A Lethal Time (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 4) by Peggy A. Edelheit Read Free Book Online Page B

own safety.”
    I didn’t like the sound of that, too convenient.
    Was he pushed?

 
     
     
    Chapter 22
    Driving The Point Home
     
     
    The three ladies were bickering as usual when they walked in the door. I sharpened my refereeing skills and greeted them. “Well, I see you’re in high spirits.”
    Martha’s eyes narrowed. “I know that was meant as a joke, but after being stuck in a small library with these two for a couple of hours, while I picked the brain of that old librarian, you’d be testy, too.”
    I looked over at the sweet, harmless pair. “Why?”
    “Every time I gained traction with that librarian, Miss ‘But-In’ and Miss ‘Are-You-Sure?’ managed to deep-six me by wasting time with their interruptions.”
    I had difficulty following. “What’s all this about?”
    Hazel stepped in front of Martha. “This chatty, elderly lady was subbing for the regular librarian, who’s out sick.”
    “And,” added Betty, “was a wealth of information.”
    “Sam, ignore Martha,” said Hazel. “She always gets so peevish. Info gathering takes finesse. You can’t rush it.”
    Martha said, “I had that woman in the palm of my hand, telling us about what had happened a few years ago.”
    Talk about getting to the point. “And the tale was...?”
    “Well, her cousin was driving his pickup by Robinson’s and a lumber truck that was pulling out in the opposite direction almost hit him. He ended up in a ditch. Well, Robinson rushes from his house with chains and his own truck to help tow her cousin out, saying, ‘He should have been more careful pulling out like that.’ But then Miss ‘But-In’ stops the whole shebang, so Miss ‘Are-You-Sure?’ can ask nonsensical questions and the library phone rang.”
    I laughed. “And the moment was gone, right?”
    “Like a punctured balloon.”
    “Yes, but we still learned a lot,” said an indignant Betty.
    Martha whirled on her. “We might have learned more.”
    “What was so important about the episode?” I asked.
    Hazel smiled smugly. “Because the truck that almost hit her cousin’s truck was pulling out from Robinson’s house.”
    Martha gave a frustrated laugh. “Once that phone rang, someone came in with their three kids and that was that.”
    I needed a conversational map. “I still don’t get it.”
    “It’s another aspect we never considered before, Sam.”
    “What didn’t we consider?” I asked, impatiently.
    “Paying more attention to all the players, including the dead one. That truck was pulling away from Robinson’s .”
    “So, what’s the big deal? He might have been asking for directions from Robinson. Why would you get so worked up about a lumber truck on a dirt back road anyway?”
    Hazel winked. “The librarian’s cousin saw something.”
    Martha chuckled. “I guess that wad of cash the trucker handed Robinson from his driver’s window was his way of thanking him for directions on how to get to Interstate 93.”

 
     
     
    Chapter 23
    Another Strange Coincidence?
     
     
    Not much later, Crystal rushed in and slapped her keys on the counter. By then we were sipping our customary p.m. glass of wine, while discussing what was going on. Obviously, Crystal had a lot to say, because she went right for her usual 1664 chilled bottle of beer with a lime twist shoved in the bottleneck for panache and just stood there.
    The three of us sat staring wondering what would spill from her lips, and by the look on her face, plenty. After a long pull on her bottle of beer, she slowly set it down, smiling, stringing out the anticipation to the hilt.
    “After checking the town records and calling Sally, all I found out was there used to be a one hundred-and-fifty-foot antenna sitting at the top of the drive just before you make a right toward Sally’s four-car garage. Tom had been trying for a few years to get the damn thing out. That small patch of ground the antenna stood on was leased from the former owner of this property for