The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher by Jessica Fletcher Read Free Book Online Page B

Lettie put in.
    â€œI used to know it very well before Elliot left,” Beth said, fingering a string bracelet she wore on her wrist. “Except for the basement. Grandpa Cliff didn’t want us to go into the basement. He said the stairs were rickety. He was going to fix them someday, but until he did, we might fall through and get hurt. I listened, but nothing fazed Elliot. He’d sneak downstairs when Grandpa Cliff wasn’t home. Told me there was nothing there to be afraid of, but he got himself pretty banged up when, sure enough, one of the steps broke. I never saw Grandpa Cliff so angry. Yelled at him that he could’ve been killed. He sent him away to boarding school after that.”
    â€œHe was a wild one, that motherless boy,” Lettie said. “Hard to contain, but whip smart. Lucy and I, we tried to teach him manners, let him know how he was supposed to behave in polite company. But Cliff said he was on the road to becoming a delinquent.”
    â€œThat was such an exaggeration,” Beth said.
    â€œMebbe so, but Cliff insisted the school would teach him what he needed to know to get along in the world. And it did.”
    â€œElliot hated it,” Beth said, pulling a cookie from the container. “Tried to run away a couple of times, but he got caught. I told him not to bother, that Grandpa Cliff would just send him back. He stopped writing to me after that.” She placed the cookie on her paper towel and pushed it away uneaten.
    â€œThat must’ve made you sad,” I said.
    â€œIt did for a while,” Lettie answered for Beth. “Cliff didn’t want her to visit anymore without his grandson at home. He said she was a reminder, that he didn’t want to see her ’cause he was missing Elliot something fierce.”
    â€œThat’s okay. I didn’t want to be here without Elliot anyway.”
    â€œDid you ever hear from him again?”
    She shrugged. “When he was in college, he had a short story published. He sent me the magazine it appeared in.”
    â€œHow nice,” I said. “Are you in touch with him now?”
    â€œNot me, but he writes to Aunt Lettie and Aunt Lucy.”
    â€œAyuh. Found himself in Alaska, he did. Got a job teaching writing and literature. Well, you wouldn’t be surprised, seein’ all these books here. Beth taught Lucy and me how to use Facebook, and one day, a message pops up from Elliot Cooper, wanting to be our friend.” She stole a glance at Beth. “So, of course, we said yes.”
    â€œAre you friends with him on Facebook as well?” I looked at Beth.
    â€œHe never asked me,” she replied. “Besides, he’s engaged to some woman who runs a jewelry shop. She probably wouldn’t appreciate him being friends with a girl from back home.”
    â€œEve said that Elliot will be coming to Cabot Cove for the funeral. Maybe you’ll get to see him then.”
    â€œI might not even recognize him. Aunt Lucy says he has a beard now.”
    Lettie waved a hand in front of her face. “Oh, you’ll know him. Elliot hasn’t changed that much.”
    We took our mugs to the sink, and while Beth washed and Lettie dried, I turned on the refrigerator to let it cool before we put milk or other food items inside. The ladies from Eve’s cleaning service had washed down the interior, and except for the faint odor of bleach from the cleanser they’d used, it was as clean as a forty-year-old refrigerator could be.
    â€œI think we should stop work for the day,” I said. “It’s going to be dark soon, and it’s enough of a strain hauling books around. Let’s not make it harder by trying to read titles in dim light.”
    â€œI walked here,” said Lettie, “but Beth can give you a ride home. She has a brand-new truck. You can put your bike in the bed.”
    â€œI’m grateful for the offer, but I think I’ll pass. I need to