Imogene in New Orleans Read Online Free PDF Page A

through prescription glasses, always concentrating and intense, as if something great had just happened or was about to happen.
    “Because I panicked. You know Glenway got paranoid this summer about people stealing from him. He said the cops weren’t paying attention to his complaints of the thefts. I didn’t believe him.” Neil’s eyelids crinkled up at the edges as he spoke. “And then seeing him dead made me realize what a fool I was not to believe him. So, I told the boys to help me gather everything they could carry out. I didn’t help him when he was living, but I’ll damn sure help him now.”
    “Okay, just calm down. We’ll sort this out,” Allen said. Imogene stepped closer to him. “Hi, dear.” The tip of his beard touched Imogene’s shoulder as he hugged her. Jackson walked into the open workshop.
    Neil’s face darkened; he appeared to be concentrating on some thought. “Allen, what’s this about Lena and Glenway?”
    “What do you mean, ‘What’s this about Lena and Glenway’?” Allen peered over his glasses at his partner. He rocked on the pads of his feet.
    “I mean, Glenway’s dead and Lena’s left a note with her pralines that says something about not having a restaurant if not for Glenway. That sounds like a financial boost of some sort. You’re the one who helps with Glenway’s money.” Neil stroked his mustache. “Did you know about Glenway giving Lena money to save her shop?”
    “Hey, calm down, Neil. You know Glenway gave money to all his friends.” Allen took Neil’s hand and squeezed it.
    Neil looked out the window at Goose and Billy standing on the front porch. “Well, I’ll find out the truth even if I have to force it from Lena’s mouth.” Neil started to leave, but Allen grabbed his arm.
    “Wait. You should take a few deep breaths before you go flying off mad. Remember that Lena and Glenway were friends.”
    Neil turned his head away from his partner, and Jackson saw his eyes fill with water. Imogene patted his shoulder. “Shug, it’s gonna be all right. I know you loved that Gilbert boy. I sure did myself, and I hardly knowed him like y’all. Allen’s got the idea. Why don’t you sit down a bit until you get your nerves right.”
    Allen held on to Neil. “It’s gonna be all right, bud.” They went outside to sit on the porch with Jackson and Imogene following. She was the first to relay what the note said.
    Billy grimaced. “I knew that note said something important, Mama. You’re not the only one who knows stuff.” He had the blood-pressure cuff wrapped around his arm but concealed by his leather satchel, as if he didn’t want anyone to see his obsessive behavior in full force.
    “Shoot, ’ccording to you, I don’t know nothing.” She plopped down in one of the empty lawn chairs.
    Jackson said, “Well, we need to speak with Lena Ward. Does she even know Glenway’s dead?”
    “She might. She might have done the deed herself.” Neil blurted it out. He tensed his lips, and he moved to the edge of the chair. “Call her over here, Allen.” The boys had dropped all Glenway’s belongings on the front porch, and Neil grabbed the calendar first and reviewed it. “You see, what we have here is a big mess. I bet we’ll find some answers on this calendar. Look, Lena’s name is written three times during this month alone.” He flipped the large desk calendar back a month to July. “And here she is again. ‘Meeting with Lena.’” He continued looking and then jerked his head. “Oh. No.” He smacked the calendar. “I met this ass today, Lieutenant Rogers. Look at him. Glenway’s written his name twice in July. In fact, he planned for a meeting with him on the fifteenth and the twenty-third of July.” He flipped the calendar again to the current month. “And in August. Look. The sixth, too. And here we are on August eighteenth and Glenway’s dead. What did you say, Imogene, ‘deader than four o’clock’? That’s it. First things