Not Quite Right (A Lowcountry Mystery) (Lowcountry Mysteries Book 6) by Lyla Payne

to be okay fills me with longing.
    They don’t hide things from the men who care about them, the right-shoulder devil continues.  
    Shut up.
    They do, but only because Brick finally starts talking, pulling my focus from my own addled brain.
    “They agreed to meet with Birdie and me in a couple of days to give us a verbal list of anything that could have been found in their house or files at the accountant’s office that could be used against them in this case.” He gives Mel a pointed look. “Other than the fact that they’re hiding money in offshore accounts. Nothing you obtained in what amounts to theft or an illegal search is admissible in court.”
    I wave a hand. “We know that. Amelia’s attorney said as much before her custody hearing.”
    “Right, but now you’ve insulted them and you’ve forced them to show a losing hand in a very public way.” Brick pauses, and if it’s for dramatic effect, it’s working. “They’re not the kind of people you want to piss off.”
    “Well, it’s too late for that, and besides, maybe it’s time they learned what happens when you get on the wrong side of the Harpers.” Amelia lifts her chin, staring defiantly into Brick’s eyes. There’s a pop and a sizzle about her when he’s around that she struggles to hold on to when he’s not, but with every spark of her old personality showing itself, I believe more and more that it could stay.
    And it makes me like Brick Drayton, damn him. Or at least, grit my teeth and tolerate his presence. For Amelia. That’s what all this is for, what everything is for—her and Jack.
    “You really think they’ll tell you anything?” Mel asks, eyeing my cousin with curiosity. Her gaze slides back to Brick but doesn’t change much. She hasn’t figured them out, either, which is interesting. I know she and Millie talk quite a bit, and I figured they chat about more than just baby stuff. Maybe I’m wrong, but I wish Amelia would confide in someone about her friendship—or whatever it is—with Brick. It’s obvious she doesn’t feel as though the subject is safe to bring up with me, and hadn’t even before things with Beau and me had gone south. Hopefully just for the winter.
    “They’ll tell us. They’re refusing to write it down, but they know the best way to build a defense is to be prepared to head off any unexpected accusations. I don’t know if there’s going to be anything we can use, though. We’ll have to wait and see.”
    I have my own reservations as to whether or not the Middletons will reveal the worst of their transgressions, even to their attorneys. Paul Adams signed a nondisclosure, which means anything he tells us isn’t admissible in court. Anything we find won’t get Mel and Leo off unless we have the kind of proof that they’ll want to keep out of the papers. I mean, there’s always the possibility that they missed someone with the nondisclosures who would be willing to testify, but shedding an ugly light on the Middletons in the courtroom isn’t going to save my friends.
    Last time I checked, the excuse that they’re terrible people and deserve it doesn’t play in front of a judge. Sometimes I think it should.
    “Thank you,” Amelia says, her hand brushing Brick’s shoulder. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
    Leo’s eyes meet mine, and I can feel Mel’s gaze on the side of my face. They’re thinking the same thing I am, probably, which is… or not.
    We can’t afford to wait for the Middletons to fashion their own nooses. It’s long past time for us to go out and buy some rope.

Chapter Six

    M el and Leo decide to come with Millie and me to Charleston to see Paul Adams the next day, but in the car on the way there we’re still trying to talk them into joining us for dinner afterward with Aunt Karen and Uncle Wally. Mel knows Aunt Karen and is about as thrilled at the idea of spending the evening with her as she would be with her own mother—who is just as awful, in my