“I just don’t know,” Ida Belle said. “He’s drunk a lot of the time, and there are rumors of a drug habit.”
I considered this. “A drunk would have a hard time negotiating that trellis. It would be risky.”
“But high on something else, it might be possible,” Gertie said.
I nodded. “It’s possible. And if you think he has questionable character…”
“Oh, there’s no question about his character,” Ida Belle said. “It’s not good.”
“So it’s over?” Gertie asked.
She looked like a child whose balloon had just deflated.
“Maybe that part is,” I said, “but we still don’t know what Brandon Dugas is doing when he should be shrimping, and I know it’s none of our business, but I’d still like to find out. For Peaches.”
What I didn’t say was that until Carter had concrete proof that this Derrick had killed Gail, or unless he confessed, I wasn’t ready to put the lid on that line of investigation. It was clear that Derrick had catfished Beulah, but that was all we knew for certain.
“Oh!” Gertie said. “I’d completely pushed that out of my mind, but you’re right. Brandon is up to something and he’s lying to his wife about it.”
“Agreed,” Ida Belle said. “I say we keep watch on Brandon and follow Carter’s case against Derrick as it develops. As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t over until it’s over.”
I smiled. I never had to worry about missing a trick in this town. If I didn’t suspect someone, Ida Belle was always there to pick up the slack. She appeared to have as high an opinion of most people as I did. But then, maybe that came from living among them for decades and knowing all their dirty secrets.
“Maybe he’s having an online affair himself,” Gertie suggested.
“Everyone in Sinful can’t be having an affair,” I said.
“It does seem to be spreading like a virus,” Ida Belle said.
I shrugged. “I suppose anything is possible.”
“So what do we do now?” Gertie asked.
“Nothing,” Ida Belle said.
Gertie looked confused. “But you just said…”
“I meant nothing tonight,” Ida Belle clarified. “It’s already nine forty-five and you need to rest that ankle.”
“I agree,” I said. “Let’s all sleep on it. We can meet here tomorrow morning to see how Gertie’s ankle is doing and formulate a plan for the day.”
“What if Brandon has already left by the time we get done planning?” Gertie asked.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Ida Belle said. “Everything doesn’t have to happen tomorrow. We’ll get it handled, but we need to make sure you can walk first.”
“Oh no!” Gertie said. “Tomorrow’s Sunday.”
“I am not doing a banana pudding dash,” I said. “Celia would probably have me arrested for running on Main Street.”
“I don’t think the church will collapse if we skip a day,” Ida Belle said. “We’ve got Gertie’s ankle and Nolan to deal with. No one will think anything of it if we’re not there.”
I rose from the coffee table. “Well, if you don’t need me for anything, I’m going to head out. I need a shower.”
“Me too,” Ida Belle said. “I’m itchy all over from climbing that tree.”
“I’m good,” Gertie said. “You guys get going.”
“Call if you need anything,” Ida Belle said.
We headed out and I gave Ida Belle a wave as I drove off in my Jeep. I pulled into my garage but didn’t close the door. Instead, I went straight into the pantry to retrieve a box of goodies Harrison had sent me. I opened the box and checked the contents, pleased at both the quality and quantity of surveillance equipment contained inside. Harrison had meant for me to use it to secure my residence, but at the moment, I had different plans.
I hefted the entire box up and carried it out to my Jeep. Storm clouds were rolling in overhead, and I heard thunder in the distance. Hoping the rain would hold off until I was done, I drove the couple blocks to Peaches’ street and parked several houses down from theirs. I pulled a GPS tracker from the box and headed up the sidewalk. Brandon’s truck was in the driveway but there were no lights on in the house. They were probably already in bed.
It only took me ten seconds to attach the tracker to Brandon’s truck. I was just about to turn around and hightail it down the sidewalk when I saw a small light come on inside the house. I froze. It was too small to be a lamp, and besides, lamps didn’t usually move. It was definitely a flashlight. I glanced around the neighborhood, but there didn’t appear to be a power outage. I saw the light come down the stairs and move through the living room and down the hallway toward the kitchen. The silhouette was too large to be Peaches. It must be Brandon.