Buzz Off - By Hannah Reed Page 0,82

should. Humans could learn a few things from watching bees, since we spend as much time hurting each other as helping.

When a field bee comes in carrying pollen in her leg pouches, worker bees meet her at the entryway and help her unload. They don’t have to be asked to pitch in. They just do it. Teamwork. Flowers and bees also form partnerships, helping each other out. The flower gives pollen to the honeybee so she can make food for her hive. The flower benefits when her pollen is moved along to other flowers for fertilization.

Teamwork. That’s what I was hoping for.

Grace, Patti, and I sat in a tight circle inside the storage room, almost bumping knees. Grace wore pain and suffering on her plain face. Patti sported bold righteousness, and I was just plain worn out from pettiness and unnecessary lies when bigger, more dangerous events were playing out beneath the surface.

“As you know, we are here to speak the truth,” I said. “Patti, you saw Grace go into Clay’s house.”

“That’s right.”

“And you told people that she was having an affair with him.”

Patti squirmed. Not much, but I saw it in her eyes. The left/right thing she did when she felt cornered. “No,” she said. “I didn’t say anything of the kind.”

“See?” Grace said.

“Patti, you tell Grace the truth or I swear, I’ll never speak to you again.”

What I wanted to say was I would kill her with my bare hands in front of witnesses.

“You don’t mean that!” Patti said. “And I am telling the truth.”

“Oh, yes, I do mean it. And you won’t be welcome in The Wild Clover. Come on, Grace needs to know. Tell her.”

Patti crossed her arms and set her jaw.

“You watched her through your telescope,” I prompted.

That made Grace sit up and take notice. “You have a telescope?” she asked Patti.

“For bird watching,” Patti said.

And peeping-Patti-ing, I thought, but didn’t say. Instead I said, “Clay can tell you all about how she spies on him with her stupid telescope.”

Grace pushed her chair back to get up. I gripped her arm. “Please don’t go yet.” I tried not to sound pleading, but I think I failed. Grace sat back down, though.

“Now then,” I said, trying a different tactic. “Grace heard a rumor about Manny and me. Could we at least clear that up?”

“Okay,” Patti said, still wary.

“Please tell Grace it isn’t true.”

“But it is.”

I glared at Patti. My efforts to put things right had taken a left turn and were going south. “You can’t really believe that!” I said.

“I believe my eyes,” Patti said. “They never lie.”

“You are totally making that up. Manny and I were never together in a romantic way.”

Patti gave me a glare back. “Then why did he come up from the river and sneak up to your house?”

My mouth dropped open.

Grace got up and left, slamming the door to the storage room when she left.

I went for Patti but fell over Grace’s chair, landing in the center of the circle of chairs.

Patti yelled for help when I sprang back up. Perhaps she saw the murderous look in my eyes because she hit me with her purse, which must have been loaded with thousands of heavy coins. I sat back down, but only for a second.

I staggered to my feet and grabbed the front of her top, hearing a rip.

My sister rushed in and wrestled me down.

Then I remembered what Stu had told me about Manny taking his canoe out on the river.

By then Patti had disappeared, running for her life.

Thirty-four

“I believe you,” I said to Patti when she finally answered her phone. “Please don’t hang up.”

“That apology you gave me the other day about future apologies is worn out. I’m calling the police chief if you don’t stay away from me. Assault is a serious offense.”

“You’re the one who struck first with that loaded purse of yours.” I held an ice pack on my head, hoping to keep the swelling down.

“You tried to kill me,” Patti said.

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No, wait. Please. I really do believe you.”

“I said before that all my observations are based on facts. I have concrete facts on you and Manny.”

She had said that she always had facts to back up her claims now that I thought back on our custard stop, but I’d missed it at the time.

“If Manny came to my house, it’s news to me,” I said. “As far as I know, Manny hadn’t been to my house since last spring when he