A DOWRY OF DEATH by Gin Jones

Author:Gin Jones [Jones, Gin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

Helen spent the rest of Tuesday and most of the next day studying everything she could find online about Melissa's disappearance. The local reporting was dreadful, mostly written by Geoff Loring, a journalist whose specialty was covering municipal meetings and social events, not investigative journalism. Unfortunately, the larger news services had depended on Geoff for the boots-on-the-ground work that he hadn't actually done. As best she could tell, he'd simply summarized the police department's official statements without talking to any witnesses himself.

Still, there were hundreds of articles online, with everyone interested in a real-life runaway bride, as they'd believed she was at the time. Debs had written a letter to the editor, insisting that Melissa was dead, not a spunky heroine in a romantic comedy, but that had been the lone voice of dissent. Everyone else had completely bought into the runaway bride theory.

No, that wasn't entirely true. There were a few abducted-by-aliens advocates, and three or four conspiracy theorists blaming assorted villains—corporations, governments, billionaires—but they'd been too obscurely complicated for Helen to make sense of, and she'd never been inclined to believe in conspiracies anyway. Most people couldn't keep a secret or follow complicated instructions well enough to carry off a conspiracy-worthy mission.

When the seemingly endless—and increasingly bizarre—internet results petered out, Helen decided to check in with Josie and Betty to make sure everything was all set for the shower the next evening. Fortunately, Jack Clary was available to drive her since Tate had disappeared again on some mysterious wedding-related errand.

Helen entered the activity room of the Wharton Nursing Home to find that Chemo Caps Day had been moved up a day to free up Thursday afternoon for party preparations. A dozen cap-makers, mostly women plus three men, were scattered around the room. Betty and Josie commanded the fireplace chairs where they could work while remaining available to anyone who needed assistance. One such beginner hovered beside Betty, looking over her shoulder as the experienced knitter demonstrated something, with Josie offering words of encouragement from the adjoining chair.

Once, Helen had been a newbie to crochet, constantly seeking advice and reassurance from the two women. Now her skills, while limited, were sufficient to make a simple, serviceable cap . Even so, her main contribution to Chemo Caps Day was by way of donating yarn from a local supplier.

She was debating whether to come back later when her friends weren't so busy when Josie caught sight of her and gestured excitedly for her to come join them. Josie stuck her crochet project between her hip and the side of her chair and grabbed the project bag on the table next to her.

As Helen approached, Josie pulled out her phone—in a purple case that matched her purple planner—and said, "You won't believe what a sensation your shower is. We've already raised so many supplies and so much cash for WCDV. I was hoping for a grand or two, but this? This is insane!"

Josie turned the phone so Helen could read the numbers on the online donation site's dashboard.

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