A Novel Death by Judi Culbertson

Author:Judi Culbertson [Culbertson, Judi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781477812242
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2012-10-16T07:00:00+00:00

I drove home. I could not think of anywhere else to go with Margaret's key and had to wrap books and list others for sale. But I worked steadily and, finally, with a stack of bubble-wrapped packages in addressed boxes ready to go, I could spend a few minutes on the part of bookselling I liked best. I reached for the stack of children's books at my feet. There were some treasures inside: Mousekin and Freddy the Pig, several Noel Streatfeild Shoes books, a first edition of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Classics that were hard not to reread on the spot.

I was opening the flaps of the carton when the phone rang. I jumped, still shaky from the bookshop experience, but it was only Colin.

He wasted no time. "Are you okay? Jane just called me. She was very upset."

"You mean about the fight at her rental?" Of course I knew he didn't mean that. But I could not talk yet about finding Amil.

Still, it threw him off. "What fight?"

I told him.

"No, it wasn't that. They didn't even go back to Fire Island; she was too spooked to stay out here after what happened in that bookshop." Then the parent-to-parent reproof. "She may seem mature on the surface, Delhi, but she's still very impressionable. She was frantic about you; she wants me to come over and stand guard."

"That's silly. It had nothing to do with me."

"She said the stench was overpowering."

"Well, you know Jane. She's got a great nose."

"Delhi, she's not a hunting dog!"

He said it reproachfully, but in a moment we were both laughing. Then he moved on to what was really bothering him. Not my safety. Not Jane's sensitive nerves. "You went out to dinner. I'm supposed to be involved whenever the children are out here."

"It wasn't dinner. Lance was the only one who ate anything. You would have been holding my head while I was throwing up."

"I'll come over if you want."

I hesitated. Did that mean he wanted to come home? Or was he just trying to placate Jane?

"Nobody's about to murder me," I told him honestly. "Butthanks."

"By the way," he said, "I ran into Loretta Hawn yesterday on campus. She's still running the university day care center."

"That's good. How's Loretta?" Asking after her was on a par with wondering if we were getting enough rain. Humorless Loretta wore Birkenstocks with white socks and printed smocks. When she talked about "fantasy builders," she did not mean Victoria's Secret.

"Oh, she's fine. But she's short a helper again. So I told her you might be interested."

"What?"

"Come on, Delhi, it's good respectable work. The pay's not great, but there are a lot of benefits. It's even part of the retirement system now.,,

"Colin, what makes you think I'm looking for a new job? And with little kids?" I had a nightmarish image of myself spending eight hours a day singing "I'm a Little Teapot" and mopping up "accidents." Why not just kill myself right now? "Why do you keep

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