Bed & Breakfast 7 - Major Vices by Mary Daheim

Author:Mary Daheim [Daheim, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mary Daheim
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

“You must have cared for Boo quite deeply,” Judith said in what she hoped was a concerned tone.

With her foot, Jill nudged at an errant pebble in the border next to the walk. “I did. I loved him. Oh, not madly, but as a friend. My father…” She frowned. “I never knew my real father. He was killed in ’Nam soon after I was born. Derek adopted me, but he’s an aloof sort of man. He played the role of father fairly well, but I always sensed something was missing. Maybe that’s what I was looking for in Boo.”

Jill’s reaction was understandable. Though Boo had never had children of his own, his easygoing manner would strike a responsive chord in a child. Boo Major had been like a father to Derek; it seemed he had held a special place in Jill’s heart as well.

“Boo was lonely after Aunt Rosie died,” Jill went on, leading the way back to the house. “He told me that he thought my grandmother wanted to marry him. At first, it sounded like a good idea. But Grandmother is such a ditz—she’d have driven him crazy. I told Boo that if he wanted to marry a Rush, why not me? I thought I was kidding.” She opened the double inner doors for the cousins and gave them a rueful smile. “He took me seriously. And it dawned on me that it could work. I’m not ambitious. I dropped out of college after two years. I couldn’t decide on a major. The only thing I really like to do is play the piano, but I’m not good enough to perform. So I asked myself, why not make Boo happy and be his companion? I’d have some purpose.”

“But you hadn’t told your parents,” Judith remarked as Jill took them into the breakfast room.

Sitting down at the round table with its gay flowered cloth, Jill nodded. “We were going to surprise everybody just before they left last night. I think Boo went off to the den to steel his nerve. He hated scenes; he hated being involved in any kind of controversy. And you know how they’d react. You saw how they did react when I told them this afternoon, even with Boo dead.”

MAJOR VICES / 191

Someone, presumably Mrs. Wakefield, had left a plate of oatmeal cookies on the table. Renie took two. “Why didn’t you tell them sooner? After Boo was killed, I mean?”

Jill rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “And make myself the prime suspect? Can’t you see the headlines? ‘Young Bride Shoots Elderly Groom—Estate Valued in Billions.’”

Judith gave a start. “Billions? Really?”

Jill’s response was nonchalant. “I suppose. Major Mush is a huge international conglomerate now. They make more than cereal. Pet food, breakfast meats, baked goods—I don’t know what all. They went public shortly after Dunlop Major died, but Boo retained the majority share, which must be enormous in terms of actual money. And Dunlop wasn’t only a shrewd businessman, but a sharp investor. We’re talking about a man who weathered the Depression and prospered by it.

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