Read The Purrfect Murder for Free Online Page B

Folly did not yet have the feel for Virginia politics. In her mind, Democrat equaled liberal.
    “About financial issues, he certainly is. He’s live and let live on everything else.”
    Herb smiled at Folly and said, “Ned’s what you might call an old-time Southern Democrat. Well, let me amend that: he’s a new-time Southern Democrat. He’s not racist and he’s not pushing women back in the kitchen, but he’s part of the old-time religion.”
    “Which is…” Folly arched an eyebrow.
    BoomBoom, smiling, handed a plate of cookies over to Folly, who passed it on. “When you go into the voting booth you ask one question, ‘Is it good for Dixie?’”
    Folly, thinking this was a joke, laughed. “Oh, BoomBoom, you don’t mean it.”
    The others in the room realized it was best to shut up.
    Tazio returned to the murder. “Yesterday I was at the Paulsons’ house, meeting with our fave, Mike McElvoy, and I was surprised to learn he’s antiabortion. But he seemed genuinely upset about Will.”
    “He’s a perfect ass,” Folly said venomously.
    “That insults mules.” Harry was surprised at Folly’s emotion. “He’s a dumb human.”
    “Ego,” BoomBoom simply said.
    “Give a little man a little power and he abuses it every time.” Tazio had Mike’s measure.
    “Carla’s on the floor about Will. She’d gotten to know him socially. He was her doctor, too. She’s a mess.” Folly shrugged. “But you know Carla, she’s not one to let slip the opportunity to call attention to herself.”
    Herb laughed despite himself. “We can pray that Carla…um…Let me think about this.”
    That lightened the mood.
    “Carla’s like Teddy Roosevelt. She wants to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.” Susan used the famous quote.
    Herb looked at BoomBoom, then Folly. “Girls, thank you for being with Benita. Boom, give my thoughts to Alicia, too.”
    “I will. The kids fly in today, and that will be a big help.”
    “Will Junior is the spitting image of his father.” Harry liked the whole Wylde family.
    “Funeral date?” Folly wondered.
    “Can’t do anything until the coroner releases the body.” Susan knew a bit about this procedure, since Ned was a lawyer. “In the case of any suspicious death it takes longer, but I expect the funeral will be next weekend, if all goes as it should.”
    “Oh, no, that’s the fund-raising ball for Poplar Forest, in Bedford County, September twenty-seventh. Everyone has to be there.” Folly’s face registered disappointment.
    Poplar Forest was Thomas Jefferson’s summer home, which was in the process of a painstaking restoration.
    “Even if it is, the funeral will be in the morning and the fund-raiser’s at night,” Tazio logically reminded her.
    “But people will be…you know,” Folly countered.
    “Let’s not worry about it until we know. And if the funeral is in the morning, we can all remind people that Will would want us to have a good time and to raise as much money as we can that evening. After all, he was a strong supporter of the restoration and sponsored a table.”
    Susan frowned. “In a way, I still can’t believe it.”
    Folly, head of the ball committee, added, “Benita won’t be there, but she’s encouraged the office staff to go and to fill out the table. An empty table at a fund-raiser looks forlorn, and as you said, Will would want the project supported.”
    “One good thing that’s come out of this dreadful event is that every priest, pastor, and preacher is meeting tonight at the Greek Orthodox Church out on Route 250. Even though we don’t agree about abortion, we all agree that a killing such as this is the work of man, not the will of God,” Herb interjected.
    “Gods may come and go, but greed and the lust for power remain.” Harry listened to the rain.
    “That’s hardly a Christian statement.” Susan knew Harry hadn’t meant to be disrespectful.
    “Well, I meant that the Egyptians worshipped a slew