Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 04 - Awkward Moments by Marja McGraw Read Free Book Online

gone to town for supplies and hadn’t come back. She said she took one look at Henry and knew he was the man for her. She wanted to be with him for the rest of her life.”
    “ Love,” Mikey said with disgust. “Are things always about love? Can’t we get to the good part of the story?”
    Charlie was cleaning another table near us and grinned at Mikey, but didn’t say anything.
    Stu chuckled. “Wait until you’re a little older and you’ll see this from a different angle. But, yes, there is more to the story.”
    Mikey was about to say something, but Essie showed up with our food.
    “I heard you talkin’ about old Henry,” Essie said. “Are you tellin’ that story again?” She set down a tray filled with plates and began serving our dinner.
    “They found old Henry’s remains today, Essie. Have a little respect.” Stu grinned at Essie.
    “Mercy me,” she said. She studied Stu for a moment. “Are they sure it’s him?”
    “Looks like it.” Stu picked up a fork and casually plucked a forkful of mashed potatoes off the plate.
    Essie pulled a chair over from another table and sat down with us. “Maybe I need to listen to your story. I might have forgotten some of the details.”
    Stu laughed. “You just want to know if his treasure showed up along with his body. And, yes, at least part of it was buried with him.” He looked at Mikey. “My little friend found old Henry this morning.”
    Apparently we’d neglected to tell Stu not to mention the gold. I glanced at Essie , who very pointedly set her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her intertwined fingers, watching Stu intently.
    “Now where was I?” Stu asked, ignoring her.
    “You were talking about love,” Mikey said.
    “Oh, yes. Well, it’s really about love and jealousy and a friendship that turned into hatred.”
    “Sounds like the stuff a dime novel is made of,” Chris said.
    “Essie,” a male voice yelled from the kitchen. “Come pick up your order.”
    “That husband of mine d oesn’t give me a moment’s peace.” She pushed her chair back to the other table and left us, but her grin belied her complaint about her husband.
    “So, anyway,” Stu continued, “Henry and Frannie made their way to San Francisco, and Melvyn followed them. He was bound and determined to have Frannie for himself, but old Henry told him to get lost.
    “Melvyn tried changing his tactics. He started acting like he was over Frannie and he made up to Henry. Then he talked Henry into going in search of gold, thinking Frannie would stay in San Francisco and get tired of waiting for her husband. He’d come back into the picture and steal her away. But it didn’t happen that way.”
    “I’ve got two questions,” Chris said. “Did Frannie tell her friends here all of the story or did you have another source? And why does everyone call him old Henry?”
    “Most of this is what Frannie told the ladies, but we also found old letters and a journal. Surprisingly, the journal belonged to Melvyn, not Frannie. Why does everyone call my uncle old Henry? I guess it’s a combination of an old story and an old man. He was no spring chicken when he disappeared.”
    “Okay, let’s hear the rest of the story. I shouldn’t have interrupted, but I was curious.” Chris leaned forward and worked on eating his dinner.
    Stu cut a piece of steak and ate it before continuing. “Well, Uncle Henry figured out what Melvyn was up to, but not before he found a vein of gold. Once again, Melvyn said he was going in to town for supplies, and he didn’t come back.
    “From what old Henry said, the gold practically leapt into his hands, so he left to file a claim and to find Melvyn. On a hunch, he rode back to San Francisco. Melvyn was trying to woo Frannie, Henry caught him at it, and they had it out.
    “According to Frannie, Henry had murder in his eyes, but didn’t follow through. At the last minute he took pity on Melvyn which was just about his undoing. Melvyn had no