Read 03 Murder by Mishap for Free Online Page B

bundles, he picked up his helmet with a flourish. “Thank you, ladies. It’s been a pleasure.” Donning the headgear and starting the motor, he revved the engine a few times before holding up a gloved hand in farewell as he skidded along the broken shells in the driveway and disappeared onto the road.
    As quiet returned to the neighborhood, Mary turned to Edna with a puzzled look on her face. “Didn’t you tell me he’s your friend’s gardener?”
    “That’s right.”
    “How come he doesn’t know the difference between lemon balm and mint?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He had lemon balm in that bag.” With those words, Mary gave a sharp whistle. “Oops. I’m late. Gotta go.” With that, she spun on her heel and strode across the lawn toward her house. She hadn’t gone far when Hank came running across the back yard, tail held high and wagging happily. Lifting a hand in farewell without turning around, Mary called over her shoulder, “Later.”
    It was typical of her to toss out a verbal grenade and leave before she could be questioned further. Slightly exasperated, Edna shook her head and went to gather up the gardening supplies. Benjamin was waiting for her at the side door.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    After finishing her immediate chores, the most important of which was refreshing her cat’s food and water, Edna decided to take a long, hot bath. The morning’s strain on her back had been exacerbated by the afternoon’s bending and stooping. She’d soak her aching muscles and pour a glass of wine before deciding what to make for supper. On second thought, she poured the wine first and took the glass upstairs.
    She’d just lowered herself into the warm, lavender bubbles of her bath, had leaned back and closed her eyes when she heard the phone ringing in the bedroom.
    “Drat.”
    Keeping her eyes shut, she told herself that the answering machine would pick up if the caller really wanted to leave a message. She let the hot water sooth her muscles until it began to cool. Finally, reluctantly, she stepped from the tub, toweled dry and slipped into a dark blue, velour robe. One of her pleasures when Albert was out of town was to put on something really comfortable—sweats were another favorite—and peruse the refrigerator and pantry for a pickup supper. This evening, she made a Greek salad with her favorite lemon and olive oil dressing. Along with garlic, she chopped and added fresh oregano leaves to the dressing from a pot on the window sill above the sink.
    Taking salad and wine into the small office across the front hall from the kitchen, she sat at her desk to eat while she listened to the day’s phone messages and checked her e-mail. Benjamin, savvy to her habits, was already curled into a ball on the cushion of the guest chair beside the desk. As she had thought, the call coming in when she’d been in the bathtub was from Albert.
    “Hi, sweetheart. We had a good day today. Weather’s a little cool, but great for being out on the course. I’m about to join the boys for dinner, so I’ll call you when we get back to the condo.”
    Edna almost laughed aloud. If her husband had shot more than a mediocre golf game, he would have told her his score, bragging a little. Well , she thought, taking a bite of salad, this is only their first full day at the resort village. I’ll hear about the good shots in another day or two.
    After eating, washing her dishes and cleaning the kitchen, she went into the living room to sit in her favorite wing-back chair, don the half glasses she wore for close work, and pick up her knitting. She was listening to an audio recording of “Middlemarch” by George Eliot and counting stitches in the tiny, forest-green sweater she was making for her newest grandson when the doorbell rang.
    The clock on the CD player at her elbow read 7:43.
    “Who in the world …” she pushed herself from the chair, frowning, and leaving her muttered sentence unfinished.
    Before