Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 02 - Apple Pots and Funeral Plots by Peggy Dulle Page A

plenty at the other booths.”
    “Edith never does what she’s supposed to do.” The lady leaned over. “She’s kind of crazy, like her mother.”
    “Really?” This town sure seemed quick to judge someone if they weren’t pushing apple pots.
    “Yes. Both her parents were killed in accidents and she hasn’t been the same since.”
    “That’s terrible.”
    “They were both nuts.”
    “Wow, really?”
    “Yeah, her dad was always searching the old mines. He used to say that other people were using the mines, too. And her mom heard strange noises all the time.” The lady leaned closer to me and whispered. “They were both paranoid and I’m afraid Edith is just like them. You know what they say about the apple not falling far from the tree.”
    I nodded. “I’ve heard that before.”
    The lady handed me the jam and I paid for it. I told her thanks and moved to the next booth: quilts and apple pots. As I looked at the quilt they were raffling off, I thought about what the woman had said. She was right about the apple proverb. I’d certainly seen that in dealing with kids at school. I wondered about Edith and her parents. Were they all just paranoid? Or was something really going on in the little town of Clainsworth ?

Chapter 12
     
    I bought a raffle ticket for the quilt and then sneezed passed the next booth: fresh cut long-stemmed red roses in beautiful glass vases and, of course, apple pots. Roses always look so beautiful, but my allergies just won’t let me get anywhere near them. I tell Tom that I save him a fortune by being allergic.
    Edith spotted me and waved as I came up to her booth. “Hey, Liza . How’s it going?”
    “Fine. What’s the library doing at the festival?”
    “Promoting reading. I have several story-telling sessions in the library this week. I’m hoping to get some of the kids to come in and listen to the stories.”
    “That’s great.”
    She pointed at Shelby . “Is that your dog?”
    “Yeah. I pretty much take her everywhere I go when I’m on vacation.”
    “That’s good.” She reached over and petted Shelby . “It’s sad when people have animals and then they never take them anywhere.”
    “That’s not me.” I patted Shelby and remembered my earlier experience with the big hole. “She’s my protector.”
    “Everyone needs one of those.”
    “Danielle had her beagle, Sadie.”
    Edith laughed. “She wasn’t much of a protector. But she could find a half eaten sandwich in the library stacks with no problem at all.”
    “I’ve heard that beagles are good at that.”
    “Yeah, I watched Sadie once for Danielle and she got into almost everything at my house. She especially liked to rummage through my purse. It seemed like no matter where I put it, she found it. I think I must have had some old gum or something stuck in the bottom because she would dig through the entire purse, throwing everything out, until she came to the bottom.”
    “Where did Danielle go that she couldn’t take Sadie?”
    “I don’t know. She said she wanted to go exploring around the town and didn’t want to be pulled this way and that by her beagle’s nose.”
    “Did she say anything when she got back from wherever she had gone?”
    “No, but she was excited. When I asked her what she’d been up to, she just smiled and told me I’d know soon enough.”
    “I wonder where she went.”
    “I don’t know but wherever it was, it made her allergies go crazy. She was sneezing and coughing when I talked to her. And then she said that she was going back to her room to take some medicine. She died the next day, so I never got a chance to ask her where she’d been.”
    “I wish she’d kept notes or something. That would sure help me figure out what she was doing here and maybe why she died.”
    “Actually, I think she did. She had a small red journal with a lacy front that she carried around. When she talked to me about my mom and dad, she’d jot notes into it.”
    “I wonder what