Elizabeth C. Main - Jane Serrano 01 - Murder of the Month by Elizabeth C. Main

know if you change your mind. I’m a very patient man, as you know.” He smiled and looked meaningfully at me.
    I immediately broke eye contact and straightened some pamphlets on the counter. That long look told me that he’d probably taken my acceptance of his reunion invitation for more than it was. Oh no. Now what?
    Harley looked at his watch again. ”Look, I have to deliver the speech Gil was going to give, but—”
    “No one really expected Gil to be here today,” I said quickly.
    “To be honest, I wrote most of it. He’s still not quite himself, as you might expect. I need to talk to you about one other thing though, and that’s this ‘Murder of the Month’ business.” Seeing my blank look, he amplified, “Your book club.”
    “Murder of the Month,” I repeated, stalling for time as I tried unsuccessfully to think like Bianca. I didn’t have any idea what she had done, but Harley didn’t keep me in suspense long.
    “Didn’t you know? She invited Gil to speak to your club next week.” Harley pulled a crisp white envelope from the inside pocket of his suit coat and extracted a typed note. “Read the invitation for yourself.”
    I reached for the paper as though expecting an electric shock. After reading the words, I decided I’d have preferred the shock. Bianca certainly hadn’t wasted any time starting her own investigation after Vanessa’s death had been officially ruled an accident. I read the note several times, trying to think what to say to explain it.
    Dear Mr. Fortune:
    We would like to invite you to be our guest speaker at the next meeting of Murder of the Month (a mystery book club) at Thornton’s Books, seven o’clock P.M. on Wednesday, August twenty first. With your particular background, we think it would be VERY interesting to hear you discuss fictional vs. real life crimes.
    Bianca Serrano
    Secretary
    Murder of the Month Book Club
    P.S. Healthful refreshments will be served.
    “Surely you can see that this invitation is in the worst possible taste,” Harley said. “If she thinks that Gil wants to be kept busy right now—”
    “That’s it!” My relief at his erroneous explanation for Bianca’s invitation spurred me to respond enthusiastically. “She’s too young to comprehend the magnitude of the loss Gil has sustained. I’ll talk to her again.”
    “Thanks, Jane. Gil would appreciate it. I seem to be doing nothing but asking you for help these days. First, the reunion, and now, this.”
    “The reunion, yes! How’s it coming along?” Never had I felt more interest in a change of subject.
    “Fine, fine. I’ll get back to you on that, but right now I need to deliver Gil’s regrets … along with his thoughts about women entering the legal profession.”
    “There’s a good crowd today, and if you need any legal expertise, Linda Sanchez is there.”
    “Good idea. A career in banking hasn’t prepared me particularly well for this occasion, but I don’t want to let Gil down, not now.” Harley started up the stairs.
    As soon as he was out of sight, I let out my breath with a rush and sagged against the counter. They hadn’t recognized the taunting invitation for the challenge it was. We still had time to make Bianca see reason.
    Yesterday’s book shipment had contained the requested copies of her beloved Prove It, Puppy! and I had started on it immediately, discovering that it was every bit as bad as I had expected. Still, I had promised. Now, with a sigh, I pulled the dreadful book once again from under the counter and attempted to force my way through a few more pages while the store was quiet. Normally I don’t read for pleasure while I’m working, but since it was Thornton’s on-site book club that had forced me to read it in the first place, I could justify a few minutes with it now. Besides, by no stretch of the imagination could this be considered reading for pleasure. Raymond Morris’s Rule Number Four was a seemingly simple one: Show an interest in