A Line To Murder (A Puget Sound Mystery) by Karla Stover Read Free Book Online

been mixed up in murder before.” The thin one on the left rolled the word “murder” around in her mouth the way one rolled a chocolate. How close was she to the Haines family?
    “Well, it’s not within my acquaintance either.” Her companion sounded insulted
    “Of course not.” Mrs. Thin immediately recognized her faux pas . “I didn’t mean to imply…It’s all so perfectly dreadful. Betty is absolutely devastated. If you ask me, that’s what comes from leaving a perfectly good home and going away to work
    “The day after she graduated high school I took a card over and she was already gone.”
    “And to Los Angeles, of all places. It’s an absolute Sodom and Gomorrah."
    Mrs. Plump nodded her head.
    I was fascinated by the pleasure they seemed to be taking in the tragedy.
    Both women were quiet for a moment, nodding occasionally if someone caught their attention. The unpleasant odors of hothouse flowers, perfume and aftershave ricocheted around the room like molecules in a science experiment. My head ached. Isca would hate this .
    She’d told me once, at the funeral of a friend, she went early and inserted pansies in the chrysanthemum coffin arrangement. “Verna hated chrysanthemums. She always expected earwigs to crawl out of them. Wouldn’t you think her children would have known?”
    They didn’t and Isca was the only person who remembered her friend’s love of the cheerful, multi-faced flowers.
    As I recalled our conversation, my eyes filled for a minute. Before the tears spilled, my attention was drawn back to the two women.
    “Andy’s the main suspect, you know,” said Mrs. Thin.
    “No! Never!” Mrs. Plump’s voice carried across the aisle. People looked up and she leaned in to whisper. “Why, I’ve known him since he came here. Knew his grandparents, too. I don’t believe it.”
    “Well, it’s true. I have it on good authority he’s been questioned by the police several times.”
    Maybe that’s why he hasn’t called .
    Mrs. Thin added, “Well, you know why, don’t you?”
    “I most certainly do not. He cut our grass and delivered our paper for years. He was a nice, quiet boy with good manners.”
    “Quiet is what some call it. Secretive is what I call it. Always kept to himself.”
    “He and my John were close. Spent hours in the workshop. He loved working with wood. Liked my salal berry pie too.”
    “Be that as it may, things got real ugly with Isca.”
    My ears perked up at that. The fight Andy mentioned happened shortly before Isca’s murder. She hadn’t had time to tell me about it and, other than the vicar, she hadn’t mentioned any particular problems. Under the pretense of putting my purse under the pew in front of me, I bent forward.
    “What…” Organ music interrupted Mrs. Plump’s question and a pleasant baritone voice began to sing “I Believe.”
    It was a nice service. Some of the music was nontraditional but nevertheless appropriate. A woman named Cruise gave the eulogy. It was a moment before I recognized the name as that of a Tacoma nursing home director. Isca did volunteer work at the home, under an Adopt a Nursing Home project. She genuinely liked visiting with the elderly and it was good to hear her praised. I was glad the elderly women and Dominic would hear the compliments. Somehow it seemed important for Isca’s son to hear good things right now.
    After the chapel service, we walked a short distance across the newly cut grass to an awning. There a minister gave a short graveside service. The lawn’s smell was a welcome relief after the heavily lily-scented chapel. As we grouped around, a couple of birds, intent on gathering worms, flew away. Andy kept Dominic close with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. However, at the sad and haunting words, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Dominic burst into tears and Andy led him away.
    On behalf of the Haines family, the minister invited everyone back to their home for refreshments. Once again, I had to