“Really? And no one told the police that at the time?” asked Miles.
“It sounded as if the police really didn’t want to know,” said Myrtle with a shrug. “What’s more, Boone and Rose were hosting a party the night of Tara’s disappearance and Tara was there at the party. Fortunately, Red was not.” Myrtle’s face was dark.
“Luckily for him, judging from your expression,” said Miles. “Can one really get in trouble for a teenage infraction thirty years later?”
“One can suffer by perpetually viewing a large collection of rather darling gnomes across the street,” said Myrtle. “Which I need to have Dusty pull out anyway for all the trouble Red is giving me.”
Miles said, “So let me get this straight. Tara was secretly dating Boone, for unknown reasons.”
“Boone had a reputation for being something of a wild child and Tara’s parents wouldn’t have permitted it,” said Myrtle.
“Then she went to a party that, I’m guessing, resembled our book club meeting,” continued Miles.
“Except on a greater scale,” said Myrtle. “And one other detail—she argued with Rose at some point during the proceedings.”
“Then she disappeared. And everyone decided that she’d run away.” Miles paused. “This ineptitude is making my head hurt again.”
Myrtle poured more coffee into his mug and shoved the cream and sugar at him.
Fortunately, Miles rallied a bit more at the infusion of caffeine and they set off for the grocery store. Myrtle insisted on driving.
“Remind me why you need me to come along, since you have a vehicle at your disposal?” asked Miles.
“You’re here for your muscles, Miles. I can’t possibly lug a few cases of cat food out to the car. Not holding my cane.”
Miles looked glumly at his arms. “I’m not sure I have the requisite muscles. Isn’t there a teenage neighbor who can be bribed to do this sort of errand?”
“But that negates the whole ‘saving money’ aspect! I’m trying to spend as little as possible on this purchase,” said Myrtle. “And I’m sure your muscles are up to the task.”
They walked into the small store, which was locally owned and in competition with the Piggly-Wiggly. Myrtle had little loyalty to either and was there to shop deals. “Is there anything else that we need?” she asked, frowning at the aisles.
Miles said, “I should probably point out that there has been another death. Is another casserole—cassoulet—required? Because it would be better if we just picked something up here. They have a decent deli section.”
“It might be a good way to visit Rose,” mused Myrtle. “After all, it’s hard to catch her between all of her random jobs.” She looked over the deli offerings and made a face. “It’s all rather pedestrian, isn’t it? The offerings aren’t exactly haute cuisine.”
Miles’s face was grave. “Myrtle, this is good, plain food. I’m sure that Rose, living alone, isn’t used to anything more sophisticated than this. It’s no fun to cook for one, as we both know.”
Myrtle sighed. “I suppose you’re right. So which will it be: chicken and penne pasta, or meatloaf with a side of potatoes?”
“I vote for the meatloaf,” said Miles.
“And since your opinion is unerringly male, I’ll get the chicken pasta,” said Myrtle decisively. She plopped the container in her cart. “I guess I’ll put it in one of my own casserole dishes later.” She squinted across the grocery store and grabbed Miles’s arm. “Isn’t that Edward over there? In the canned meats?”
Chapter Fifteen
MILES PEERED OVER AND nodded. “It is. I suppose no one has been giving him casseroles, since his relationship with Nell wasn’t public.”
Myrtle said, “We can talk to him on the way over to the cat food aisle.”
Miles balked. “Approaching him in the grocery store? He’s just lost someone really close to him. He might not feel much like talking.”
“All the better to offer our condolences.” Myrtle walked toward the canned meats with great determination. Miles gave a small sigh and hurried to keep up, pushing the cart as he followed.
Myrtle said, “Edward?”
Edward turned around sharply, apparently deep in his thoughts. He slumped a little when he saw Myrtle. “Hello there,” he said in a resigned voice.
“I’m so sorry about Nell. She was a wonderful lady,” said Myrtle.
Miles said, “Sorry about this.” He might have been speaking about Nell or about the fact that they were pestering Edward in a grocery store.
