Murder in Mud: A Ghostly Hitchhiker cozy mystery by Rodney Strong

Author:Rodney Strong [Strong, Rodney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mb
Publisher: LoreQuinn Publishing
Published: 2018-11-18T06:00:00+00:00

TWENTY ONE

ANGUS HAD BEEN SUITABLY impressed by the strong language in Oliver’s response, and wisely kept quiet until later that night. After the children were asleep, Oliver started attempt number two on the unicorn cake, and while he mixed the batter he and Jennifer talked about the text message.

‘Amanda is right. Tell Detective Wilson,’ she said after re-reading it.

He raised a cake-splattered wooden spoon. ‘I’m a little busy.’

Oliver felt her watching him closely as he continued to stir. ‘Okay. I will once this is in the oven.’

She perched on one of the bar stools that sat next to the kitchen bench. ‘It was nice to see Amanda there today.’

He paused for a moment, waiting for the sarcasm to kick in.

‘Yes, it was a surprise.’

‘Relax, Oliver. I actually like her quite a bit.’ Jennifer took a sip of her wine.

‘Really? She makes my head hurt,’ he replied, while thinking that his wife was drinking a little more than normal.

‘That’s one of the reasons I like her.’

Jennifer’s laugh was infectious and he felt the tension slip away. Sometimes he wanted to stay in the house, just the two of them, like it was when they first got married. All their dreams and possibilities ahead of them, and none of the complications of ghosts or murders. It was a happy thought that he clung to until the cake tin went into the hot oven and Jennifer held out his phone.

With a sigh, he scrolled through his contact list and called Detective Wilson. After five rings it went to voicemail, so Oliver left a brief message asking him to call back.

‘I’m going to have a shower, then I’ll come and help you ice the cake,’ Jennifer said.

‘And by help you mean?’

‘Drink wine and watch,’ she replied with a grin.

Oliver started on the dishes while he waited for the timer to beep. With his hands deep in soapy water, Angus decided to speak up.

(So what is yer book about anyway? Apart from a super hero.)

‘It’s not about a super hero. Not one in tights or with a cape and not about anyone with special powers.’

(Well?)

‘It’s about my mother.’

Oliver scrubbed a little too vigorously at the mixing bowl and sent soap suds spilling onto the front of his pants. ‘Shit.’ He wiped at the suds, only making the wet patch bigger. With a sigh, he grabbed a hand towel, dried his hands, and then tried to dry his jeans.

‘Not about her exactly, but it’s based on some of the things she did. It explores the relationship between a mother and her child, and how when he’s young she’s his super hero, and when she’s old he becomes her super hero.’

(So not a western then? I only read westerns.)

‘And Dracula,’ Oliver commented.

Angus was quiet for a while.

(When I got out of hospital after being sick, Pa made me a holster, like a cowboy. I don’t know where he got the leather from, but it was dark and smelled like horses, at least to me, and I wore it everywhere.

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