Deep Fried Trouble (Eugeena Patterson Mysteries) by Tyora Moody Read Free Book Online Page B

Mary Fleming. How long were you friends?”
    “Why is that important?”
    “Sounds like you might have known her the best. Would you say she had any enemies?”
    Enemies . God has some sense of humor. Mary and I had been the best of friends. We lived down the street from each other, our children played together, our husbands went fishing and we even taught at the same junior high school for years. She taught English and me, social studies. We probably spent more time in each other’s classrooms sharing our woes than with other teachers in our own departments.
    Then it all changed.
    Would I classify myself as Mary’s enemy?
    I remember it like yesterday. Mary came over just as nice as she could. An aroma wafted from the cloth-covered object in her hands. I let my nose inhale one of my favorite scents. I was known as the cake and cookie baker, while Mary was the one known for her pies.
    Now that day the apple pie would’ve been a nice offer, because it sure smelled heavenly, but the next words out of Mary’s mouth, made me want to smash that golden crust creation in her face. Never did get a slice of that pie.
    I gulped and looked at Detective Wilkes’ face. “No, I couldn’t imagine anyone not liking Mary. She stuck close to herself in later years, but mainly out of grief.”
    “I understand she had some tragedy.”
    “Yes, about five years ago, she lost her husband and her only daughter in a car accident. She’s been withdrawn since then.”
    “I understand there was some animosity between you two.”
    Here we go . “Yes, our friendship suffered a setback over an incident. At the time I was too pig-headed to see that Mary was telling the truth. By then it was too late.”
    “Want to share the details?”                            
    Do I have a choice?
    “Our girls were good friends back then. My daughter Leesa went over to the Flemings’ for a slumber party. Sometime during the night, Mary’s daughter, Jennifer, Leesa and some other girls got into Mary’s jewelry.”
    A memory of Mary’s face. The hurt. My emotions at the moment. It all came back.
    “Mrs. Patterson?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. One of the pieces of jewelry went missing. It was an heirloom passed down in Mary’s family from I don’t know ... late 1800s. It was valuable and very precious to Mary.”
    “Did she say why she kept it in the jewelry box?”
    “I have no idea. I’ve always asked myself that question. She might have mentioned she wore it for special occasions. Anyhow, she told me her daughter thought Leesa took the ring. I asked Leesa about it, she said she did wear it for awhile, but she took it off and placed it back in the jewelry box.”
    “It really seems so silly now, but it just got out of hand. Mary was talking to people and I vented to people that Mary was slandering my daughter’s name calling her a thief and...”
    “Mrs. Patterson, I looked up some information. Do you know where I can find your daughter?”
    The air conditioner vent was on the other side of the room, but a chill ran down my arm. “Why? I mean I thought you were here to ask me about Mary?”
    Detective Wilkes cleared her throat. “Your daughter, when she was younger, she did have a problem with taking things. Right?”
    Not again. No, no, no, I knew my silence answered the detective’s question. But what could I say. Not too long after the incident at the Fleming’s, Leesa did get caught shoplifting among other things.
    All that time I defended her, she made me eat every last righteous word I’d foamed at the mouth about my child.
    “Mrs. Patterson, if you can tell me how to get in touch with Leesa, I really need to talk to her.”
    I narrowed my eyes. Leesa was still my child, my baby. I don’t know what she’d gotten into, but this detective wouldn’t be talking to her at least not without a lawyer. I hoped it didn’t come down to that. But I had to expect the worst.
    Leesa’s surprises were not for the faint of