The Hotspur Affair: A Richard & Morgana MacKenzie Mystery by Jack Flanagan

Author:Jack Flanagan [Flanagan, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

“Mother!” I exclaimed, seeing the figure at the far end of our bed. Old habits die hard; I instantly sat straight up and proper. “What are you doing here?”

“Good evening, Richard. Nice to see you, too,” she muttered in that irritating, mocking way of hers that even the Grim Reaper couldn’t quell.

“Out for a walk, are you?” I quipped as I tried to discreetly pull the twisted bound-up sheet that somehow buried itself under me, over my waist.

Ignoring my comment, my dead mother stared at me with disapproval. Dressed in her tan Burberry trench coat and holding onto the wide strap of the dark brown leather bag that hung over her left shoulder, Mother slowly walked to my side of the bed. In her wide brim dark taupe rain hat that tipped to one side of her head, she looked like she had emerged out of a trench from the Great War and not out of her grave a few miles away.

“I wanted to see you.”

“Really. Now?”

“Does a mother have to make an appointment to speak with her son?”

“Of course not, but some type of warning would be appreciated.”

“Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Oh, I had many conflicted feelings in answering that question. But before I could plot out a diplomatic response, Mother pointed to Morgana. “Do you and whats-her-name always sleep in the nude?”

I looked to my side and saw Morgana snuggled up next to me—naked and beautiful. “No, sadly, not always.”

“She does have an attractive bosom. Her feminine attributes are ampler and shapelier than mine.”

“Mother,” I groaned in protest.

“I’ve never seen her this way. I think I am beginning to understand what you saw in her. Breasts are important to some men. You know that your father used to say that my breasts were like two—”

“Mother, please!”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Yes, she did. She always did. She did when she was alive, so why would things be any different now?

“You really love the woman, don’t you?”

“My her name is Morgana. And yes, I do love her very much.”

“Well, to each his own. That’s what I always said.”—It may have been what she said, but she never lived by it.

Besides being annoyed, I was a little embarrassed for Morgana. I pulled the covers over her to protect her from Mother’s critical eyes. Naturally, my gallantry was misinterpreted. Mother sat down on my bed and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek that had all the succor of a flicked spoonful of vichyssoise to the face.

“Well,” I said, wanting the visit to end as quickly as possible. “What do you want to tell me?”

“How perceptive you are, Richard. I did a good job with you.” She smiled, acknowledging her accomplishment, and then continued. “First, Uncle Raymond says that he is adjusting very well to his new surroundings, and—”

“I am glad that things are working out for him, but did he say anything about The Stoner Papers?”

“—and he regrets that he didn’t inform you about the situation that you and your brother find yourselves in.

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