Mind Over Murder by Kingsley Allison

Author:Kingsley, Allison
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2011-07-24T16:00:00+00:00

9

Clara found Frannie at the back of the store, fiddling with a screwdriver in the back of a fax machine. She seemed absorbed in her task and jumped when Clara spoke to her.

“Sorry!” Frannie dropped the screwdriver on the counter. “I didn’t see you there. Can I get something for you?”

“Er . . .” Clara looked around and spotted an end display.

“Cartridges! That’s it! I was . . . ah . . . I wanted to look at . . . ah . . . print cartridges. For my printer.” Of course, idiot.

Frannie’s frown cleared. “Oh, right. They’re over there.” She nudged her head at the display. “Here, I’ll show you.”

Following the slender woman across the floor, Clara tried to imagine Frannie slugging Ana over the head with a bust of Poe. Just didn’t compute. Still, there was the significant question to be asked, and somehow she had to find a way to pose it.

She pretended to study the cartridges while she sought for a way to open the conversation. “You look pretty efficient with that screwdriver,” she said, hoping something significant would come to her.

Frannie’s face broke into a smile. “I do all right. When you live alone, you learn to do all kinds of things yourself.”

Clara nodded. “I know how that goes. It helps to pass the time. The good thing, though, about living alone is that it gives you plenty of time to read. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.”

Frannie’s face brightened. “Mine, too! I love to read. I have a whole roomful of books I haven’t even looked at yet, and still I buy more.”

“It can be addictive.” She paused, then added casually, “Have you read Wayne Lester’s book yet?”

“Oh, yes.” Frannie looked positively radiant. “At least, most of it. I haven’t quite finished it yet, but it’s absolutely fascinating. Have you read his work?”

“No, I . . . haven’t. Not yet.” She’d been going to say that those kind of books were on the bottom of her reading list. Frannie would not appreciate that. “I’ll certainly take a look at it, though.”

“It’s really good. It’s like he knows me personally. He says there are great changes in my future. Quite exciting, really.”

Clara squared her shoulders. “That reminds me. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Yes?” Frannie’s eyes looked enormous behind her glasses.

“Well, I was just wondering . . . ah . . . when you came in to buy the book. How did you know it was there?”

Frannie looked at her as if she didn’t understand the question.

Clara tried again. “I was just wondering how you knew it was in the store. We’d only just put it out on the shelves. We were wondering if you’d seen it advertised somewhere . . . or something.”

It was weak, but Frannie seemed okay with it. “Oh, no. Someone told me Wayne’s book had come in.”

Clara felt goose bumps popping up on her arms. “Really? Who was that?”

Frowning now, Frannie shook her head. “Actually, I don’t remember. It was sometime over the weekend, and everyone was upset about Ana.

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