Pickled (An Alex Harris Mystery) by Elaine Macko Read Free Book Online Page B

was this a spur of the moment thing on the part of the killer? And if so, what had set someone off to the point of murder?

 
     
     
Chapter 13
     
     
    My sister Samantha and I have a good thing going. We have our own business housed on the first floor of a quaint old house, and we have two great employees to round things out. Millie Chapman has been with us almost from the beginning and she runs the place with a precision that would make General Patton look like a slacker. And Marla Scottsman, our newest addition, is a part-timer who helps out with accounts and brings a sense of wisdom and logic to Samantha’s and my sometimes frantic personalities. Most people hate the thought of getting up and going to work, but I actually look forward to my day. I’m usually pretty busy, plus I get to spend time with nice people.
    “Hey, where’ve you been?” my sister asked the minute I walked in the door. “We’ve been waiting to discuss last night’s season premiere.”
    “Reinforcements,” I said. I held up the box of strudel, getting a big smile from Sam.
    Once we all had our teas and plates of strudel, we settled in my office, which, for some reason, just always seemed to be the place we congregated.
    I cradled my cup in my hands hoping the warmth would ease the pain in my fingers. “I miss Matthew,” I said, referring to the character of Matthew Crawley who was killed off on the season finale last year.
    “Me, too.” Millie almost looked like she might burst into tears.
    It was an understandable fact actors got bored with their parts and wanted to move on, but did they have any idea what it did to their adoring fans?
    I reached for a piece of strudel and dropped it on my desk.
    “Hey, what’s going on?” Sam asked. She didn’t miss much and I could see how she was looking at me. She had been watching me earlier as I massaged my wrist but right now wasn’t the time to explain I was having some problems.
    “Just clumsy, plus it’s still hot from the microwave.” I gave her a smile but could tell she wasn’t buying any of it.
    We talked for a bit longer, wondering if Lady Mary would ever be happy again and why Edith had so much trouble in the romance department, and then Millie left to get ready for an appointment. I was afraid my sister would start with the questions so I quickly changed the subject to the murder.
    “The suspects are piling up with the widow right at the top of the list.”
    “It’s always the spouse,” Sam said.
    “Mrs. Bryson told me Humphrey planned to divorce her and he said he would rather kill her than give her a dime. I’m wondering if she got to him first.”
    “Were they living in the same house?”
    I nodded. “As far as I know they were.”
    “Would you live in a house with someone who made those kinds of threats?” my sister asked.
    I thought about this a bit. “Maybe that was just the way he talked. He was a bully and she knew it so she might not have taken his words seriously, but I think I need to pay the widow another visit.”
    My sister went back to her office and I got some work done over the next couple of hours. About eleven-thirty I glanced at my watch and figured I didn’t have time to go to Pirates Cove to speak with the widow Bryson again before my doctor’s appointment, but I was feeling antsy and didn’t relish sitting around here for another hour.
    Down the hall I could hear my sister talking on the phone and thought it a good time to make my get-away before she badgered me with more questions. I told Millie I would be back later in the afternoon and drove over to Meme’s neighborhood. I drove into the community from another street so as not to have to go by my grandmother’s house. I didn’t have time to stop right now and I wanted to see if I could catch Howard alone at his home, and then I remembered his foot-washing fetish. I parked the car and rummaged around in the trunk for a clean pair of socks. I had washed my gym clothes over the weekend