enough out of you two!” I pitched my voice a little louder than my relatives. “No one will be squeezing anyone’s neck around here.”
I had the satisfaction of watching both my aunt’s and my uncle’s mouths drop open. Pressing what little advantage I had, I walked over and stood next to Truman. As gently as I could, I said, “Look, Truman, this probably isn’t the best time for you to hang around. Do you think you have enough information for the paper?”
“Yes…yes, of course,” Truman stammered, keeping an eye on Aunt Connie and Uncle Rudd. “That’s all I was trying to do, you know, just gather the information I need for the paper. It’s my job.” Holding his hands up in the air like he was surrendering, Truman started moving sideways past Uncle Rudd. “I’m through here. I’ll just go on back to the office now.”
Once past Uncle Rudd, Truman turned around and caught his elbow on my purse, knocking it off the workbench. He was too startled to catch the purse, and no one else was close enough. We stood there watching as it hit the ground, spilled open, and splattered its contents all over the linoleum floor.
Mumbling he was sorry, Truman bent down to retrieve all the odds and ends now littering the floor.
Uncle Rudd and I lunged toward the one thing we didn’t want him to see, the newspaper article. But Truman got to it first.
“What’s this?” Truman asked.
Snatching it out of his hand, I quickly answered, “Just some research I’m doing. I’ll get the rest of it picked up, Truman. I’m sure you’re in a hurry to leave.” I rolled my eyes toward Uncle Rudd for emphasis.
Following the direction of my eyes, Truman nodded. “Uh, yes, I guess I’d better go. Sorry about your purse, Dixie.” He gave me an odd look and left the flower shop.
Uncle Rudd watched him leave then turned to me. “Do you think he got a look at that article?”
“Maybe the headline,” I said.
Uncle Rudd shook his head. “Well, couldn’t be helped. No real harm done, I guess.” Then he turned and asked Aunt Connie, “What’d he want?”
“Wanted information about the break-in.” Aunt Connie shrugged. “He was here earlier this morning asking about it, but Otis ran him off. I told him to come back later. He came back later.”
It was at that moment I remembered what Truman said earlier, and I asked Aunt Connie, “Did Truman ask you anything about Aaron?”
“Just said he’d heard Aaron was back in town and askedme if I’d seen him. He didn’t make a big deal out of it.”
Uncle Rudd looked alarmed. “What’d you tell him?”
Placing both hands on her hips, she let us have it. “I want you two to know that I’m still a sight smarter than that potted plant Dyson talks to all day. I told Mr. Nosy Spencer that it was none of his business. So, just what do you two worry warts think of that!”
“I think you did just fine.” Uncle Rudd chuckled.
“I think you did just fine,” I echoed. “Because the less Truman Spencer knows the better off we’ll be. It’s bad enough if he saw that headline. After all, he’s a prime suspect.”
“Dixie-gal, I’d be the first one to tell you that I don’t have much use for the man, mainly because Truman’s got it into his head that he’s a cut above the rest of us. But, murder! Why would you think Truman’s our killer?”
Aunt Connie nodded in agreement with my uncle. “Truman’s stuck on himself, but that don’t make him a killer.”
“I didn’t say that I thought he did it for sure,” I said. “I just think he’s a prime suspect. Look, just hear me out. For one thing, he was at the bachelor party. That automatically puts him on the list. Then this morning, he told Otis that he just happened to be on his way to the newspaper office when he saw the police car parked in the alley, and in the so-called interest of journalism, he stops to see what’s going on.”
I shut up and waited for them to put two and two together. Judging from
I had the satisfaction of watching both my aunt’s and my uncle’s mouths drop open. Pressing what little advantage I had, I walked over and stood next to Truman. As gently as I could, I said, “Look, Truman, this probably isn’t the best time for you to hang around. Do you think you have enough information for the paper?”
“Yes…yes, of course,” Truman stammered, keeping an eye on Aunt Connie and Uncle Rudd. “That’s all I was trying to do, you know, just gather the information I need for the paper. It’s my job.” Holding his hands up in the air like he was surrendering, Truman started moving sideways past Uncle Rudd. “I’m through here. I’ll just go on back to the office now.”
Once past Uncle Rudd, Truman turned around and caught his elbow on my purse, knocking it off the workbench. He was too startled to catch the purse, and no one else was close enough. We stood there watching as it hit the ground, spilled open, and splattered its contents all over the linoleum floor.
Mumbling he was sorry, Truman bent down to retrieve all the odds and ends now littering the floor.
Uncle Rudd and I lunged toward the one thing we didn’t want him to see, the newspaper article. But Truman got to it first.
“What’s this?” Truman asked.
Snatching it out of his hand, I quickly answered, “Just some research I’m doing. I’ll get the rest of it picked up, Truman. I’m sure you’re in a hurry to leave.” I rolled my eyes toward Uncle Rudd for emphasis.
Following the direction of my eyes, Truman nodded. “Uh, yes, I guess I’d better go. Sorry about your purse, Dixie.” He gave me an odd look and left the flower shop.
Uncle Rudd watched him leave then turned to me. “Do you think he got a look at that article?”
“Maybe the headline,” I said.
Uncle Rudd shook his head. “Well, couldn’t be helped. No real harm done, I guess.” Then he turned and asked Aunt Connie, “What’d he want?”
“Wanted information about the break-in.” Aunt Connie shrugged. “He was here earlier this morning asking about it, but Otis ran him off. I told him to come back later. He came back later.”
It was at that moment I remembered what Truman said earlier, and I asked Aunt Connie, “Did Truman ask you anything about Aaron?”
“Just said he’d heard Aaron was back in town and askedme if I’d seen him. He didn’t make a big deal out of it.”
Uncle Rudd looked alarmed. “What’d you tell him?”
Placing both hands on her hips, she let us have it. “I want you two to know that I’m still a sight smarter than that potted plant Dyson talks to all day. I told Mr. Nosy Spencer that it was none of his business. So, just what do you two worry warts think of that!”
“I think you did just fine.” Uncle Rudd chuckled.
“I think you did just fine,” I echoed. “Because the less Truman Spencer knows the better off we’ll be. It’s bad enough if he saw that headline. After all, he’s a prime suspect.”
“Dixie-gal, I’d be the first one to tell you that I don’t have much use for the man, mainly because Truman’s got it into his head that he’s a cut above the rest of us. But, murder! Why would you think Truman’s our killer?”
Aunt Connie nodded in agreement with my uncle. “Truman’s stuck on himself, but that don’t make him a killer.”
“I didn’t say that I thought he did it for sure,” I said. “I just think he’s a prime suspect. Look, just hear me out. For one thing, he was at the bachelor party. That automatically puts him on the list. Then this morning, he told Otis that he just happened to be on his way to the newspaper office when he saw the police car parked in the alley, and in the so-called interest of journalism, he stops to see what’s going on.”
I shut up and waited for them to put two and two together. Judging from
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