Edward said, “No, it’s all right. Actually, I’m glad I ran into you. I heard you were the ones who found her, right? The police wouldn’t give me any information, and I was hoping that you could.”
Myrtle and Miles exchanged a look. Myrtle said, “She didn’t suffer at all.” She crossed her fingers because she doubted that was actually the case. “And she obviously let whoever it was in. It must have been someone she knew because the door was open. That’s how Miles and I went in. We’re just very sorry.” Myrtle hoped that this small amount of information was enough for Edward to stop asking questions. Although it certainly wasn’t much.
Edward, though, took Myrtle’s assurances that Nell hadn’t suffered like a man being offered a lifeboat. Relief spread over his features. “That’s good to hear, Myrtle. Thanks. I’m just devastated over this. I’ve been very busy lately, and I hadn’t seen Nell for the last couple of days.” His eyes clouded over and got a bit misty. He blinked them furiously, and the mist dissipated.
Myrtle was relieved. The last thing she wanted to do was to try to bolster up an emotional old man. She said, “You’ve been busy?”
Miles gave her a repressive look. Her tone reflected her incredulity instead of coming across as a straight question.
Edward heard it too. “Yes. Now, I’ve taken breaks from my busyness. You’ve seen me on breaks.”
Miles hopped in. “I suppose Nell likely wanted some space after her sister’s unexpected death?”
Edward gave him a grateful look. “Yes. That’s it. That’s it, exactly. You know how some people are—they want to lick their wounds in private. Naturally, I saw Nell right after I got word about what happened to Pearl, but after that, I gave her some space to try and absorb what had happened.”
Myrtle said, “Did you talk with her on the phone at all?”
Edward shook his head. “No. I’d told her that I’d see her at Pearl’s funeral. That’s the last I heard from her. I was waiting for the funeral before I saw her again. Then there’d be a little closure, and I figured maybe she’d be ready to spend some time with other people.”
“As it happens, I’ve been looking for a new car. Well, a new used car,” said Myrtle. “I’ve spoken with Boone.”
Edward’s face reddened. Myrtle gave him a wary look. The other thing she didn’t need was to have an old guy have a heart attack right in front of her.
He said in a combative tone, “What did Boone have to say about all this? About Nell?”
Miles stepped in again since he seemed to have a calming effect on Edward. “He didn’t say anything bad at all. He thought maybe it was a burglary gone wrong. He couldn’t imagine who could possibly have wanted to murder Nell.”
Edward said gruffly, “Exactly. It must have been somebody in that nutty family.”
Myrtle raised her eyebrows. “You think so? You seem surer of that than you were the first time we talked after Pearl’s death.”
“Who else would it be?” Edward shrugged. “And Boone’s explanation is patently ridiculous. He just doesn’t want any suspicion to fall on him or his family. Of course, it has to be someone in the family, as crazy as that sounds.” Edward leaned on his shopping cart, staring at the canned contents as if they held the answer. “It must be Rose. She’s kooky enough to have done it.”
Miles said, “You believe that she pushed her mother down the stairs and then murdered her aunt?”
Edward winced at the mention of Nell’s mu
rder. “Why not? As frail as she seems, she’s surprisingly strong. The girl walks all day long. And she has quite a temper on her. There’s no reason at all why she shouldn’t have been able to do it. She’s quite a bit stronger than both Pearl and Nell would have been. What’s more, she’s been spending a lot of time with Nell lately.”
Myrtle said, “You mean in the last couple of days? When you’ve been so busy?”
A slight smile played on Miles’s lips.
Edward gave her a sharp look. “Yes, in the last couple of days. As a matter of fact, I frequently drive past Nell’s house on the way to errands and whatnot. I’ve seen Rose’s car there.”
Myrtle said, “Well, surely that’s to be expected. Her mother is recently deceased. Maybe she was looking to Nell to be a sort of mother figure to her. Or maybe Nell reminded her of Pearl and it comforted her to spend time with her.”
Edward made a face, “It’s not like Pearl and Nell were that much alike.”
