A Ghostly Grave by Tonya Kappes Read Free Book Online Page A

Earl Way Payne died while still married to Granny. On the day of his funeral, Earl Way’s will was read, leaving Granny his half of the Inn.
    So while he had updated his will, Earl Way hadn’t changed his “pre-­need” funeral arrangements when he married my granny and hadn’t let her know what his plans were. So, Granny had Earl Way laid out as if he were the king of England with a room full of Sleepy Hollow residents paying their respects when O’Dell Burns marched in rolling a casket cot with Ruthie right behind him. Little did we know that before Earl and Granny wed, he had made arrangements at Burns Funeral Home.
    â€œPick him up,” Ruthie had demanded, pointing back and forth from Earl Way’s body to the basic wooden box O’Dell had wheeled in. “Go on, put him in.”
    I had never seen Granny rendered speechless, but she was that day. O’Dell picked up Earl Way’s body and plopped him right in that cheap pine box.
    Granny stood at the front door of Eternal Slumber with her arms crossed as O’Dell barreled out of the viewing room with Earl bouncing and Ruthie scurrying alongside.
    As a result of Earl’s estate plan, Ruthie Sue and Granny became co-­owners of the Inn, and Granny moved in right away, making sure Ruthie Sue had to look at her on a daily basis. And she will never forgive O’Dell Burns for the low-­down dirty stunt he pulled.
    â€œEmma Lee, are you listening to me?” Charlotte’s fiery redheaded temper was flaring up. “You are the one who is close to her. You have got to knock some sense into her.”
    â€œWhat do you expect me to do? She’s a grown woman.” Granny would knock me into next Sunday if I told her not to do something. “ It’s Granny! ” I reminded her of how persnickety Granny was and could be.
    â€œAnd she’s lost her mind.” Charlotte burst out in tears. “She’s going to run Eternal Slumber into the ground.”
    Charlotte Rae punched away on a calculator.
    Numbers. Numbers. Numbers. Who cared about all the numbers?
    â€œThe death business isn’t about numbers. It’s about being personal and empathizing with the family. Granny is good at that.” I reminded her of why everyone in Sleepy Hollow wanted to bring their loved ones to us. “Maybe she’d be a good mayor.”
    Who was I kidding? I didn’t want Granny being mayor any more than Charlotte Rae did.
    â€œI’ve got it!” Charlotte Rae jumped up and rushed around the desk. “I’m going to do a press release about the exhumation and work with a public relations firm out of Lexington, because this alone is what O’Dell is going to try to use in his campaign against Granny. Plus, we don’t need the bad press. Especially after we have recovered from charges against Granny for killing Ruthie Sue.”
    When I didn’t say anything, Charlotte looked up at me.
    â€œWell? Don’t you have something to do? Like go see Granny and stop her from this nonsense?” Charlotte shooed me out the door before I could put in my two cents’ worth. She obviously hadn’t heard a word I said. And they were good words too.
    â€œI’ll add it to the list,” I grumbled under my breath. The list was getting fairly long. I needed to go see Marla Maria and Lady Cluckington before I could even bring myself to think about Granny. She had obviously lost her marbles, or else that yoga stuff was opening up brain cells that were meant to stay closed.
    â€œIt better be at the top!” Charlotte slammed the door behind me.
    My office was a ­couple of doors down from Charlotte’s, but I could still hear her smacking things on her desk and yelling out profanities about Granny’s behavior. I was in no mood to hear her rant and rave. I grabbed the hearse keys and my purse. It was time for me to drive to the hood—­the trailer hood.
    â€œKeep two