The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris Read Free Book Online Page B

way. Pleased to meet you.”
    “Christine Bennett. Go on. I’d like to know everything you know about her. Was her husband ever in the car when she picked you up?”
    “He was usually there, but she always drove. I think she dropped him off where he could get a ride or a train into the city. I got off first, so I don’t know.”
    “What was he like?”
    “I don’t know what you mean by that,” Gladys French said. “He was a man. He sat in the back, which was funny, and read the paper. Sometimes he’d say, ‘IBM was up a point, hon.’ Or ‘That damn GE was down again, hon.’ He always called her hon.”
    “Do you know where he worked?”
    “Haven’t the faintest. But I’m pretty sure they didn’t work in the same place. That’s why she was driving, so she could drop him off and go on her way.”
    “Did she ever tell you where she worked or what she did?”
    “Not that I recall. Pull into the next driveway.”
    The house was white with turquoise trim, a doll’s house with lush plantings and a charming dogwood tree in front. I drove up to the one-car garage and turned off the motor, expecting to help her to the front door, or at least ready to offer to do so.
    “Come inside. We’ll have a cup of tea.”
    I looked at my watch. I couldn’t leave Eddie forever and I had dinner to cook.
    “Oh, don’t look at the time. Come in for fifteen minutes. We’ll sit and have a nice cup of tea and you’ll be on your way.”
    “That sounds like fun.” I got out and opened the door for her.
    She was steady on her feet, even without using the cane, which hung on her left arm. She opened her front door, and we went inside to a living room filled with fine old furniture and a beautiful Oriental rug.
    “Come in the kitchen with me and we’ll talk while I boil the water.”
    I followed her and took down the cups and saucers at her bidding. They were the kind of fine china my aunt always used.
    “What’s your interest in Rosette?” she asked. “I’ve been answering a lot of questions but I don’t know what you’re after.”
    “She died, Gladys,” I said.
    “No.” She turned from the stove to look at me, shock on her face. “A young woman like that? She couldn’t have been more than fifty.” Then she said, “That’s why I haven’t seen her these last weeks, isn’t it?”
    “She died about a month ago. There’s reason to believe she was murdered.”
    Glady drew in her breath. “Murdered!”
    “Her body was just found last week. But she was missing for a while.”
    “Oh my goodness.” She pulled a chair away from the small table and plopped into it. “Excuse me. Just hearing that made me feel dizzy. It’s all right.” She raised her hand to keep me away. “I’m fine. Poor thing. And who are you then? Her daughter?”
    “I’m a stranger who got involved in a complicated way. The police are looking into her death and I thought I’d try to find out what I could for myself. It was just luck I ran into you in the pharmacy.”
    “Well, with my prescriptions, you could run into me there almost any day of the week. How did she die?”
    “They don’t know yet. They’re checking for drugs and poisons and things like that.”
    “She didn’t do drugs.”
    “I’m sure she didn’t. But she may have been given something. We’ll find out when the lab work is done. Can you talk now?”
    “Have I stopped talking?” She smiled and then jumped up as the teakettle began to whistle. “Go ahead, ask your questions. We’ll just let the tea steep a minute if it’s all the same to you.”
    “It’s fine.”
    We sat at the table. Before each of us was a cup with an inverted saucer over it and a string and tag hanging over the side. After a couple of silent minutes, Gladys put her saucer under the cup, squeezed the tea bag by wrapping the string around it and a spoon, and then took a little sugar with a dry spoon. She pushed the sugar pot toward me, but I chose a slice of lemon instead.
    “Did you