my card. You can text me or call me any time of the day or night, but please, if it’s possible, let me get my beauty rest.”
I smiled then and said, “Mark? Am I in trouble?”
“I don’t think so. I think you should relax until I let you know otherwise. Holly, I’m an old-school lawyer. I like to see all the facts and then we go from there. So far, we don’t have all the facts.”
“Will you tell me what you find out?”
“Absolutely. As soon as I hear something, you’ll be the very next to know. I’ll call the coroner’s office this morning. Now, I’ve got to go to the gym. I’ve got a young wife, you know what I mean?”
“I’m pretty sure I do,” I said and laughed. I felt so much better. “Thanks, Mark.”
I walked him to the door and as I glanced at my backyard, I noticed crime scene tape everywhere and three men in bee suits walking around, looking in the bushes.
“Mark! Wait! What’s all that tape and who are those men?”
“They would be crime scene investigators investigating a would-be crime scene. Don’t worry about them. They’re actually on our side.”
“Okay,” I said. I wasn’t so sure.
“I’ll call you later,” he said. “And stop worrying. You’ll get wrinkles.”
I smiled. He was actually pretty sweet.
“Thanks.”
I stretched out on the sofa thinking I might catch a nap. I couldn’t tell you how much time went by, but when I woke up, it was dark outside, well past the cocktail hour, and Archie was at my door. He didn’t ring the doorbell, he was just calling my name, like Stanley calling Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire.
I got up to let him in and he stumbled into my hallway.
“Archie? Are you a little bombed?”
“I’m impaired. I won’t deny it.” He blinked his eyes as he struggled to focus in the light. “Can I have a moment of your time?”
“Of course,” I said and looked outside to be sure he wasn’t being followed by television cameras. The coast was clear. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Prolly not a bad idea,” he said. “Oh, hell, Holly. I’m a widower again!”
I began walking toward the kitchen.
“Yes, and you know you have my condolences, Archie.”
“Yeah, yeah. Listen, I know you didn’t think much of Sharon.”
“It doesn’t matter what I thought of her,” I said.
I filled a filter with ground beans and the well of the coffeemaker with water and flipped the switch.
“Of course it matters!” he said. “It matters what you think and it matters what my boys think. And I didn’t listen to anybody. And now she’s dead. I must be some kind of a bad luck charm.”
“That’s crazy talk.”
When the coffee was done, I filled a mug and sat down at the table with Archie.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Drink up,” I said. “So, is there a plan in place for a funeral?”
“Yeah, her family is planning it. They don’t want any input from me.”
“Hmm,” I said. “I know what that’s like.”
“Right? Holly, I’ve treated you awfully bad, and my boys, and I’m sorry.”
“Who’s watching the boys?”
“That woman Maureen has them both at her house. She’s got that kid Matt?”
“Are they spending the night there?”
“Yes.”
That was good. His sons didn’t need to see him as drunk as a dog.
“I’ll call her. I think you should be getting on home now. Tomorrow’s probably going to be a tough day, okay?”
“Okay. You’ll call Maureen?”
“Yes, I’ll call Maureen.” I stood up, a message that this visit was ending. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Thanks. Thanks for the coffee. You’re a nice girl, Holly. Did I ever tell you that?”
“Thank you, and yes, I think you’ve said it before. Now let’s get you up.”
“Okay, I’m going.”
Somehow, by God’s grace, he got to the front door and left. I called Maureen.
“Maureen? Hey! It’s me, Holly. Y’all okay?”
“Yes, and what a terrible thing. I mean, nobody liked her, that’s for sure. But, damn! Death from a thousand bee stings? How awful!”
“Is that the story going around? Well, here’s something we don’t know. Maybe it was the bees, maybe it wasn’t, but I can’t imagine that many bees would sacrifice their lives to get rid of her. And if it was bees, and she was allergic, it would only take one. The queen is the only honey bee without a barb on her stinger. She might have done it, but I doubt it, because she doesn’t ever leave the hive except to swarm. Swarming season ended months ago. So I guess we’ll see when