“I didn’t hear about your husband’s death until several weeks after. Did you try to tell anyone what happened?” Eve asked.

Letta stepped back, spoke with a grimace. “Tell what? Tell that my man drink he self to death? Tell that them peckerwoods allowed to treat him like a dog? Tell that ever one watch him whipped into two pieces then don’t say nothing? Major allowed that.” She choked back her hurt, continued in a taut voice. “Naw. Don’t say nothing. Major a hard man.” 

“What did you do?” Eve asked. 

Clenching her fists, Letta held revenge tight by its tail, sniffed the air, smelled the devil’s sulfur. She spoke slow. “I see my granny-woman, that crone. She listens to the Old Ones, tells me what’s gonna happen, what needs doing.”

The book will be available on December 10, 2024. In the meantime, read more about blue bottle trees:

Blue Bottles and Haints