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What the hell was she going to say to hiuely knew Darnell He was smart and a deacon at the Presbyterian church He liked fried shriumbo local-hot He had the occasional Sazerac Could she use the Guidry brand to help her out? Yes, Celeste could offer him a bribe in the forumbo in town

Why hadn’t she ure out a way to distract hi a couple of the rooms that were more problematic Did he really need to check out the back study, where she was pretty sure a couple of raccoons were nesting? If he was standing on the front porch waiting for her, he would likely want to see everything

She had to get it together She had to look like she knehat she was doing Like she was competent

She was competent She could do this All she needed was a little time

If he’d tried the porch steps, though, she was probably already done Darnell Ward was a solid guy, and he’d likely put one foot on the step and gone straight through it He could have even been hurt

Her mind ash in pure anxiety when she heard the front door open

He’d gotten into her house?

She watched as Darnell stepped out wearing khaki slacks and a collared shirt, a clipboard in his hand

“You’ve got quite a job ahead of you,” Darnell was saying He was an attractive man in his mid-forties, and if she remembered correctly, he had three kids and a orked at the elementary/middle school

She was about to anshen she realized he wasn’t talking to her His head was turned and another big body moved fro presence, and the deep rumble of his voice could be heard even with the distance between them

“Yes, but once she’s gotten it all done, it’s going to be a jewel of a house,” Harry proclaimed

Darnell looked up at the ceiling “Yeah, there aren’t many of these old Creole places left You said she’s not living here, right?”