Was It Murder? by Pamela Frost Dennis

Author:Pamela Frost Dennis [Dennis, Pamela Frost]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: P.F. Dennis

Before I revved up our rental car, I said, “Do you find it odd that once again there were no other agents in the office? The last time we were there, he said everyone was out looking at homes. But two times now?”

“Yes, I do think it’s odd,” Ruby replied.

“There are ten or twelve empty desks. And come to think of it, no clutter on any of them.”

“Just because your desk is always a mess doesn’t mean everyone else’s is, ya know,” said Ruby.

“I’ll have you know that Albert Einstein’s desk was messy, too.”

“Yeah. My granddaughter—Katy Einstein.”

“We don’t have anything good to eat in the house, so why don’t we stop at the Mermaid Café?”

“Sounds good to me,” she said. “It’ll give us a chance to see how our dear friend Margaret is doing.”

After we were seated and our dinner order placed, I went to the lobby to inquire about Margaret.

The stout, young man behind the lobby desk said, “We haven’t heard from her in days Maybe she’s decided she doesn’t want to work here anymore. She wouldn’t be the first to quit with no notice.”

“Has anyone called her?”

He shrugged with a who-gives-a-fig look on his pimply face. “Doubt it. She was not well liked here.”

I returned to our table just as the waitress was delivering our white wines.

“Cheers.” We clinked glasses, and then I told Ruby what the man had said.

“Maybe she’s left town.”

“If she’s left town, then who’s been doing all those awful things to us?” I said.

“Well, I wasn’t totally sold on it being Margaret, you know.” She sipped her wine and wrinkled her nose. “Too oaky. I’ll let it breathe.” She set her glass on the table. “Let’s go back to her house tomorrow, and this time, we’ll really look around. She could be sick or injured, and nobody around here seems to give a hoot.”

“Are you sure you want to get involved in something that doesn’t concern us?”

“Okay, throw my words back at me. Going to check on a person who may need help is not going to keep us here any longer, unlike your murder investigation. She could be lying on the kitchen floor with a broken leg, or worse, like a stroke. I would hope that if it were me, someone would come and check.”

“Someone would come and check because you are loved by many people.”

“And Margaret is not. All the more reason for us to go.” She sipped her wine again. “Nope. This isn’t going to get any better.”

“It’s only been breathing about a minute.” I sipped mine.

“I’ll let it continue to catch its breath while you go to the bar and get me something decent to drink.”

After dinner, I debated about dessert. Samantha and I always say it’s not a good vacation unless you gain at least five pounds. This trip doesn’t qualify as a vacation by a long shot, so dessert is therapy for me.

I settled on the bitter chocolate tart with orange sorbet, and Ruby said she’d steal a bite.

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