Biggie and the Devil Diet - By Nancy Bell Page 0,61

that's what he said, too. But then one day Laura took me aside and told me she had found out from my birth records that she was my own long-lost mother. She said she'd been searching for me ever since the day she gave me away. I was the happiest kid alive."

"Well, you sure didn't act that way." Misty spoke for the first time.

"I know. Laura told me to act the same as I always had— that we couldn't tell anyone about us. It was our secret, you see."

"Why?" Babe wanted to know.

"Because she thought the others might resent me if they knew."

"Hogwash," Abner grunted.

"I agree," said Grace. "You should have told us all."

"Well, that wasn't all," Stacie continued. "See, Laura had a problem. The camp was costing a lot more than she thought it would. Since old Rex had gotten sick, she had been taking money out of his investment accounts. I guess that lawyer found out and told Rex about it. Anyway, she was afraid he would, so she said we had to help Rex out of his misery; then she could inherit his money and she'd be able to keep helping poor overweight girls like me. She loved us all." Stacie looked around the room. "All she ever wanted to do was help people."

Babe stood up. "Are you telling us you murdered my daddy? I ought to kill you now!"

The ranger stepped forward and put his hand on Babe's shoulder. She glared at him but sat back down.

"How was it done?" Biggie's voice was calm, but her eyes flashed.

Stacie sighed. "I don't guess it matters now. The only person I ever loved is dead."

"So what happened." Abner's voice was grim.

"Remember the night he died? How I came in acting crazy, and took Laura into the study?"

"Of course we remember," Babe said. "Get on with it!"

"We had it all planned. As soon as we got in there, Laura took the gun and slipped out the French doors. I followed to watch. She hurried across the patio and shot Rex through the window. She missed the first time and hit Jeremy. The second shot killed Rex. Then the gun accidentally went off again. She was really nervous. After she flipped the breaker switch so the lights would go out she came back into the study where you found us both." She looked smugly around at the group. "You'd have never figured it out, if I hadn't told you."

"I'm afraid you're wrong, young lady," the ranger said. "We were damn close to figuring it out. You've just filled in some of the blanks."

Just then, the phone rang. Grace went into the hall to answer it. When she came back in, she had a look on her face that was a mixture of relief and something else— fear, I guess. She sat down quickly on the couch as if she might fall if she didn't. "Laura's awake," she said. "And she's okay!"

Stacie leaped out of her chair faster than a mountain lion and jumped on top of Biggie. Growling like an animal, she put her hands around Biggie's throat and began to choke her. "You lied!" she screamed and tightened her grip.

The rest of sat open mouthed while Ranger Upchurch and Rosebud pulled Stacie away. She fought like a sack of wildcats, but the two of them finally got her subdued and back in her chair. My heart was in my throat as I went to Biggie.

* * *

Later at home, we sat around the fire in the den. Biggie, curled up in her chair and drinking a hot herbal drink Willie Mae had made to soothe her throat, spoke first. "For the first time in my life, I reckon I've looked pure evil in the face."

"Stacie?" I asked.

"No, honey, that girl was just a pawn. Laura."

"'For the lips of the strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.'" Willie Mae spoke in a funny singsong voice.

"Huh?" I said.

"Exactly," Biggie said. "It's from the Bible, honey."

Rosebud stood up to throw another log on the fire. "What's gonna happen now?"

"A long recovery, I'm sure," Biggie said. "Then Red Upchurch intends to make sure Laura goes on trial for first-degree murder."

"Why did she have to kill him? I'd just found my new granddaddy, and she had to go and do that before I even