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Tomorrow was Friday. I’d head to the school as soon as Duane
picked me up. “How much are antique books worth?”
    “Some are worth hundreds
of dollars, why?”
    “That’s the only thing of
value I know Mrs. Grimes had. You don’t think she has a fortune stashed
somewhere, do you? Maybe she let it slip to someone?”
    “Maybe.” Mom shrugged.
“We need to narrow our suspect list down to a manageable few.”
    “I have a PTO meeting tomorrow
night. I’ll ask around.”
    “And put another target
on your back.”
    “How else are we supposed
to find out anything? You can’t ask the group that rents the back room for
their crafts. They’ve never mentioned knowing Mrs. Grimes, and you know they
gossip about just about anyone.” A few months ago, Leroy had built on a back
room for us which we rented to crafty women. That little good deed almost got
me killed.
    “True, but a couple of
them consider themselves sleuths. It doesn’t hurt to have other folks poking
their noses around.”
    “No, but if someone else
is already nervous, it puts other people besides ourselves in danger.” I
couldn’t do that to the women. Most of them were old enough they lived in the
retirement homes.
    I settled back on my bed
and stared at the ceiling while Mom immersed herself in channel surfing. Soon,
my eyelids grew heavy.
    *
    “No, I’m not taking you
to the library today.” Duane walked beside the intern pushing me in a
wheelchair out of the hospital.
    “But, I’ve got work to
do.” I gave him my most pleading look.
    “You are going to rest
until Monday if I have to tie you to a chair.” The thunderous look on his face
gave me little room for argument.
    “Can I at least go to the
PTO meeting tonight?” I couldn’t get used to the new acronym. “I need to get
things moving on the book fair. I promise I’ll be sitting very nicely in a
chair.”
    “You’ll be putting out
feelers.”
    He knew me so well. “You
could always go with me.”
    “No thanks.” He
shuddered. “Besides, I have to be at the football game.”
    Who was the wise guy that
scheduled a meeting on a Varsity game night? I always went to the home games to
cheer on my favorite coach. I’d bring that up first thing. “Can I go?”
    “Like I could really stop
you.” He tossed me a smile. “Just be careful, okay?”
    “I will. I need a car.”
    He sighed. “We’ll stop at
the rental place on the way home. I’m sure your insurance company will
reimburse you until you can purchase a new one.”
    The thought of my pretty
powder blue Prius being totaled still stabbed at my heart. Before that, I drove
a Sonata. I’d loved that car, too. My solving mysteries sure kept the local car
dealership in business. “I want something sexy. Like a red Mustang
convertible.”
    “Great. The killer can
spot you easier.”
    The silent intern handed
me into Duane’s care. With his hand on my elbow, Duane helped me into his
truck. I felt fine except for the bruises across my chest and my swollen knees.
I waved at Mom and Leroy and almost fell backward when my knees refused to bend
the way they were meant to. My fiancé placed his hands on my ample rear and
hoisted me onto the seat. “Thanks. The knees weren’t working very well.”
    “Yet, you want a car to
go gallivanting around town.” He loped to the driver’s side and slid behind the
wheel. He drove us across town to the only car rental place in town.
    They didn’t have any
convertibles. Oh, well. The temperature was too chilly for driving with the top
down anyway. They gave me the keys to a Ford Fusion. Cute car. If I liked it,
maybe that would be the next car someone wrecked for me.
    Duane followed as I drove
my new ride home. The exertion from driving, coupled with waiting on a very
slow service rep to get me the keys, left me trembling from exhaustion. I was
more than ready to camp out on the sofa for the rest of the day.
    My sweetie fetched me a
tall glass of ice, a diet soda, and the remote to the