“Word gets around fast after a council meeting.”

“Let her go,” Wade said, taking a fresh document out of his leather folder.

“We’ve got something more urgent than parish gossip.”

“What has Arthur done?”

“He filed an emergency injunction with the county clerk half an hour ago,” Wade said.

“Based on what?”

“He says my mother doesn’t have the mental capacity to sign a marriage license,” Wade said.

I looked up at the clock on the diner wall above the kitchen window.