Malice In Wonderland (Book 6)
Page 11
The caffeine began to clear the fog from her mind, and she tried to think of business instead of her parents. She owed her literary agent an answer on the offer she’d gotten for a movie option for her next book, which wasn’t even finished yet. At one point in her life, this part of her career would have been exciting, but her heart just wasn’t in it.
The sun chose that moment to peek around the clouds, and Agatha put her hand up to block it from her eyes. She was thinking of Hank, wondering if he was sitting on his back porch like he liked to do in the mornings, and wondered if she shouldn’t pay him a visit. Or it would be even better if he completely ignored her request to be alone and showed up at her place.
“Good morning.”
Agatha startled and looked around the tall hedges at the corner of the house to where the voice had come from. White dots danced in front of her eyes from the sun’s brightness, so she couldn’t make out who it was.
“Hank?” she asked.
“Oh, no dear,” a voice said with a tinkling laugh. “It’s me. Edna Merth from next door.”
Edna Merth was a fixture in Rusty Gun. There was no telling how old she was, but she was probably only a generation or two removed from the original settlers. She’d lived in the little blue and white Craftsman home since before her parents had married.
“You okay, honey?” Edna asked, moving unsteadily over the uneven ground until she stood in front of Agatha.
She was short—maybe five feet tall—and almost as round as she was tall. Her hair was thick and white, and she wore it in a bun on top of her head. Agatha had never seen her without an apron on. Today’s was lemon yellow with bright red cherries on it.
“I’m okay, Ms. Edna,” Agatha lied. “I’m just enjoying the weather.” And the solitude, she added silently.
“Shouldn’t you be out for your morning run?” Edna asked, resting her hands on her round belly. “I do enjoy watching you whiz by in the mornings. Your outfits are always so colorful. We couldn’t wear things like that in my day. Especially not in Rusty Gun. Always were a bunch of nosy hypocrites in this town.”
Agatha raised her brows at that. In her lifetime, she’d maybe had a handful of conversations with Edna Merth, and nothing deeper than the surface of a casual hello or how’s the weather. Edna had always been very active in the community, but progressing Alzheimer’s over the past decade had left her withdrawn and secluded.
“I’ll try to get a run in tonight,” Agatha said. “I just wasn’t feeling up to it this morning.
Edna clicked her tongue and nodded solemnly. She had a full-time nurse who stayed with her, and Agatha peeped around Edna’s girth to see if anyone else had followed Edna into the yard. But it was just Edna. All by herself.
“Ms. Edna, does Darleen know you’re outside?”
“I’m supposed to be napping,” she said with considerable mischief in her eyes. “I always take a nap after breakfast and my meds, but I just pretended this morning. Sometimes I do that. Darleen likes to nap after breakfast too while she’s watching Price is Right.”
Agatha’s lips twitched, but she knew it wasn’t a laughing matter. Edna seemed just fine right now, but that wasn’t always the case.
“You know Darleen will be worried half to death if she wakes up and sees you gone,” Agatha said.
Did you know Jim Brown killed his wife and buried her?” Edna said, plucking at the little red berries that grew on the bushes next to the house.
“Ahh,” Agatha said, looking again for Darleen to appear. “Jim Brown from the hardware store?”
Edna looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Oh, yes. He walks his dog every night and goes to visit his her. Carol was a nice woman. Kind of quiet, but very polite any time I went to the hardware store. He must feel a lot of guilt, I think.”
“I thought that was just a rumor,” Agatha said.
Edna had started humming to herself, and she was picking the little red berries and putting them in her apron pocket.
“I remember their wedding,” she said.
“Jim and Carol’s?” Agatha asked.
Edna’s face went completely blank with confusion. “Who are Jim and Carol?” she asked. “Your parents, dear. They had a lovely wedding.”
Agatha’s mouth went dry. She didn’t know how they’d gone from talking about Jim Brown killing his wife to her parent’s wedding, but there they were. And how odd for Edna to touch on something that had been so heavy on her heart all morning.
They were so young and in love,” Edna added with a soft sigh. “I’m sorry for your loss. They were wonderful people.”
She felt the tears welling in her eyes, so she buried her face in the oversized coffee cup she held and inhaled the warmth.
“I know you miss them,” Edna continued. “Emory and Elaine were wonderful to have as friends and neighbors, even though Tom and I were old enough to be their parents. I can imagine they were even better to have as parents.”
Agatha flinched at the touch of gentle fingers on her shoulder.
“They were,” Agatha said, her voice catching. She was an introvert—a solitary person by choice—but it was rare she felt lonely as she did today.
“I didn’t mean to intrude,” Edna said. “But I knew today was the anniversary of their terrible accident, and I wanted to tell you how special they were.”
“I hadn’t even realized it was today,” she said. “And yes, they were very special. I appreciate you coming over to tell me. It means a lot. I don’t know why it’s hitting me so hard this year.”