Miles said, “But you believe that Rose might not have been over there with the best intentions? That she could be dangerous?”
“I certainly think it’s possible. She’s quite mercurial in mood. You’d know if you spent any time with her,” said Edward.
Myrtle remembered the scene at the Goodwill when Rose yelled at her father for giving away her mother’s things.
“Now, it was good to see you, but I must finish my shopping trip,” said Edward severely. “I have ice cream at the bottom of my cart and it’s going to melt everywhere if this continues. Have a good day.”
Miles and Myrtle loaded the cat food into Myrtle’s car. Or, rather, Miles did and Myrtle supervised.
“We’re heading back home?” asked Miles hopefully.
“Let’s not. We headed back home yesterday and look what happened.”
“I hardly think Nell’s death was our fault,” said Miles.
“If we’d figured out who was responsible for Pearl’s death, Nell’s death would never have happened.” Myrtle waved her hands in the air, a gesture that made Miles clutch the door.
“The car isn’t even moving, Miles!” said Myrtle.
Miles released the door. “If we’re not going back home, then where are we going? Because it’s been a long day, Myrtle. Book club was crazy. We should persuade Elaine to keep those photos out of the newspaper. Plus the fact that we have groceries in the car.”
“The ‘groceries’ are just cans of cat food. They’re not going to spoil in the next hour or so,” said Myrtle.
“Plus, I want to make sure that my house is in good shape and secure. I’ve never used this cleaning service, even if they do come highly recommended. I could arrive and discover that they left my front door wide open and took all my valuables.” Miles appeared to be getting himself more worked up. He took out his hand sanitizer and squirted it on both palms. “Plus, we’ve been in the grocery store and I’m not even sure how many germs must have been in there. I would like to wash my hands instead of using this alcohol-based stuff that dries out my skin.”
Myrtle opened her mouth to argue, but saw the stubborn set of Miles’s chin. She knew when she was beaten. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “But if there are any more bodies, that’s on you, Miles.”
“I’ll take full responsibility.” Miles rolled his eyes.
Myrtle was still mulling over the case as she backed up out of the parking space. Miles clutched the door again.
“You know, Edward might have been right about Rose and her moods. Perhaps she’s not really the best candidate for Sloan,” said Myrtle.
“I could have told you that. She has too much going on right now to embark on a relationship,” said Miles. “We should butt out of Sloan’s business. Clearly, there’s not the perfect woman right now for him. Maybe soon there will be.”
Myrtle said as she maneuvered the car onto their street, “The thing is, I keep remembering how emotional Rose was when I saw her at the Goodwill. She was not ready to part with her mother’s things. It was a little weird that messy old Hubert who needs a housekeeper was so eager to get rid of all of his wife’s things.”
“Well, if you’re thinking that the missing laptop could be in that mess, you’re wrong. The police went over that house with a fine-toothed comb, I’m sure. Besides, there’s a difference between being sloppy with your dishes and clothes and not wanting sad reminders of your recently deceased wife around,” said Miles.
“I suppose. But the main point is that Rose was over-wrought. Frail as she seems, she’s a strong suspect,” said Myrtle.
“What about Edward? If you’re looking for people who were recently very emotional, it seems like he fits the bill. We’ve heard that he was the one who was most violently upset when Pearl announced that her book was finished,” said Miles.
Myrtle pulled the car into Miles’s driveway. “I can see him giving Pearl a little shove down the stairs. Although I’m not quite sure why Edward would have been upstairs alone with Pearl. That part I’m not at all sure about.”
“Perhaps he had to help her move something heavy. It doesn’t have to be some sort of nefarious reason. Maybe her printer didn’t work, and he was helping her to fix it. Then he just tipped her right over the stairs,” suggested Miles.
“Do we see Edward as the sort who knows how to fix faulty printers? He hangs out with a group of old guys in front of the diner all day,” said Myrtle.
Miles shrugged.
Myrtle said, “What’s more, do we see Edward murdering Nell? And why would he do such a thing? He got all misty-eyed when he was talking about her earlier. From all accounts, he was very protective of her.”
