Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1) (10 page)

BOOK: Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1)
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“Keep walking,” Pearl said, speeding up as Mary Louise and Opal slowed down.

They couldn’t exactly ignore the house doctor. Could they?

“It won’t take a minute.”

“We’re busy,” Pearl said, looking straight ahead. “It isn’t appropriate for a gentleman to see a woman in the middle of the night.”

“But it’s morning,” Dr. Smalls pointed out. “And there’s something I should tell you about Nurse Waterbury.”

“Now what?” Pearl said, turning on her heel. “Don’t tell me she’s a murderer, too.”

“Excuse me?” Fear or perhaps true confusion stamped its place in his expression. “Did you say murderer?”

“We just learned that one of our friends may have been killed,” Pearl said, blabbing everything.

“Pearl,” Mary Louise warned, turning to the doctor. “Please overlook her. We just found out the awful news and really don’t want to talk about it with an outsider. You understand.”

“Yes, uh, certainly.” He reached in his pocket and took out a business card. He passed it to Mary Louise. “If you need anything at all, please let me know.”

“Thank you,” Opal and Mary Louise chimed together.

“You mentioned Nurse Waterbury?” Mary Louise hoped this wasn’t one of those places where the employees talked about the other staff members to their guests.

He seemingly searched for the right words before he said, “You know what, never mind. It isn’t important. Have a good morning, ladies.”

He turned to go and Pearl blurted, “She isn’t a nurse. Is she?”

Mary Louise and Opal jerked at the news. What on earth was Pearl doing now?

“No. She isn’t,” Dr. Smalls said. “How did you know?”

Flabbergasted, Mary Louise turned to Pearl and asked, “How
did
you know?”

“She told me. I promised to keep her secret.”

“And look what happened to that promise,” Opal muttered.  

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Mary Louise asked.

“Death makes a person forgetful.”

“You’re not the one who died,” Opal grated out.

Dr. Smalls narrowed his eyes. “Some say death makes people remember. It’s all in how you view it.” His phone buzzed and he checked the caller ID screen. “I have to go but my condolences. I hope they catch whoever killed your friend.” He started down the hall and they all breathed a collective sigh until he stopped and asked, “By the way, this friend of yours…did he or she die in Bristol?”

“No.” From childhood forward, they’d stuck to their guns and their list of rules, one of which included how to answer someone when they weren’t sure what to say. When in doubt, respond the same. Three no-responses made everything right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Ten

 

Hours later, Mary Louise stretched her arms and wiggled her fingers before she finally rolled out of bed. She padded across the floor and threw open the drapes, fully expecting the afternoon sun. Shocked by the darkness, she rushed to her bedside and checked the time.

“It’s ten o’clock!” She hurried to the living room and startled the maid who was dusting furniture. “Oh. I um…wait a second, are you supposed to be here?”

“Lori Sheldon,” the woman said, pulling a card from her smock-style shirt. “I’m the Director of Housekeeping. You have a daily tidy-up service but the girls said they couldn’t get a response earlier.”

“Can I see some identification?” Mary Louise asked, thinking about Nurse Waterbury and the persona she’d created.

“You have it,” she said, nodding at the business card in Mary Louise’s hand. “But feel free to check with the director tomorrow. Until then, I’ll go. Housekeeping is optional anyway.” She collected her cleaning supplies and tucked a feather duster under her arm. “I take it you’ve met Nurse Waterbury.”

Not one to talk about others, Mary Louise nodded once but didn’t offer anything more. She walked Lori to the door, noticing her open purse on the kitchen counter. Peering inside, she spotted her unopened wallet and released a burdened sigh.

“We’re having a tough time adjusting. I live here with my best friends and we’re used to doing everything for ourselves,” she said, guarded. 

“Understood. Hope I didn’t startle you.”

“That’s just it,” Mary Louise said. “You did.”

“Oh,” Lori muttered, dumbfounded. “Well it um…won’t happen again.”

Still uncertain if Lori’s credentials were legitimate or if she were another Nurse Waterbury, Mary Louise said, “I’ll speak to the director if there’s a problem.” She’d first talk to her sidekicks and see if they thought she might be overreacting.

“Goodnight, Mary.”

“It’s Mary Louise,” she said, pushing the door closed. Without a second thought, she locked the deadbolt and checked the peephole.

Lori stared back at the door with a perplexed expression. Mary Louise took a backward leap. Cursing under her breath, she cautiously stepped forward. This was ridiculous. Lori didn’t look like a threat and she’d presented a business card upon introductions.

The woman was doing her job and Mary Louise should’ve been ashamed of herself. She wasn’t rude by nature. Dragging her hand through her disheveled hair, she swung open the door to apologize.

No one was there.

She looked left to right, but the long hallway was empty. Shrugging, she closed the door and locked it again. It was time to wake the girls. Tonight, they were sneaking out for a real purpose.

They had a couple of bodies to find.

****

“Tell me why we’re doing this again,” Pearl complained, crawling close to the shrubs. They were planning to snoop through the cottage once occupied by Clarence and Samantha Jackson. “If no one is here, why hide?”

“She has a point,” Opal said, brushing away grass and pebbles as she stood.

“We can’t be too sure,” Mary Louise said, thumbing the air behind her. “Johnny said he’d wait a half-mile down the road in case someone from the family has been staying here.”

“I would’ve heard about newcomers,” Pearl said, straightening her silk scarf. “Nothing gets by Denise.”

“When someone new moves to town, their logical first stop is the Five and Dime, I suppose,” Opal said sardonically.

