Knot Ready for Murder by Mary Marks

Author:Mary Marks [Marks, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

At 5:30 Friday evening, Fanya and I, dressed in our Sabbath clothes, were in the kitchen seeing to last-minute food prep. Crusher’s Harley roared into the driveway, and a minute later he bounded in the house and handed me a bouquet of pink roses and kissed me softly.

Before heading for the bedroom to shower and change, he stopped and kissed the top of Fanya’s head. “Ah gutten Shabbos, Fanele.”

She smiled at her brother’s affectionate greeting and responded in the Yiddish they both grew up with. “Ah gutten Shabbos, Yossi. It’s been a long time since we’ve managed to be together on a Friday night.”

At six, my daughter, Quincy, and her little family were the first to arrive. As soon as my infant granddaughter Daisy saw me, she stretched her arms in my direction and smiled. “Baba!”

I pried her out of her father’s arms and swept her in circles around the living room. She rewarded me with giggles of delight.

I kissed her fat little cheek. “When I’m very old, you can pick me up and dance me around the room. Deal?”

“Baba!”

Next to arrive was the Friday foursome, as they called themselves: my sister, Giselle, in a little black dress; her fiancé Harold, still wearing a pinstriped business suit; Uncle Isaac with his embroidered Bukharan yarmulke nestled on top of his white curls, and Hilda in her beige pantsuit. Giselle hugged Fanya as if they were old friends and wished her a happy Sabbath.

Quincy seemed especially pleased to meet Crusher’s sister. “I grew up with no aunts or uncles on my mother’s side. I was thrilled when my mom discovered she had a half sister. I call her Aunt Giselle. What do I call you? Aunt Fanya?”

“Oh, I love the sound of that!”

I scrutinized Hilda as she helped my uncle step over the threshold into the house. She placed one arm around his shoulders while he steadied himself by grasping on to her other hand. Once inside, he navigated on his own to the living room and sat, with Hilda following close enough to catch him if he stumbled. During this time, I didn’t witness any inappropriate touching. Had I been mistaken about Hilda’s behavior yesterday?

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Shabbat shalom, Uncle.”

He returned the greeting. “So nu? What’s the latest with the wedding, faigela? I’m not getting any younger, you know.”

I glanced around quickly at the others with a silent plea to keep from telling my uncle anything about Crusher’s marriage or Hadas’s disappearing act. Considering his frail state of health, I didn’t want to alarm my uncle or cause him distress. I smiled. “I think I’m going to ask my friend Jazz to make me a special dress for the occasion. And the cake definitely has to be chocolate with chocolate frosting.” I hastily changed the subject. “Uncle Isaac, you seem to be steadier on your feet.”

He sat straighter and made a mock bicep curl with his arm. “It’s the boxing lessons. I’m training to go a few rounds with Muhammad Ali.

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