“I lost my Thomas over twenty years ago, and I still have bad days. There are days I miss him so much I can still smell his scent in the house, or the way the mattress dipped when he got into bed. Grief is a strange and terrible thing. But it’s important to grieve. It’s healthy.”
Agatha scooted over on the porch step so Edna could wedge in next to her.
“I’m sorry you still hurt over him, Ms. Edna.” And Agatha could see that her mind was clear as a bell as she remembered her husband.
“Tom was my one true love,” she said, her smile nostalgic. “He never cared a lick for all the gossips or busybodies, or the things people said. He always loved me. No matter what.”
“That’s sweet,” Agatha said. “And very special. You’re a lucky woman.”
Edna looked at her and she could tell in an instant that whatever clarity she’d had was long gone.
“Yes, it was a lovely wedding, dear. The whole town was there. And I’ll never forget what Pastor Ebenezer Schrute said during the ceremony.”
“What was that?” Agatha asked. She noticed Darleen had come out of the front of the house with a frantic look in her eyes, and then gave a visible sigh of relief when she saw Edna sitting on the porch with Agatha.
“Never be afraid to be the one who loves the other the most,” Edna said.
“Makes sense,” Agatha said. “I can see why people might be afraid to love if losing them hurts that bed.”
“But worth it,” Edna said, giving her a sweet, child-like smile. “You’re a sweet girl, Elaine. You’d better go check on the baby. I think I hear her crying.”
“Elaine?” Agatha said, her mouth going dry as dust.
“Ms. Edna,” Darleen called out. “You know you’re not supposed to leave the house without telling me. Now come on back. You missed your nap, and you’ll be tired this afternoon when we go to the grocery store.”
“I enjoyed our chat,” Edna said, hefting her weight up off the stairs. “Bring that sweet baby over later if you get a chance.”
Agatha watched as she went back to her house and introduced herself to Darleen as if it were the first time, and her eyes stung with the sadness of it all. Her thoughts were jumbled as she finished her coffee, but she kept going back to what Edna had said about Jim Brown killing his wife. Maybe that was worth looking into a little deeper. Just in case.
Also by Scott Silverii
Books
by Liliana Hart and Scott Silverii
The Harley and Davidson Mystery Series
The Farmer’s Slaughter
A Tisket a Casket
I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus
Get Your Murder Running
Deceased and Desist
Malice in Wonderland
Tequila Mockingbird
Gone With the Sin
* * *
American Police & Military Heroes series
Call Of Duty
FAST
Rapid Fire
End Of Watch
* * *
A DEA Undercover Thriller series
SAINT
JUSTICE
SINNER
Cajun Murder Mystery Short-Story Series
By The Numbers (#1)
The Shepherd (#2)
Geaux Tiger (#3)
Cajun Cooking (#4)
Crooked Cross (#5)
Cracked Cross (#6)
Double Cross (#7)
Creole Crossroads (#8)
Bayou Backslide: Special Novella Edition
Bayou Roux: The Complete First Season
F.O.R.C.E Adventure Series
The Darkest Hour
Split Second
New York Minute
About Liliana Hart
Liliana Hart is a New York Times, USAToday, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of more than sixty titles. After starting her first novel her freshman year of college, she immediately became addicted to writing and knew she’d found what she was meant to do with her life. She has no idea why she majored in music.
Since publishing in June 2011, Liliana has sold more than six-million books. All three of her series have made multiple appearances on the New York Times list.
Liliana can almost always be found at her computer writing, hauling five kids to various activities, or spending time with her husband. She calls Texas home.
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lilianahartauthor@gmail.com
About Scott Silverii
Liliana’s writing partner and husband, Scott Silverii blends over 25 years of heart-stopping policing Special Operations experience.
From deep in the heart of south Louisiana’s Cajun Country, his action-packed writing style is seasoned by the Mardi Gras, hurricanes and crawfish étouffée.
Don’t let the easy Creole smile fool you. The author served most of a highly decorated career in SOG buying dope, banging down doors, and busting bad guys.
Bringing characters to life based on those amazing experiences, Scott writes it like he lived it.
Lock and Load – Let’s Roll.
Also by Liliana Hart
A Harley and Davidson Mystery
The Farmer's Slaughter
A Tisket a Casket
I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus
Get Your Murder Running
Deceased and Desist
Malice In Wonderland (Book 6)
Tequila Mockingbird (Book 7)
Gone With The Sin
Also by Scott Silverii
A Harley and Davidson Mystery
The Farmer's Slaughter
A Tisket a Casket
I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus
Get Your Murder Running
Deceased and Desist
Malice In Wonderland (Book 6)
Tequila Mockingbird (Book 7)
Gone With The Sin
Standalone
A Darker Shade of Blue -Writer's Guide To Police Culture