Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry

Author:Tamara Berry [Berry, Tamara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2022-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“Ms. St. Clair! Edna, please let me in.” Tess pounded on the door of 1313 Medford Drive, a ramshackle little house surrounded by one of the most beautiful gardens she’d ever seen. Whatever else she might say about Edna, the woman had taste. Wildflowers and billowing green climbers turned an otherwise unremarkable home into a veritable Garden of Eden. “It’s about your cat, Oscar.”

A hand pushed aside a pink gingham curtain, followed almost immediately by the older woman’s narrowed, puckered eyes.

“I also brought cookies.” Tess held up the plate of peanut butter cookies that Gertrude had whipped up that morning. They were one of Tess’s favorite foods in the whole world, so the fact that she was willing to share meant something. “They’re peanut butter.”

“I’m allergic to peanuts,” Edna shouted through the glass.

Oh, dear. She hadn’t thought of that.

“I’m also allergic to milk, eggs, soy, shellfish, and penicillin. So I hope you didn’t bring any of that with you, either.”

As Edna rattled off this improbable list, Tess had to fight a smile. It was on the tip of her tongue to declare that she had bottles of penicillin in her purse just waiting for an unsuspecting passerby, but she refrained. Antagonizing an old woman wasn’t going to get her any closer to what she wanted.

“That must be very uncomfortable for you,” she said in what she hoped was a conciliatory tone. And, since she was starting to suspect that all Edna really wanted was someone to upstage, she added, “I’m allergic to bees.”

The door creaked open. “I’m allergic to pollen.”

“Latex,” Tess said, thinking fast.

“Mustard.” The door swung wider. “Not to mention any kind of silver. It gives me hives.”

“Sulfites do the same to me,” Tess countered. “Mosquito bites, too.”

“Ha!” By this time, Tess was already halfway into the house. “Everyone is allergic to mosquito bites. That one doesn’t count.”

In truth, Tess didn’t fall prey to any kind of allergy but the occasional bout of hay fever, but she salved her conscience with the thought that she’d achieved her aim of getting an interview with Edna—and she hadn’t had to resort to calling in Sheriff Boyd to do it.

The green overgrowth on the outside of Edna’s house extended well into the interior. The dingy walls could have used a fresh coat of paint, and the floral furniture looked to be as old as Edna, but the overall effect was quite lovely.

“You must need a lot of fertilizer to keep these plants thriving,” she said. Edna’s glance was sharp but gave nothing away.

“I don’t use anything but water, sun, and love,” Edna said. “I’m allergic to fertilizer.”

Tess couldn’t help it—she laughed. She’d slain her fair share of dragons in her day, but Edna St. Clair wasn’t a woman she’d care to cross unarmed. “Are you going to invite me to sit down, or should we keep standing like this?”

“You said you found Oscar,” Edna said, but she led the way to the floral couches, so Tess counted it as a win.

“I didn’t say I found him,” she said as she sank into the cushion.

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