Murder in the Air by Marilyn Levinson Read Free Book Online Page B

ranch.”
    They watched him extricate his wife from a group of women and head for his car. Lydia said, “If I were a suspicious person, I’d say your comment about the body they unearthed upset Mr. Ron Morganstern.”
    “Precisely what I was thinking,” Andrew agreed. “But that’s neither here nor there. Good-bye, ladies. I’ll see you both soon.” He winked at them and went on his way.
    “There’s something different about Andrew,” Barbara mused. “He looks absolutely—sexy.”
    “Sexy? Andrew?” Lydia threw her friend a look of disbelief. “Let’s see how Evelyn’s bearing up.”
    They found Evelyn weeping on a bench in the protective care of her daughter and son-in-law. As Lydia and Barbara approached, she stretched out her arms and they hugged her.
    “My poor Daniel,” she moaned. “Polly adored him, but the others couldn’t care less that he’s gone. I’ll be glad when they go home and leave me in peace.”
    “I’m so sorry, Evelyn. You’ll miss him more than anyone,” Lydia said, her eyes tearing up. The funeral brought back the pain of Izzy’s death more than a year before.
    Evelyn sniffed. “Who’s going to brew my coffee every morning? Daniel made the best coffee in the world.”
    Lydia and Barbara sat on either side of Evelyn as she sobbed quietly. After a few minutes, they nodded to Gayle to reclaim her mother and joined the mourners moving toward their cars, either to go home or to the shiva at Polly’s.
    “I’ve had enough for one day,” Barbara said as they passed headstone after headstone on the way to the exit.
    “Me, too,” Lydia agreed. “We’ve all week to pay a shiva call.”
    It was with a sense of relief that she drove past the gatehouse and entered Twin Lakes. She declined Barbara’s offer to come in for coffee and drove slowly home. She was emotionally drained from seeing Daniel laid to his rest. And she felt a pang of guilt for not having done more to help him resolve his problem. What if he’d been dwelling on it, and stress from that had brought on the coronary? She thought about Ron Morganstern and Mick Diminio, who had known Daniel when they were young, though Ron made it sound as though they were no longer friends.
    If they were no longer friends, why had Evelyn invited them to Daniel’s party? Had Ron and Mick taken part in a crime when they were young? Ron had reacted when Andrew mentioned the body unearthed by the excavators. His reaction had nothing to do with the sun.
    Daniel and Evelyn’s house looked abandoned—no lights were on, no cars in sight. Would Evelyn ever be able to step foot inside without being reminded of Daniel’s unexpected death?
    As soon as she pulled into her driveway, Lydia was overcome by a state of restlessness. Though she had chores to see to, she was too agitated to focus on getting them done. She found herself backing out and exiting Twin Lakes. She’d go and pay a shiva call that day, after all.
    The street where Polly lived was already lined with cars on both sides of the road, and Lydia had to park her Lexus at the end of the long block. She walked back, a five-pound box of cookies in hand. She entered the colonial-style house, which was the mirror image of Meredith’s, and went in search of Polly.
    The downstairs rooms were filled with people eating from paper plates laden with food amid the din of several conversations going at once. Huge platters of delicatessen and accompanying salads covered the dining room table. Lydia left her box of cookies on the kitchen counter, which was crowded with cake and cookie platters, a coffee urn, and sodas. She extended her sympathy to Polly’s daughters and waved to Matt, engaged in conversation with an elderly woman. She saw no sign of Polly.
    She finally caught sight of her hostess entering the maid’s room at the far end of the narrow hallway. Believing Polly had gone to get more paper cups or some such item, Lydia strode toward her, glad for the opportunity to catch her