“Maybe they had some sort of heated argument and things got out of hand,” said Miles.
Myrtle looked at Miles through narrowed eyes. “So Edward’s your pick for it. I suspect this has more to do with the fact that you’re bitter that you’re not part of the group of old guys. You want to be in the in-crowd.”
“Are they the in-crowd?” Miles looked startled.
Myrtle sighed. “Never mind. All right, we’ll keep Edward in as a suspect. Although I do think there are better prospects.” She stopped talking and squinted at Miles’s front porch. “What’s that thing over there?”
“What thing?” Miles leaned forward and peered through the windshield.
“That thing slumped in the chair on your front porch. Did you leave some old clothes out?”
“Of course not! Maybe the housekeeper left a jacket or something. Wait—is that Wanda?” asked Miles.
They quickly hopped out of the car and hurried up toward the front porch to find that the slumped clothing was indeed a napping Wanda, head resting on her curled-up hands on the arm of the wicker chair on Miles’s front porch. She startled awake when Myrtle’s cane thumped vigorously on the pathway.
Miles stooped in front of her. “Wanda? Are you all right?”
A single tear made its way down her thin cheek. She shook her head.
Chapter Sixteen
A MINUTE LATER THEY’D bustled Wanda into Miles’s now-gleaming kitchen. Miles made coffee and Myrtle dug up leftovers that she heated and shoved in front of Wanda. Wanda watched them listlessly.
“Got to tell you somethin’,” she grated.
“First, you must eat. For heaven’s sake, you’d collapsed out there!” said Myrtle.
Wanda shook her head. “Napping.”
“Well, it sure didn’t look like napping. It looked like ‘passed out.’ Now go ahead and eat this stuff.” Myrtle studied the food. “It looks like roast beef and potatoes and I’m sure it’s good if Miles made it. He can only cook four things, but each one of them is like an art form.”
Miles put the coffee, black as Wanda preferred it, in front of the woman. They watched as she inhaled the food and drank the hot coffee down, wincing as she did. Finally, she pushed the plate away from her.
“Feel better?” demanded Myrtle in a tone that suggested that the answer really needed to be ‘yes.’
“Nell? Yes. I’m sorry, but I’d have thought you’d have known that,” said Myrtle with a frown.
Wanda shook her head. “No, the girl.”
“Rose?” Miles looked horrified.
Wanda sighed. “No, the little girl. That Tara.”
“I thought we’d established that earlier,” said Myrtle, still frowning. “At least, you’d told me that was the case.”
“She’s dead an’ I know where th’ body is,” said Wanda with effort. She shivered.
Myrtle’s eyes widened. Then she turned on Miles. “Miles! It’s freezing cold in here. Wanda is turning blue! Don’t you have blankets or heavy coats or gloves or something for her?”
Miles hurried off and returned quickly with some old multi-colored afghans that looked like elderly relatives from long ago had made them. He slipped one gently around Wanda’s skinny shoulders and then draped another one on her lap that hung to the floor.
Myrtle leaned in and said carefully, “Now, Wanda, is this something new? Because I’m pretty sure I don’t remember this level of certainty from you the last time we talked about Tara Blanton.”
Wanda gave a weary nod. “Knew she was dead, but didn’t know where. Now I do.”
Myrtle said, “Well then, we’ll have to give Red a phone call.”
Miles shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “Are you sure that’s the right thing to do?”
Myrtle stared at him. “Of course, it’s the right thing to do! That’s what we always do, Miles. When there’s a body, we always call Red.”
“Not immediately,” pointed out Miles.
“Maybe not always in the first five minutes, but sometimes in the first five minutes,” said Myrtle. “You’re acting as if we’re heading into new and uncharted territory.”
Wanda looked down at the table and then looked back up at Myrtle. “He don’t want Red to think I’m crazy.”
“Crazy? Why on earth would he think that? You write an incredibly detailed column in the paper every week giving very specific horoscopes to various residents. If that’s not proof of your gifts, I don’t know what is,” said Myrtle.
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