Mother's Day Murder by Leslie Meier Read Free Book Online

else.”
    “Actually, this Globe belongs to Mr. Marzetti,” said Dot, naming the owner of the store. “But what do you say we split it, for free? There’s six sections. You can each have three.”
    “I get City and Region,” they both said simultaneously.
    “Now, that’s a problem,” said Dot, folding the paper and tucking it under her arm. “I think you better both take the Herald . No charge.”
    “Oh, all right. give her the Globe, ” exclaimed Bar, throwing her hands up. “At least the Herald supports our president, and I won’t have to deal with the Globe ’s liberal bias just to find out what happened to that poor girl.”
    “It’s not biased,” insisted Tina, snatching the paper from Dot. “It’s the Herald that’s biased.”
    Bar’s eyes were blazing, and she was about to reply when Lucy interrupted. “I think you should read the Pennysaver, ” she said, unable to resist a plug. “Tomorrow’s issue has an exclusive story about the Corinne Appleton case.”
    They both tuned in and looked at her. Then they both burst into laughter and went on their separate ways, shaking their heads.
    “What’s so funny?” asked Lucy when Dot returned to the register. “We do a good job at the Pennysaver . I’ve got the only interview with the guy who found the bones.”
    “I never miss an issue,” said Dot, hitting the TOTAL button. “That’ll be one-oh-three fifty-seven.”
     
    Libby greeted Lucy enthusiastically when she arrived home with the groceries, but despite her Labrador grin and wagging tail, most of her attention was focused on the bags of food. She gave each one a thorough sniffing, especially those containing meat.
    “Down, down,” ordered Lucy as she struggled to hoist several heavy bags onto the counter. It was only when she tossed a handful of dog biscuits on the floor that Libby turned her attention away from the bag containing lamb chops, on sale for $5.99 a pound. Now that the family was smaller, Lucy could afford an occasional splurge.
    When Lucy finished putting everything away, she made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and took it to the kitchen table, along with a glass of milk. She sat there, staring out the window at the woods beyond the backyard, chewing thoughtfully.
    This time of year she liked to walk in the woods, looking for wildflowers. They came in quick succession, beginning with lush green carpets of skunk cabbage in damp places and, tucked away in sheltered nooks, jack-in-the-pulpits. She knew where the trillium bloomed every year, and she often found bloodroot, foamflowers, and dogtooth violets. There were also survivors from long-vanished farms: lilacs and apple trees, patches of lily of the valley and, come summer, day lilies. But now that Corinne’s bones had been found in the woods, she wasn’t quite so keen to go hunting for wildflowers. It was silly. Shiloh was miles away, and there was little chance she would come upon anything more gruesome than a pile of feathers or a tuft of fur remaining from a hawk’s dinner, but she didn’t want to chance it. And, anyway, she sighed, getting up to put her plate and glass in the dishwasher, she’d be thinking of Corinne the whole time, thinking of her sweet, young body left exposed in the woods, where scavengers, like raccoons, coyotes, and crows, even pets, like cats and dogs, could gnaw on her.
    Just thinking about the evil person who would do such a thing, who would harm a defenseless young girl, made her angry, and she made good use of her emotions, scrubbing away dirt and grime in the kitchen and bathrooms, and thoroughly vacuuming the family-room carpet. She was just putting her cleaning tools away when Libby’s bark announced the arrival of the school bus.
    She opened the door to let Libby out to greet Zoe and was surprised to see that Sara had taken the bus home, too. This was surprising because she knew Sara was planning to stay at school to watch Chad play baseball. She automatically reached