“How’d you know?”

“Maybe that’s true if someone is moving here but for a visiting relative, the local gossip store probably doesn’t make their shortlist of things to see and do.” Then again, Mary Louise tried to avoid the place altogether. She always felt like she was under a microscope there.

“Speaking of lists.” Opal tugged a piece of paper from her pocket. “We have a few minutes to kill before we B and E—that’s break and enter, Pearl—so what do you say? Want to review these names?”

“Sure.” Pearl curiously watched as Mary Louise unhooked the strap around her neck and opened her leather binoculars case. “No one said anything about pictures.” She fluffed the back of her hair and went through the ritual of touching her ears to ensure her earrings were in place before dotting her mouth with lipstick. “But I don’t think we should have photographs all things considered. Criminals don’t take pictures of themselves while they’re in the act.”

“Why not?” Opal asked, frowning at their list. “All other acts are recorded these days. We should take selfies so they can use them for wanted posters when they put out an APB on us.”

“Tell me you’re kidding,” Pearl whispered, ducking behind the shrubs again.

“I am.” She shot Mary Louise a quick wink.

“I’ll let you know if I see anything,” Mary Louise said, lifting the binoculars to the bridge of her nose.

“Sheriff Littleton said that Clarence’s brother was in town with his nieces and nephews but they left last week so the place should be deserted.”

“He knows about this?” Pearl popped up again.

“We wouldn’t break and enter without Littleton’s knowledge,” Mary Louise said, moving from side to side as she checked out the barn, storage building, and a little house that likely served as an office or small guesthouse.

“But this isn’t Littleton’s home,” Pearl said, shaking her finger at the cottage-style house. “And even if he is top dog in this county, he shouldn’t be sending us to do his dirty work.”

Mary Louise lowered the field glasses and waited. Opal stuttered and stammered before she said, “Technically, he didn’t give us permission. Like Mary Louise said, ‘We wouldn’t do it without his knowledge’ so we told him we might stop by if we were in the area. He told us his guys would take care of it tomorrow. We acted like we were satisfied and—”


And
here we are,” Pearl groaned.

“Here we are.” Opal mocked her then retrieved a pen from her hip pocket. “Got anything yet?”

Mary Louise shook her head. “Not yet.” The house was dark but the barn area was well lit. Clarence probably kept some expensive farm machinery in the shed which had visible electricity as well. “Let’s stay here for a few minutes more just to be sure no one is hiding out in the barn.”

“Got it.”

“About that list?” Pearl turned to Opal. “I can’t remember who made the cut.”

“Johnny B, because he saw what happened and didn’t report it.”

“You don’t have to keep his name on the list,” Pearl said. “I know he didn’t do it.”

“Yes but it’s a record of possible suspects and that means we have to include everyone with motive and opportunity.”

“You mean ‘or’ because they could’ve had motive or opportunity but not both,” Pearl said, sounding like the voice of authority.

“Did Sheriff Littleton teach you that?” Opal asked, grinning.

“No,” Pearl replied sternly. “I watch Cool Cops and Rebel Robbers.”

“Good to know,” Mary Louise said, hoping Opal would skip a sidebar of sarcasm. “So we have Johnny with opportunity and no motive. Who’s next?”

“The expected—his spouse and hers.”

“And that makes more sense,” Mary Louise said. “Clarence probably found her with the pillow over her face and didn’t report it.”

“Whether he did or didn’t doesn’t matter. He had opportunity.”

“I’m impressed,” Opal said, complimenting Pearl. “And what about Kelly?”

“We don’t know if she had either,” Mary Louise said. “It bothered me that we put her on the list. Just because she shopped with us on the day her husband died doesn’t mean she had opportunity or motive.”

“She had both. Think about it. She had opportunity because she was Oscar’s wife.”

“But she didn’t live with him,” Mary Louise pointed out, maintaining barn surveillance.

Pearl stuck her index finger high in the air. “She also had motive. Her husband had befriended a dying woman and she may have been jealous.”

“Why would she be jealous of a dying woman?” Mary Louise held the binoculars at her side. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Denise once told me that Kelly moved out of the main home because Oscar didn’t give her any attention. Apparently she wanted him to show an interest in her art. She thought he would beg and ask her to come home. Instead, he changed the locks on the house. So if that’s true, and he didn’t visit Kelly but spent time with another man’s wife, she might have had motive. How would you respond in that situation?”

“I would’ve divorced him,” Mary Louise stated flatly. “Before you say anything, Pearl, you would’ve too.”

“Probably, but Denise also said Oscar’s kids were spoiled. She may have been afraid to divorce him. Who wants custody of ill-mannered children?”

“You would know how that feels better than anyone, I imagine,” Mary Louise teased, referencing her daughter-in-law.

“And so would you.”

Before they started bantering about their kids, Opal said, “We also added Denise.”

“What? Why?”

“She could be a serial killer,” Opal teased. “She always knows everything about everyone. She waves a false flag. Therefore, she made the list.”

“Who else do we have?” Mary Louise asked.

Opal jerked her head at Pearl before sealing her lips. Mary Louise narrowed her eyes and then gasped. “Oh. I forgot about him.”

“Who?” Pearl asked.

At the same time, they blurted, “Sheriff Littleton.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“He had information and covered it up,” Mary Louise said. “He questioned Johnny B without just cause. He should’ve let the local media know the coroner was missing and he definitely should’ve told the general public about Oscar’s traveling corpse.”

BOOK: Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1)
9.51Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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