Secret Sisters - an LDS cozy mystery

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-two 

Ren left early to take up his post across the street from the warehouse. Ida Mae had packed him a substantial lunch, Arlette threw in some brownies, and Tansy stayed up half the night making a potato salad. They were all pitching in the best way they knew how, wishing they could do more. 

Ren and Ida Mae discussed things before he left, and while Ida Mae didn't like it, she had to agree that things were going to have to be brought to a head. With James Jeffries coming up dead, their investigation would have to take a more serious turn. Eden would be doing even more digging, and the stakes were higher than ever. 

Eden got home around the same time that night and came straight to Ida Mae's, with Ren just a couple minutes behind her. Arlette and Tansy were already there, and had been for half an hour, anxiously awaiting news. Arlette had even dropped a stitch and had to go back to pick it up, she was so rattled.  

"They called us together for a company meeting this morning," Eden told them after she took a long sip of water. "They announced that James Jeffries was killed in a car accident on Saturday night, and today they brought in his replacement. I thought that was really weird. James is killed on Saturday, here it is Monday, and they've already replaced him?" 

"Sounds like they knew he was going to die," Ren said, running his hand through his hair. Ida Mae almost gasped when he did it-at some point between the time he left the house that morning and returned to it ten minutes ago, he'd gotten his hair cut. She was glad, but she was shocked. What had gotten into the boy all of a sudden? 

"That's what I thought. Maybe they had to get rid of him to make room for this new guy," Eden said. "His name is Ryan Yates, and he seems decent enough, but I don't know if he's just taking over the VP job or if he's going to start making Nick's deliveries, too. I mean, just how many of James's duties will he be taking over? Or was James killed to keep him from making more deliveries?" 

Ida Mae jotted everything down on her list. "Were you able to find out anything else?" she asked. 

Eden shook her head. "Tomorrow is another day, you know." 

"Did you have enough food?" Tansy asked Ren. 

"I had more than enough, thank you," he said, patting his stomach. "I'm going to have to cut down tomorrow-if Eden had needed me, I don't think I would have been able to run, I was so full." 

Tansy beamed. "I'll make you a nice turkey sandwich on dry wheat tomorrow, then," she said. 

"You don't have to go that far," he protested. 

The meeting came to an end, and the ladies went out to their cars. Ren excused himself to go to bed, but Ida Mae held up her hand. 

"Just when did you have your hair cut, young man? You were supposed to be keeping an eye on Eden, not gallivanting around looking for beauty parlors." 

"I kept my eye on her the whole time. In fact, she went with me on her lunch hour." 

"And just what prompted this change of heart?" 

"She said she wondered what I'd look like with short hair." 

"And did she give you another kiss on the cheek?" 

Ren's face broke in half with his smile. "Or something like that." 

Ren went to his room and Ida Mae to hers, but not to sleep. Honestly, she couldn't decide if she was an insomniac or a narcoleptic. When she was tired, it was all she could do to stay awake long enough to find her bed, but there were nights when she couldn't seem to sleep at all. She refused to think that age might have anything to do with it. It simply wasn't a factor.