Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barnett Read Free Book Online Page A

nose.
    “Bob still won’t say what he was doing at Jim’s store last night. Do you have any idea?” Tricia asked.
    “Probably hounding him for the rent. History Repeats Itself hadn’t been doing so well, what with the economy and all, and Jim was a little bit behind.”
    “How much is a little?”
    Frannie winced. “Six months.”
    No wonder Bob didn’t want to talk about it. He probably didn’t want it to seem like he had a motive for murder. It wasn’t like Bob to let someone slide for so long—and maybe his reticence was due to the fact he didn’t want others who owed back rent to find out.
    “How long had Jim had the store?” Tricia asked.
    “He was the first bookseller Bob lined up to open a shop here in Stoneham.”
    “Had they been friends?”
    Frannie nodded. “But Jim and I never really talked about Bob—we had so little time together, thanks to Jim’s mother,” she added bitterly.
    “I suppose it was really quite sweet that he had his mother come to live with him.”
    “That’s not exactly the way it was. He always lived with his mother,” Frannie reluctantly admitted.
    “He’d never lived away from home?” Tricia asked, astounded. After all, Jim was in his fifties.
    Frannie shook her head, clearly embarrassed for him. “I invited him to come live with me, but he said he couldn’t leave the old lady, even though he would’ve been only two blocks away. She’d come to depend on him. I mean, she is in her eighties.”
    Had Jim, the man obsessed with warfare, been a spineless mama’s boy?
    “I hadn’t talked to Jim in a few months. Am I remembering that he hadn’t been feeling well?”
    Frannie nodded. “He had stomach problems that came and went. Never anything too alarming—just enough to make him cancel the few dates we made.”
    Tricia frowned. “Did he see a doctor about it?”
    “No. Like I said, it wasn’t anything he worried about. And the next day he usually felt fine. He really was strong as a horse.”
    Tricia knew from experience—ten years of riding lessons—that horses were actually quite delicate creatures. “I wonder why Jim didn’t smell the gas.”
    “He had terrible allergies, and with everything coming into bloom, he probably couldn’t smell a thing.” Frannie wiped at a tear.
    Tricia laid a hand on Frannie’s thin shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Frannie.”
    “I thought I was doing okay until I called the Baker Funeral Home to see what arrangements had been made for Jim.” She took a couple of gasping breaths.
    “And?” Tricia prompted.
    “Since there’s no body, Mr. Baker said Jim’s mother has decided against a wake or service.”
    “Nothing?”
    Frannie shook her head. No wonder she was so upset. Those rituals made acceptance of death easier on the loved ones left behind.
    “I’m so sorry,” Tricia said again, knowing the words were inadequate. “But you know, there’s no reason Jim’s friends and colleagues can’t celebrate his life.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “We could hold a memorial service for him.”
    Frannie’s eyes widened, and she sat up straighter. “Yes, we could.”
    “We could invite the Chamber members and any other friends or relatives.”
    “No other relatives,” Frannie said. “Jim was an only child—and so were both his parents.”
    Tricia nodded.
    “I think I should be the one to arrange it,” Frannie said, her voice suddenly stronger. “Jim wasn’t religious, so I don’t think it should be held in a church. I’ll call Eleanor at the Brookview Inn to see if I can book the function room for Sunday morning, when all the shops in town are closed—that way the other bookstore owners can come.”
    “That’s a wonderful idea.” Planning the service would keep Frannie from dwelling too much on her grief—at least for a few days. Only time would dull her long-term pain.
    Frannie stood, suddenly all business—there was a reason Angelica’s store had thrived under her management. “I have lots to