A Fit of Tempera by Mary Daheim Read Free Book Online Page A

river. Iris must know everything there was to know about Riley Tobias. Judith was strictly an outsider. She locked gazes with Renie; the cousins communicated wordlessly. It was habit as well as kinship, a communion forged in childhood.
    â€œLook,” said Renie, taking her cue, “we should go. If the sheriff wants to talk to us, we’re next door.” She gestured in an easterly direction.
    Dewitt Dixon looked surprised, even a trifle alarmed. “You’re leaving?” He inclined his head toward the bedroom, where Iris presumably had fled. “What about her? ”
    Judith was not without sympathy. “It’s terrible, I know. But she’s got to cope. We all do. I gather she wants to be alone right now. Iris strikes me as a very strong, capable woman. If she needs us, we’re only a shout away.”
    The dew was already beginning to settle on the grass in the meadow. Renie started off at an angle, clearly intent on circumventing the studio. In a low voice, Judith hailed her cousin.
    â€œHold it—we ought to take another look at the body, coz.” She stopped, standing next to a ramshackle fence decorated with all manner of objects from old horse collars to new ceramics.
    Over her shoulder, Renie looked askance. “Why? Seen one body, seen ’em all. I don’t feel like a ghoul this evening. Besides, I’m starving. It’s almost seven o’clock.”
    Hesitating, Judith finally gave in and followed Renie through the woods. Her cousin was right: It would be ghoulish to study Riley Tobias’s corpse. It would also be difficult, since there were no lights on inside the studio. Judith knew better than to touch anything until the law enforcement personnel arrived. Which, she realized, was taking a very long time. Carefully stepping over the uneven ground, she tramped along the primitive trail that zig-zagged among the vine maples, cottonwoods, hemlock, cedars, and fir.
    The old cabin seemed to welcome them back. Even its flaws were a sign of comfort in a world turned suddenly violent.
    â€œDon’t tell me,” said Renie, going straight to the stove to make sure the fire hadn’t gone out, “you’re sleuthing. Dammit,” she went on with considerable fervor, “you’re going to get us involved. I should have known your sudden departure had nothing to do with my attitude to cease and desist. You just didn’t want me to bitch about being hungry.” She yanked open the icebox and began hauling out steaks, lettuce, and tomatoes.
    Judith was holding up her hands in protest. “Wrong, coz, wrong. We were with Iris when she found the body. We were also the last people to see Riley alive—except for the murderer. We’re witnesses. We have a very real obligation. Surely you can see that.”
    Renie gave a little snort. “Let’s try seeing where you put the potatoes. It’s going to take forever to bake them in that old oven. I suggest we have hash browns.”
    â€œFine.” Judith rummaged under the little counter that divided the kitchen from the living room. A moment later, she was at the sink, peeler in hand. She was also humming.
    Renie gave her cousin a suspicious, sidelong look. “You’re putting Riley Tobias out of your mind?”
    Judith kept peeling potatoes. “Of course I am. I’m thinking about calling home after dinner. I’m thinking about Joe. And Mother. Oh, and whether or not Mike will really graduate from college this year.”
    Renie paused in the act of putting a thick New York steak in the heavy cast-iron skillet. “Then how come you’re humming Strauss’s Artist’s Life waltz?”
    Her big dark eyes looking startled, Judith dropped a potato. “I am? Oh, dear!”
    Placing the two steaks in a puddle of hot butter, Renie sighed. “You’re hopeless. Get another frying pan for the spuds. I’ll light the lanterns.” She stomped out