involved in the investigation…I’m not a suspect, as far as I know. Although, I believe Joanne Hayden wants everyone to think I am.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I believe she’s trying to ruin my business.”
“Joanne can be pretty vocal,” Myra said, “but I don’t know why she’d try to ruin your business. What could she possibly have against you?”
“I don’t know. What do you know about her?”
She shrugged. “She and Bill got married right out of high school . . . which wasn’t all that long ago. They have a daughter in elementary school.”
“Before that.” I leaned forward. “Who are her parents?”
“Jonah and Peggy March. Why? Would they have it in for you for some reason?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps I’m merely being paranoid. Perhaps Joanne is concerned about the health and well-being of the community and thinks a cake decorator would make everybody get fat.” I sighed. “Do her parents live around here?”
“Her mother does. Her daddy’s dead.” Myra clicked her tongue. “Killed himself a couple years after his daddy Vern died.”
I nearly fell off the couch. “What?”
“Uh-huh. Poor Jonah had kind of a rough life from what I hear, and he was always on the gloomy side. Depressed, I reckon you could say. Some people say he was downright odd. Anyway, Vern died in a car wreck, and I guess Jonah lived with that for as long as he could. Eventually, he shot himself.”
“Man. No wonder she doesn’t like me. She must hate our entire family.”
“Who? Joanne? Why?”
I looked at Myra, realized I’d said too much and quickly tried to claw my way back up out of the pit I’d tumbled into.
“B-because of Vern,” I said. “My Uncle Hal . . . argued with Vern, and then Vern left town. If he hadn’t moved away, he might not have had the accident.”
“Now, honey, you don’t know that. I firmly believe that when your number’s up, your number’s up. He was destined to die when he died. Take my Great Aunt Mamie. She smoked a pipe for as long as anybody in the family could remember. Everybody thought she’d die from lung cancer or something; but not long after her one hundredth birthday, she died in a horrible motorcycle accident.”
“Your one-hundred-year-old Great Aunt Mamie drove a motorcycle?”
“Oh, no, honey—that’d be nuts. She hitched a ride on the back of one when she was on her way to the store to get some tobacco.” Myra examined her thumbnail before resuming her narrative. “We’d all been telling her for years not to smoke, but nobody ever thought to warn her not to hitchhike . You couldn’t tell that old lady a blessed thing anyway, though. She thought she knew it all, and she was gonna do whatever suited her. Still, when her number was up, it was up. It just so happens it was Great Aunt Mamie’s destiny to ride out of this world on the back of a hog.”
“I guess.” I needed a minute to collect my scattered thoughts. “Would you like something to drink? Tea, maybe?”
“No, thanks. I don’t care for anything. You said Vern and your uncle argued about something. What was it?”
“Uh . . . ” I forced out a laugh. “You tell me. It was about thirty years ago.”
“I’ve only lived here for twenty-three.” She chewed her bottom lip a moment. “I’ll tell you who would’ve known—Yodel. That woman made it her business to know everything about everything.”
“Too bad I can’t ask her.”
“Yeah. But there’s bound to be someone else who knows. I’ll ask around.”
“No! I mean, it’s not all that important. Like I said, it was a long time ago, and I’m probably being paranoid. I’ve had a rough week.”
“You sure have, sweetie. I’ll go now and let you get some rest. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will, Myra. Thanks.”
After Myra left, I abandoned my notion of relaxing in a warm bath. Instead, I found myself drawn to the computer.
My website had no new visitors, forum posts or requests for
“Why do you say that?”
“I believe she’s trying to ruin my business.”
“Joanne can be pretty vocal,” Myra said, “but I don’t know why she’d try to ruin your business. What could she possibly have against you?”
“I don’t know. What do you know about her?”
She shrugged. “She and Bill got married right out of high school . . . which wasn’t all that long ago. They have a daughter in elementary school.”
“Before that.” I leaned forward. “Who are her parents?”
“Jonah and Peggy March. Why? Would they have it in for you for some reason?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps I’m merely being paranoid. Perhaps Joanne is concerned about the health and well-being of the community and thinks a cake decorator would make everybody get fat.” I sighed. “Do her parents live around here?”
“Her mother does. Her daddy’s dead.” Myra clicked her tongue. “Killed himself a couple years after his daddy Vern died.”
I nearly fell off the couch. “What?”
“Uh-huh. Poor Jonah had kind of a rough life from what I hear, and he was always on the gloomy side. Depressed, I reckon you could say. Some people say he was downright odd. Anyway, Vern died in a car wreck, and I guess Jonah lived with that for as long as he could. Eventually, he shot himself.”
“Man. No wonder she doesn’t like me. She must hate our entire family.”
“Who? Joanne? Why?”
I looked at Myra, realized I’d said too much and quickly tried to claw my way back up out of the pit I’d tumbled into.
“B-because of Vern,” I said. “My Uncle Hal . . . argued with Vern, and then Vern left town. If he hadn’t moved away, he might not have had the accident.”
“Now, honey, you don’t know that. I firmly believe that when your number’s up, your number’s up. He was destined to die when he died. Take my Great Aunt Mamie. She smoked a pipe for as long as anybody in the family could remember. Everybody thought she’d die from lung cancer or something; but not long after her one hundredth birthday, she died in a horrible motorcycle accident.”
“Your one-hundred-year-old Great Aunt Mamie drove a motorcycle?”
“Oh, no, honey—that’d be nuts. She hitched a ride on the back of one when she was on her way to the store to get some tobacco.” Myra examined her thumbnail before resuming her narrative. “We’d all been telling her for years not to smoke, but nobody ever thought to warn her not to hitchhike . You couldn’t tell that old lady a blessed thing anyway, though. She thought she knew it all, and she was gonna do whatever suited her. Still, when her number was up, it was up. It just so happens it was Great Aunt Mamie’s destiny to ride out of this world on the back of a hog.”
“I guess.” I needed a minute to collect my scattered thoughts. “Would you like something to drink? Tea, maybe?”
“No, thanks. I don’t care for anything. You said Vern and your uncle argued about something. What was it?”
“Uh . . . ” I forced out a laugh. “You tell me. It was about thirty years ago.”
“I’ve only lived here for twenty-three.” She chewed her bottom lip a moment. “I’ll tell you who would’ve known—Yodel. That woman made it her business to know everything about everything.”
“Too bad I can’t ask her.”
“Yeah. But there’s bound to be someone else who knows. I’ll ask around.”
“No! I mean, it’s not all that important. Like I said, it was a long time ago, and I’m probably being paranoid. I’ve had a rough week.”
“You sure have, sweetie. I’ll go now and let you get some rest. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will, Myra. Thanks.”
After Myra left, I abandoned my notion of relaxing in a warm bath. Instead, I found myself drawn to the computer.
My website had no new visitors, forum posts or requests for
Similar Books
