loss. She was a lovely lady. God rest her soul.”
“Thank you. It’s good to see you too. And Beau.”
If Felicia’s red glasses offered a subtle hint of her fun-loving nature, Beau Pickney’s sartorial choices were more along the lines of a flashing neon sign reading, “Let the good times roll!” He was famous for his wild bow ties and rainbow of brightly colored pants. Back in the day, before Felicia threatened to leave him, Beau’s other favorite accessory had been a highball glass filled with bourbon. He cut his consumption back to birthdays, holidays, and one drink on Saturday nights, and surprised everyone by being fun when he was sober too. No matter his age, Beau was kind of a frat boy at heart, always ready for a good time.
His fingers were bony and his hands trembled as he took hold of mine, but he looked as dapper as ever, sporting a bow tie fashioned from brilliant blue, green, black, and bright-orange feathers, a light-blue linen sport jacket, and a pair of lime-green pants. Nobody else could have pulled off that outfit, but on Beau, it worked.
He grinned and patted me on the shoulder. “I was starting to think we might never see you again. Thought you’d gotten too famous to remember all us old coots back home.”
“Trust me, I’m not that famous. But look at you!” I said. “Still the best-dressed man in Charleston. Love the tie.”
Beau straightened his stooping shoulders and preened a bit, obviously pleased that I’d noticed.
“Just got it. Peacock, pheasant, and guinea feathers. Cost an arm and a leg but what the heck. Might as well spend it while I have a chance. I’m going to turn eighty next month.”
“Well, you couldn’t tell by looking at you,” I said, stretching the truth a little.
“And the tie is very snazzy. Maybe you can give some fashion tips to my friends here,” I said, leaning closer and whispering in Beau’s ear.
“Maybe,” he whispered back, shaking his head. “The one in the suit could use some help.”
I introduced Trey and Calvin to both Pickneys. The men shook hands and then stood back to observe the proceedings, Trey with an appearance of patient disinterest, Calvin with the expression of someone who can’t wait for the next episode of the soap opera. I returned to the problem at hand.
“Mrs. Pickney, what happened?” I asked, gesturing toward the ruined house.
“I think you’re old enough to call me Felicia now, don’t you?” She shifted her shoulders and sighed. “Sugar, I wish I could tell you. Calpurnia wasn’t ever the same after the accident, but you already knew that. I’ve always thought it had something to do with the crack she took on her head, when she slammed into the windshield. But it got worse after your daddy died. That’s when things started to pile up in the yard. It didn’t happen all at once, it took a few years for things to get this bad, but I’d say it’s been like this for . . .” She narrowed her eyes, thinking. “Oh, at least six or seven years.”
“Why didn’t you get hold of me? I’d have come down if I’d known how bad she was.”
“Well, I tried getting in touch about four years ago but you’d moved and I couldn’t find you. I wrote you a letter.”
“I never got it,” I said, feeling even guiltier.
“I know. The envelope came back marked ‘address unknown’ twice. I thought about sending an email to you at the newspaper but, you know, we don’t have a computer and—”
“You don’t know anyone with a computer?” I asked incredulously.
Felicia cringed a little, looking guilty. “No, you’re right, Celia. I’m making excuses. I could have gotten hold of you if I’d tried harder; maybe I should have. I did try to call you at the newspaper, just last week, to tell you that your aunt Cal had passed, but they said you weren’t working there anymore. But after those first two letters came back . . . Well, the more I thought about it, the more I felt it might be better if you didn’t know.” She put her arm over my shoulder. “Please don’t be upset with me, Celia. There wasn’t a thing you could have done. You know how stubborn Cal was.”
“Well, someone ought to have done something.” The well-dressed, fifty-something woman had been hanging back, but now she elbowed her way forward and locked eyes. Clearly, I was the someone she had in mind. “I sent