A Premonition of Murder by Mary Kennedy Read Free Book Online

“But I know Abigail made every effort to bring her sister’s killer to justice, if there really was foul play in her death,” she said, rising to Abigail’s defense.
    â€œWas Abigail a recluse, back when her sister died?” I asked.
    â€œOh my, yes; nothing has changed in that regard,” Rose said. “In fact, I think she was worse in those days. I remember her saying she wanted to hire a private detective tolook into Desiree’s death, but she had no idea how to go about it. She finally turned the whole matter over to her lawyer, and she let him do his best to get to the bottom of it. I don’t know what he uncovered, but nothing more was ever said about it. I didn’t want to bring it up for fear of upsetting her. I suppose in the end, Abigail had to accept that her sister’s death would remain a mystery.”
    â€œA hard thing to accept,” Ali murmured.
    For a long moment, no one spoke. The only sound in the cozy living room was the whirring noise of the Casablanca fan. Barney jumped into Ali’s lap, and she picked him up and hugged him. Whenever she’s upset, she finds it very comforting to snuggle the cats close to her and speak softly to them. Scout sashayed in front of the sofa, tail swaying, like a queen reviewing her loyal subjects. Lucinda and Sybil, who are big-time cat lovers, bent down to pet her.
    I was beginning to wonder if we should call the meeting to a close. Abigail’s death had seemed to shatter the calm of the group, and no one was too interested in venturing into other topics. And then Lucinda Macavy spoke up. “I have a dream to report.” She went on to describe a dream about her teeth falling out. “I woke up in the morning, looked in the mirror, and saw that all my teeth had fallen out. I was horrified.” Her hand instinctively went to cover her mouth. “It seemed so real! I gasped out loud and ran downstairs to call someone for help.” She paused, looking a little sheepish. “Has anyone had a dream like this? I feel a little silly mentioning it, but it really bothered me. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.”
    â€œYou’re not being silly,” Sybil cut in. “If it’s important to you, it’s important to us.”
    â€œMy uncle Bubba had a dream like that,” Etta Mae said. “He dreamt that all his teeth fell out. When he got up in the morning and looked in the mirror, he had no teeth.”
    â€œSurely you’re not saying his teeth really
did
fall out in the night.” Dorien said. She has a sharp, almost ferret-like face. It’s a shame, but her choppy haircut seems to emphasize her worst features.
    â€œWell, no,” Etta Mae said, backpedaling swiftly. Dorien has the power to intimidate almost everyone. “He had all his teeth pulled out years ago. He forgot to put his dentures in when he went to bed the night before. That’s why he nearly had a conniption when he looked in the mirror.”
    â€œOh, well, that explains it,” Dorien said mockingly. “Now it makes perfect sense to us.” She gave a little eye roll to the group, and I knew it would be a long time before Etta Mae spoke up again. Dorien’s sarcasm is a real turnoff, but Ali and I have never come up with a workable solution.
    â€œGoing back to Lucinda’s dream,” I said, hoping to ease the tension I sensed gathering in the room. “Persia, what do you make of it?”
    Persia immediately jumped in to tell Lucinda that “missing teeth” is a classic anxiety dream and it probably meant that she was experiencing some unusual stress in her life. “Is there something special going on right now, dear?” Persia asked.
    Lucinda nodded. She went on to say that one of her cousins was coming to Savannah for a visit and she was in a tizzy trying to get everything ready for her arrival. “My house is such a disaster,” she wailed. “My