Dior or Die (Joanna Hayworth Vintage Clothing Mysteries Book 2) by Angela M. Sanders Read Free Book Online Page A

the edge of one wall. Mary Frances stopped at a door and knocked twice before opening it.  
    The scent of humid soil greeted Joanna's nose before she even entered the bedroom. Once inside, she saw why. Orchids as brilliant as parrots perched on nearly every surface. In the center of the cacophony of sword-like leaves and frilled petals stood a double bed made up in crisp white sheets. In the bed lay the Mother.
    This was the room from which Joanna had seen the moving curtains outside, but it must have been someone else at the window since the Mother Superior clearly couldn't walk on her own.
    "Mother, I'd like you to meet Joanna and Apple. They stopped by to ask about Vivienne's clothes. I told them we'd put them up for sale already."
    The Mother first examined Joanna, then shifted her eyes to Apple, where they rested longer. Leaning against the wall on the other side of the bed was a folded up wheelchair. A porcelain tea cup painted with violets sat empty on the bedside table next to a half-eaten macaron—where did she get such good-looking macarons in Portland?—and a gold and green Cattelya orchid.  
    "You can go now," the Mother said to Mary Frances. She turned her head toward Apple. "You. What do you know about it?"
    Joanna raised her eyebrows. What was she talking about?  
    Apple returned the Mother's stare. "Nothing really. Some strange music, but that's all."
    Joanna's gaze shot to the bedridden nun. What was going on?  
    The mother nodded. "The police have it all wrong. They'll never figure out who killed her if they keep this up."
    "Are you talking about who killed Vivienne North?" Joanna said. The Mother must have been able to hear them downstairs.
    "Of course. You want your clothes, don't you, the dresses you bought at the auction?"
    "Well, yes."
    "Then you're going to have to help keep the police on track. I can't get out like I used to. Vivienne was a dear friend to us, and to me in particular." The old woman shifted in her bed. "Besides, we need that money."
    Joanna shook her head. "Look, I'm happy to call the police and ask when they'll be finished with Vivienne's things, but as far as the investigation goes, it's in the police's hands." She remembered the murder investigation she'd been sucked into the summer before. No way she was going down that road again. "I mean, have you talked to the detective in charge yet?"
    "Mary Frances," the Mother bellowed. Quick steps sounded on the stairs. "Here's the deal. You look into Vivienne's death, and I'll make sure you have Vivienne's clothes—the ones we have up for sale—for your charity auction."
    "But I don't even know where I'd start."
    Sister Mary Frances stood breathing hard at the door. The Mother said to Joanna, "You'll make do. She'll help." She nodded at Apple. "But don't do anything stupid. And report back." The Mother fell back into her pillows, her face whiter than before. She closed her eyes.
    "This way," Mary Frances whispered.
    On the street, Joanna was grateful for the cool air. "What was that all about? Did all that really just happen?" Or had they somehow stepped through a tear in reality and ended up on the set of The Sound of Music ?
    Apple didn't reply, but glanced back at the house.
    "And what's up with the way she looked at you?"
    "She's psychic, too." Her voice was thoughtful.  
    "For God's sake," Joanna said. "I have a headache."

CHAPTER EIGHT

    "What are you thinking?" Paul asked. Holding a hand plane in his fingers, he stood over his workbench and contemplated the leg of a table. Its curve, in raw mahogany, approximated the calf of a tall dancer. Cyd Charisse, maybe.  
    Joanna leaned back in the armchair and rested her leg on a box. Not quite Cyd Charisse, but could be worse. Cyd would have liked her shoes—pale green satin closed-toe sandals, although the fabric was frayed and soles scuffed. "When I was a kid, I used to climb fir trees. The big ones have good footing. You can get pretty far up, but spiky little branches poke out