Crypt Suzette by Maya Corrigan

Author:Maya Corrigan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2019-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

A tense and embarrassed silence followed Morgan’s exclamation. Who would set her straight about Suzette? Not Val. She’d leave that task to someone who knew Morgan better.

Ruth took charge. “Suzette will always be alive in our hearts.” She put her hand over her heart as if saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Val gave Ruth an A for effort and a D for results as Morgan’s eyes filled with tears.

Gillian put her arm around Morgan’s shoulders. “The extra chair is for Val. I thought she should join us at the table because our dinner is in honor of Suzette, and they were housemates.”

Morgan wiped her eyes. “Sorry. I can’t get used to the idea that she’s gone.”

Val sympathized. She’d had a similar reaction, asking the chief if he was certain of the victim’s identity.

“Come and sit down.” Ruth took Morgan by the elbow, steered her toward a chair on the side of the table, and took the seat at the end next to her.

Val went over to the table. “How about something to drink, Morgan? Warm cider, wine, or tea?”

Morgan took a moment to decide. “I’ll have tea later. Cider for now, please.”

As Val delivered the cider, Wilson brought wine bottles to the table, poured wine for his aunt, and sat down across from Morgan.

Casper sat in the chair next to her. Val wondered if those two might become closer with the lovely Suzette out of the picture.

Gillian moved the appetizers to the table, sat down at the other end from Ruth, and took a sheaf of papers from her briefcase. “Let’s start the meeting. Val will join us when the rest of the meal is ready. Later in the meeting, we’ll talk about Suzette and her writing.” Gillian leafed through the pages in front of her and handed a clipped set to Casper on her right. “You’re up first, Casper. Please read the last three pages of your chapter aloud.”

He read in a low monotone as the others at the table passed the appetizers around. Meanwhile, Val assembled the finger sandwiches, cut each into four triangles, and kept an eye on the mini quiches heating in the countertop oven. Though Val tuned out most of what Casper read and the discussion that followed, she grasped the gist of the story. His main character, a mild-mannered techie, morphed into a man of action when the woman who worked in the cubicle next to his disappeared. Val could predict the ending from the setup. Casper had created the character he wanted to be, a man who’d risk his life to rescue a beautiful colleague and win her heart. The cliché worked in Hollywood. Why shouldn’t it work for Casper?

Gillian asked for comments on his chapter. Ruth made positive comments about the plot and advised Casper to give the woman who disappeared more traits than beauty. Morgan said his protagonist needed to transform sooner from dweeb to hero. Wilson suggested Casper start from scratch with a less boring character.

The Fictionistas certainly didn’t mince words.

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