A Garland of Murder (Homespun Crochet Cozy Mysteries Book 10) by Patti Benning

Author:Patti Benning [Benning, Patti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Summer Prescott Books
Published: 2022-06-07T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“What do you mean?” Jo asked, her heart beginning to beat more quickly. “If you know anything, you should tell the police—”

“I don’t know anything for sure,” Shirley said. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking much younger than a college aged young woman all of a sudden. “I met up with some of my high school friends. I haven’t really seen them since I started college, you know, and I just wanted to reconnect. Scott was there, but he had gotten a ride with someone else. He was being kind of a jerk — you know, drinking too much, being loud, that sort of thing — so when he asked me for a ride back to his home, I said no. I didn’t really want to be in the car alone with him. He lives in town, so it’s not like it was too far. I… I told him to walk home.” She took a deep breath. “The next morning one of his friends messaged me asking if I knew where he was, but I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t know he was dead. It’s all my fault. If only I had given him a ride, he would still be alive. He must have gone missing that night.”

“Shirley, you have to tell the police,” Jo said. “This could really help with their investigation.”

“I—I don’t want to get in trouble. It’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” she replied soothingly. “No one in the world would blame a young woman for not feeling secure driving a rowdy young man who had been drinking home all alone. You had no idea that something bad would happen to him. But right now, an innocent woman is being blamed for his death, and his family is grieving for him. What you know could help the police figure out the truth about what happened.”

“I’ll go speak to them,” Shirley said, her voice shaking. “I want to take Emma home first, though. I don’t really want her to know what’s going on. I know she’s almost seventeen, but she’s still my little sister, you know?”

“I know,” Jo replied, giving her a soft smile. “Thank you for talking to me, Shirley. And just remember; you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Shirley nodded, then turned to go back into the living room. Jo leaned against the counter, frowning at the fridge as she thought. The mystery of Scott’s death had begun to clear, if only a little. At least, his time of death had been narrowed down. He had to have gone missing sometime between when Shirley had last seen him, and whenever her friend had texted her about him the next morning. All Jo had to do was figure out what, exactly, had happened to him in those few, short hours.

How hard could it be?

The party was beginning to wind down when a call came in on Jo’s phone. The sight of Rose’s number on her caller ID made her excuse herself immediately. She answered as

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