Murder Shoots the Bull by Anne George Read Free Book Online Page A

there.”
    “Sue?”
    “Sue Batson, Sophie’s other daughter. I think she’s the reason Sophie came back to Birmingham. She was in real bad shape, you know.”
    “Sue?” Some pronouns needed clarifying here.
    “Sophie, Patricia Anne. She was diabetic and was havingall kinds of circulatory and eye problems. And Sue’s husband is a doctor.”
    “Lord, Mitzi. I’m so sorry.”
    “And facing it so bravely, Arthur said.” Mitzi held the paper napkin to her eyes. “I guess that’s the only blessing in this whole thing. She won’t have any suffering to go through.”
    “Not much of a blessing.”
    Mitzi shook her head no.
    “Do they have any idea what happened? The doctor at the Hunan Hut said it was her heart.”
    Mitzi shook her head no again. “They haven’t come up with a final report, just that they think it was poison.”
    I thought of Sophie lying across the seat of Arthur’s car, the convulsions wracking her. Poison? I felt cold again.
    Woofer came out of his doghouse and ambled over to the oak tree that he has left a white line around over the years. He marked his territory again, stretched, and lay down in the sun.
    But Mitzi wasn’t going to let me escape. She took several sips of coffee and continued.
    “I said, ‘Lord, Arthur, maybe it was something she was deathly allergic to, especially with her diabetes.’”
    I nodded. “Arthur was eating some peanut stuff. A lot of people are allergic to peanuts, just being around them. And there’s all kinds of stuff like monosodium glutamate in Chinese restaurants.”
    “He said no. It was some kind of poison.” Mitzi put her cup down. “And you know what was ironic? Sophie had told her girls that if anything happened to her, they were to call Arthur, and he was the one who had to call them.”
    “Sounds like she was scared something was going to happen.”
    Mitzi shrugged. “She knew she was sick.”
    “True.”
    “But he said that last night he felt like he was just in the way. There wasn’t anything he could do for Arabella and Sue. Maybe comfort them a little. Sue and her husband live down in Pelham. She pretty much fell apart.”
    “That’s understandable.” I looked at the newspaper again. One tiny paragraph stating the fact that a woman had died a violent death. Somehow there should be more. There were sixty-four years here of loving, and child-bearing, of work and fun, and, yes, suffering.
    The phone rang again. I ignored it. The answering machine would pick it up.
    “Mary Alice again, you think?” Mitzi asked.
    “Probably. Let me pour you some more coffee.”
    “No, but thanks. I have to go. I need to go get myself cleaned up. Get myself pulled together.” Mitzi pushed her chair back. The phone quit ringing; the machine picked up.
    I followed her to the door. “Where’s Arthur this morning? Is he at home?”
    “He’s gone to the office. He said he had some work he had to do. I don’t think he’ll stay long, though. He’s too upset, and neither one of us got a wink of sleep last night.” Mitzi turned and hugged me. “Thanks for listening.”
    “Anytime. Call me if you need me to do anything. And, listen. Don’t worry about Bridget moving to Atlanta. It’s just a couple of hours drive.”
    “Two hours too far.”
    I watched her go over and pat Woofer before she opened the gate and went into her own yard. Amazing. I had lived next to Mitzi and Arthur for almost forty years and thought I knew the basic facts of their lives. Well, scratch that belief.
    The phone rang again. I almost didn’t answer it because I needed time to sit down and digest what Mitzi had told me. But, figuring it was Mary Alice and that she would call every five minutes, I picked it up and said hello.
    “Aunt Pat?” Debbie whispered.
    “What’s the matter? Why are you whispering?”
    “Because Lisa’s in the bathroom.”
    “Lisa who?”
    “Lisa, your daughter-in-law Lisa.”
    “Lisa? What’s she doing here?”
    “She’s left