Murder & The Monkey Band: High Desert Cozy Mystery Series by Dianne Harman Page B

pictures I’ve seen of her she didn’t look the least bit
overweight, but after eating this lunch, I don’t know how she managed to stay
so slim and trim.”
    Rosa laughed and carried a
load of dishes over to the sink.
    “Well, ladies, enjoy the
rest of your appraising. I’m going to talk to Rosa, and then it will probably
be time for my meeting with Jim. I’ll call you later. Marty, I’d like to know
how the rest of the appraisal goes today.”
    “Actually, why don’t you
join us for dinner tonight?” Laura said. “John mentioned he was making a
special dish tonight, and I’ve never had one of his special dishes that wasn’t
fabulous. Plus, he always makes more than enough.”
    “You’re definitely a
psychic. I was angling for an invitation, but I just wasn’t sure how to go
about it.”
    “Consider it done. Marty,
let’s go. I’m interested in the antique perfume bottle collection. Meet you in
the master bathroom.” She stood up from the table and walked away.
    I hope it’s okay with you
that I wangled an invitation to dinner,” Jeff said.
    “Absolutely. I was trying
to think of a way to do it without risking the three of them making a big deal
about it. You saved me the embarrassment. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing
you this evening.”
    “That makes two of us,” he
said, lightly brushing her cheek with the back of his hand and then walking
into the living room where Rosa was waiting for him.
     

CHAPTER 20
     
    “Rosa, this shouldn’t take long, but
I’d be remiss if I didn’t interview you, because you, more than anyone else,
know the details of Mrs. Jensen’s activities prior to her death. First of all,
how long have you been working for Mrs. Jensen?” Jeff asked.
    “I started working for Mr.
and Mrs. Jensen ten years ago,” she answered in a soft voice, avoiding his
eyes.
    “How many days a week did
you work for them, what hours did you work for them, and are they the only ones
you work for?”
    “I’m here five days a
week, from eight in the morning until five in the evening. They always gave me
the weekends off. You see, I have two little granddaughters that my husband and
I are raising. I don’t work for anyone else.”
    “Tell me what you did for
the Jensens.”
    “I made certain the house
was always clean and that the collections were always dusted. I usually made
lunch for Mrs. Jensen if she didn’t have other plans.”
    “So as part of your
duties, you regularly dusted the different collections, is that correct?”
    “Yes, as I told you
yesterday I usually dusted the collections once every week or so. I probably
dusted the perfume bottle collection weekly because it wasn’t under glass. The
Meissen collection was behind glass and didn’t get as dusty.”
    “Tell me about the Meissen
collection.”
    “Mrs. Jensen loved to
collect things, but the Meissen collection was her favorite. She was always
getting calls from antique dealers or auction houses telling her about
different Meissen pieces they had available. She occasionally bought from them.
She subscribed to a number of antique magazines and was on the mailing list for
catalogues from all the major auction houses. She often told me how lucky she
was that her husband was so wealthy and never put any restrictions on what she
bought. She told me it made him happy to see her enjoy something so much.”
    “When you left the house
on the evening Mrs. Jensen was murdered, did you observe anything strange?”
    Jeff noticed that one of
her hands was on top of the other one, clutching it so tightly her knuckles
were white. The sheen of perspiration on her upper lip had intensified. She
answered, “No, sir, when I left she was here. She said she wouldn’t be going
out that night and told me she’d see me in the morning. When I came back the
next morning she was in her bedroom, dead.”
    “What did you do when you
found her?”
    “I called 911 and pretty
soon a lot of policemen and other people were