Uprooting Ernie by Pamela Burford

Author:Pamela Burford [Burford, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781939215857
Publisher: Pamela Burford
Published: 2015-06-17T23:00:00+00:00

12

Human Turducken

I arrived at the Crystal Harbor Public Library a little late. The town meeting had already started in the big community room in the basement. All the folding chairs, two hundred or so, were filled, with about a hundred more people standing cheek to jowl along the sides and in back. I hadn’t expected it to be so packed, though in retrospect I probably should have. I squeezed through the throng blocking the doorway, nodding to the folks I knew. Anyone who lived and/or worked in Crystal Harbor was welcome to attend a town meeting.

I greeted Susanne Travert, the Frenchwoman who owned Patisserie Susanne, with a three-pointed European cheek kiss. I said hi to the young couple who owned the pottery gallery next to Janey’s Place—I never could remember their names. Dean Phillips was there, too, standing on the left side of the room. We exchanged waves.

His ex-wife Sophie was at the front of the room, where a lectern and microphone had been placed. A redheaded middle-aged woman I didn’t recognize stood at her seat, complaining shrilly about some parking situation in front of her home, located near the middle school.

Sophie had called this meeting to discuss issues of general interest to Crystal Harbor residents, but the record attendance told me my neighbors couldn’t wait for the latest juicy tidbit about the murder case currently under investigation.

I was surprised to see Officers Geri Marvin and Howie Werker standing in back. There isn’t normally a police presence at these meetings. I managed to make my way over to them. “Hey, guys, what are you doing here?”

“We’re not at liberty—” Geri started, but Howie cut her off.

“Detective wants us to keep our eyes and ears open.” He jerked his head, indicating the front of the room. I recognized the back of Bonnie Hernandez’s sleek head. She sat in the front row. I also spied Lacey and her son, Colin, his arm protectively around her shoulder. I’d heard that Porter wasn’t contesting his wife’s accusation but was claiming self-defense in the killing of Ernie. He’d retained a big-name lawyer and was out on bail, though not present at the meeting. No surprise there.

Dom and Martin had snagged seats in the center of the room, their heads together at the moment, no doubt sharing rude comments about the proceedings. They had not, I noticed, saved me a seat. Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to intrude on a budding bromance.

I never claimed to be the most mature person, so you can just keep it to yourself.

Crystal Harbor was your basic WASP enclave, so dark faces tended to stand out in the sea of white. Maia Armstrong, the caterer, possessed such as face, as did Ben Ralston. The private investigator appeared amused as the argument intensified between the redheaded woman and Nina Wallace, on her feet now and shouting from the other side of the room while her husband, Mal, sat quietly beside her.

Nina said, “There are no parking restrictions in front of your house or anywhere else on that block.

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