Murder Gets a Life by Anne George Read Free Book Online Page B

started back to Birmingham, down Old Highway 31 that parallels a swift creek, curving gently as the creek bed curves. The woods were green and tranquil.
    I wiped my eyes. “I wonder if Chief Joseph was married.”
    “Probably,” Mary Alice said. “His clothes matched.”
    Made sense to me.

Five
    E verything slows down in Birmingham in August. The streets are almost deserted; children take longer naps. Dogs dig deep holes in backyards and lie in them, grateful for the dark coolness of damp earth.
    This was what Woofer had done. When I went out to check on him, he was snuggled in a hole he had dug under the privet hedge that we planted years ago as a screen between us and a new house that was being built behind us. The newlyweds who moved into that house now have grandchildren, and the hedge long ago outgrew our ability to control it.
    I leaned down and patted his head. “Don’t you want to go get in your igloo doghouse?” He didn’t. Wagged his tail. “You want to come in the cool house?” He didn’t. A wide yawn.
    “We’ll go for a walk after while, then, when it gets cooler.”
    He couldn’t have been less interested. I rubbed my thumbs across his forehead toward his ears in a motion he loves. So much gray. Tears sprang to my eyes again. This would not do. I got up, went into the kitchen that still smelled freshly painted, and madeFred a lemon pie for supper with a four-egg-white meringue. The filling was compliments of Jell-O, Jiffy helped with the crust, but by damn, the meringue was mine. And it looked good.
    The phone rang while I was beating the eggs, and I didn’t bother to answer it. Let the machine get it; I was beginning to feel better.
    I took a warm shower with freesia shower gel and put on green and white seersucker shorts and a white shirt. Definitely feeling better. I settled on the den sofa with a big glass of iced tea and listened to my messages.
    “ Mama ,” Haley said. “ Call me as soon as you get in. I’ve got exciting news. Bye .”
    “ Aunt Pat, sorry about hanging up on you. I’m feeling better and would love to hear how today turned out. Bye .” Well, I’d have to give myself a couple of hours to make that call to Debbie.
    “ The Hannah Home truck will be in your neighborhood picking up discards next Wednesday. If you have anything for us, please call .”
    “ Honey, I may be a few minutes late getting home. Love you .”
    “ Patricia Anne, Betty Sims here. The monthly AAUW reading group meets this Friday at ten o’clock at the Homewood library. Don’t forget .”
    My eyes were beginning to get heavy. I had time for a nap. All we were having for supper was turkey sandwiches made from stress-free turkeys raised in the shade of pecan trees. I had seen the package with that advertisement at the Piggly Wiggly and couldn’t resist, though it was walking the line of getting a little too chummy with what I was chewing.
    “ Mouse, the police found Sunshine’s bloody nightgown. I’m calling Ray .”
    Oh, Lord. I dialed Mary Alice’s number and after one ring got the answering machine. I knew from experience that this meant the line was busy. “It’s me,” I said. “Call me back.”
    No sooner had I hung up than the phone rang, startling me. “Sister?” I said.
    “No, Mama, it’s me. Wait until you hear my news.”
    “I’ve got to hang up, Haley. Something terrible has happened to Sunshine.”
    “Sunshine? What’s happened?”
    “Nobody knows, honey. A man was killed in their trailer, and Sunshine’s disappeared. But your Aunt Sister just left a message that they’d found her bloody nightgown.”
    “God, Mama!”
    “I’ll call you back as soon as I talk to Sister.” I hung up and waited for Sister to call. I was grateful that I was not the one having to break the news to Ray and wondered how long it would take him to get home.
    The phone rang almost immediately. “I can’t talk but a second,” Mary Alice said. “I’m waiting for Ray to call.”
    “Who