Read Sleuthing at Sweet Springs (The Sleuth Sisters Mysteries Book 4) for Free Online Page A

Meadows without a selection of her favorite candy bars in my purse, all it took was a little acting on my part. I opened the top drawer of her night stand, then the second, and finally the third. As I bent over, I dropped candy into the bottom drawer, said, “Found them,” and stepped back so she could see.
    “What are they doing in there?” Harriet scowled at the bright wrappers in the open drawer as the aide standing in the doorway shot me a thumbs up. She muffled a giggle, but I didn’t dare show even the shadow of a smile.
    “Maybe someone moved them when they put your clean undies away.”
    “That’s stupid! I always keep my candy in the top drawer.”
    “Well, at least you weren’t robbed,” I said soothingly. “That’s a relief, right?”
    “Too bad it takes a detective to find something in this place,” she said. “They said they looked everywhere, and you found them in seconds.” She raised her voice to the hallway. “Idiots!”
    As I left Harriet’s room, a spry woman with blue eyes and a cheerful grin waited in the hallway. “Good morning.” I greet each resident I pass, even if they show no sign of awareness. You never know.
    “Good morning to you,” she responded. “You’re Mrs. Burner, Harriet’s detective daughter-in-law?”
    I made a little curtsey. “Yes, we do investigations.”
    “She talks about you a lot. She’s very proud.” Now that surprised me, but the woman went on, “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
    It’s hard to know who’s capable of holding a reasonable conversation and who’s not in a nursing home, but she seemed reasonably competent. Barb would open the office if I was a few minutes late. “Sure.”
    The rooms at the Meadows are pretty much identical, but the one the woman led me to was nearer the reception desk than Harriet’s room. I suspected the staff put my mother-in-law at the far end of the corridor for good reason.
    Clara occupied the hallway side of the room. “My roommate is in the common room, playing Bingo.” Looking around as if she’d made a social gaffe Clara said, “I don’t have a chair for a visitor. I haven’t been here long enough to have one.”
    There was hardly enough room for a chair anyway. Apparently her roommate Alma (whose name was on everything) had lots wrong with her, and all of it required machines for treatment.I smelled alcohol, albutero l, and a mix of other chemicals I couldn’t identify.
    “It’s okay,” I told her. “We can sit here.” I took the foot of the bed, and she sat down at the head after moving the pillow out of the way. The bed was neatly made, and the few items on the nightstand were arranged in a way that suggested they were exactly where she wanted them. There wasn’t much, a comb and brush, a box of tissues, and a stuffed dog with a sign around its neck that said, welcome clara !
    “My name is Clara Knight.”
    Things clicked in my brain. “Oh. You met my sister Retta.”
    Clara smiled. “I don’t think she told me her name, but she was very sweet.”
    Everyone says that when they first meet Retta, and it’s true. You don’t see the strong side until later, when it’s too late.
    “I’m glad I was able to catch you.” With a mischievous smile she confessed, “When I heard Harriet shouting this morning, I figured they’d call you in, so I’ve been lying in wait.” Straightening the blankets between us she said, “If I’d known your sister was a detective, I’d have spoken to her about taking my case.”
    Retta wasn’t originally one of us. Barb and I founded the Smart Detective Agency together, and we’d hoped Retta would stay out of our business. We’d been dreaming, of course. Retta had jumped in with both feet. Oddly enough, in the last few months Barb, once vehemently opposed to Retta as a partner, had begun to actively include her. I was pleased the three of us were cooperating, though it was usually me Retta worked on when she wanted something changed. Barb is much