything.”

I snatched back the note and started down the stairs. “Thank you.”

“You’re on to something,” she called after me.

I turned back to face her. “On to what?”

“Dorothy’s murder. You’ve made someone nervous.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know anything. How could I make someone nervous?”

She pointed at my hand. “You must know something, otherwise why would someone come to your house in the middle of the night and leave you a note?”

I exhaled, my shoulders sagging. “I wish I knew what that something was.” I started across the street. “I have to get ready for work.”

Leaving the note on my kitchen table, I made a cup of coffee then took a shower. The thought of going to Jonah Pruitt’s house made me nervous. I told myself that Bruce Wayne would be there too. I’d just make sure not to end up alone with the reverend.

At least I knew one person who hadn’t left the note. Jonah Pruitt. Why would he rope me into working on his yard, then send me a note telling me to stay away?

So who could it have been? Thomas? Christy? Maybe I was looking in the wrong direction. What if the note didn’t have anything to do with Miss Dorothy and Miss Laura’s deaths?

What if it had to do with Joe’s secret?

As I drove across town, Neely Kate called. “Rose, I only have a second, but I wanted to let you know that Miss Laura’s inheritance and house went to her family. Not to Jonah Pruitt.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, my grandmother saw one of Miss Laura’s daughters at Sunday evening service. They’ve already filed probate. She said the police had questioned her earlier that day.”

“So that means that Jonah’s not a suspect?”

“Well… Miss Laura had been going to his church. But that doesn’t mean anything. Half the town’s going there now. And besides, he didn’t inherit a dime, so why would he kill her?” Her voice lowered. “I’ve got to go.”

“Thanks, Neely Kate.”

This whole situation just kept getting stranger and stranger.