The Handmade Hoax: A Thrift Shop Cozy Mystery (Secondhand Sleuth Mysteries Book 5) by Mel Morgan

Author:Mel Morgan [Morgan, Mel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stonefire Press
Published: 2022-09-25T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

AT THE DOOR to the newly opened third bedroom, I felt the need to warn Ruby about what lie ahead.

“Now, I know you and my aunt Daphne were close,” I started.

She smiled. “Like two nuts in one shell.”

“Okay. Well, what I’m about to show you may seem a bit… Odd.”

“Daphne was always odd. Remember those flamingo earrings?” she asked.

I laughed. I remembered her wearing the huge things, and they were definitely odd. That was just my aunt’s style. “This is sort of like that I guess. Only, instead of flamingos, it’s cut-up paper. And instead of her ears, this junk his hanging all over the wall.”

“What?” I’d confused rather than prepared her.

I shook my head. “Come on. You’ll just have to see it to believe it.”

Flipping the switch on my excellent new lamp, Ruby looked down.

“This? Yes, it is a bit strange. But I like it.” She thought I meant to show her the lamp.

“Thanks. I love it, and it has a twin. But that’s not what I brought you in here for.”

Taking her lightly by the shoulders, I turned her around to face the wall. Everything was still hanging where my aunt had placed it, since location seemed to be key to understanding the connections she had been making.

Ruby stared. I felt her shoulders tense up beneath my hands. “Oh, my…”

“So you haven’t seen this before, then?” I was judging by her reaction that she had not been involved in creating my aunt’s investigative display. “Did you know she was interested in the case?”

“Of course. I mean, she talked about it. We talked about everything. But I never knew she took it this far.” The older woman’s eyes were wide and her face was pale as I watched her take it all in. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the black-and-white photo of Alice Adams above an article. She turned to me. “Daphne was obsessed.”

“She was definitely determined to find the truth.” I looked over the wall and its contents once more. Then I decided it was time to get some answers.

“Ruby.” I gave her a hard look. “What do you think was really going on? Why was Aunt Daphne so ‘obsessed,’ as you say, to find out what happened? How did it involve her?”

“Oh, my goodness!” Ruby clutched at her chest.

My heart dropped to my knees as I feared the poor woman standing in front of me was having a heart attack.

“Ruby! Are you alright? Should I call an ambulance?” I took her hand and led her to the stool I’d brought in to read the notes at the top of the wall. I set her down, gingerly, as though she might break if not already broken.

But Ruby seemed to be recovered quickly. Almost fully, in fact, once I looked her over.

“I’m fine, dear. Too much stress for an old woman, I’m afraid.” She fanned herself unconvincingly with both hands. Was it just me, or was she trying to change the subject?

“Could you please just drive me home? My husband can find me some nerve medication.

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