A Dash of Murder by Elizabeth Spann Craig

Author:Elizabeth Spann Craig
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Southern mystery Southern cozy mystery, cozy mystery cats Easy mystery books Small town killers Humorous cozy mysteries Funny mysteries Ligh
Publisher: Elizabeth Spann Craig
Published: 2022-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Vivian! So good to see you, my dear. Please have a seat with us.”

Vivian did, carefully setting down her plate, full of a hodgepodge of beef casserole, potato salad, barbeque, and corn pudding.

Vivian blushed a little. “It looks like I went a little crazy in the buffet line.”

“A perfectly normal reaction to some pretty extraordinary food. You’ve just arrived at our table too late to see how packed our own plates were,” said Myrtle. “By the way, do you know Miles?”

Vivian politely shook his hand. “Good to meet you.”

Myrtle said, “I was actually thinking, Vivian, that this service seems to have all the hallmarks of your organizational skills. Did you help Dinah out with the planning?”

Vivian nodded. “She seemed so lost when I visited her. The minister kept leaving messages for her. And leaving more messages. The more messages Dinah got, the more frozen she seemed to become. I finally asked her if she’d like me to get in contact with the church and set it all up.” She gave them a wry smile. “But don’t blame me for the length of the service.”

“Oh, I knew that was a hallmark of this particular pastor. I ensured Miles and I were comfortably seated. And I think it’s lovely that you stepped in and helped Dinah out. It all seemed like such a terrible shock to her. It’s no wonder that she couldn’t think through it. But it was really above and beyond the call of duty for you. I remember that you switched jobs.”

That wry smile popped out again. “That’s a kind way for you to put it. I was actually fired, as you probably know. There are no secrets in Bradley.”

Myrtle nodded. “I did hear that. But I also heard that you’d done absolutely nothing wrong.”

“That’s very true. But you know what? Now I’ve got a remote customer service job and I have all this flexibility that I didn’t have before. Being a single mom, flexibility means a lot to me.” Vivian glanced across the room, her gaze resting briefly on Dinah. “Dinah actually helped me find the job. She kept saying she felt guilty about Luther letting me go the way he did. She was the one who gave me a reference and called a friend on my behalf.”

Myrtle said, “I’m sure that made Dinah feel better about the whole situation. She’s always struck me as a very fair-minded person.”

“Exactly. I kept telling her that she shouldn’t feel guilty. I mean, I wasn’t happy when Luther decided to fire me, but it wasn’t like I was going to harbor bad feelings over it. The problem with Luther was that he just didn’t have the finesse to smooth things over. I totally accept that he was ready for a change in an assistant. It was just a shock when it happened so quickly.”

Myrtle said, “I have to wonder if Dinah often helped clean up after Luther. Socially, I mean.”

Vivian nodded. “I’m sure she did. For a while, I was the one who played that role.

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