A Crusty Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

contact the others. I heard from Charlie that Edith’s, uh, Mrs. Peterson’s daughter will be taking over her mother’s duties as landlady.”
    I stared at George for a second and looked away, thinking he’d made a little blunder. Nobody called Mrs. Peterson anything but, well, Mrs. Peterson. She didn’t take kindly to those she considered beneath her addressing her by her first name. I found George’s keen gaze on me when I turned my attention to him.
    “It’ll be a refreshing change to have Cindy as our new landlady. She’s a sweetheart from all I’ve heard about her.” I readied to leave and said, “I’ll be in touch after I’ve spoken to BettyJo. She might have clients lined up for that evening.” I left George at the door, a relieved expression on his face. Was his relief due to my not picking up on his name usage? I wasn’t sure.
    I meandered along the deck, gazed about the parking area, and noticed BettyJo’s car next to mine. It hadn’t been there earlier, which meant she’d arrived during my visit with George. Instead of going into my place, I continued on to BettyJo’s door.
    I rapped twice, tried the door handle, and waited for her to let me in. BettyJo swept the lace curtain aside, peered at me, and then invited me inside.
    “I was on my way home when I saw your car. Are you all right?” I asked her.
    “Fine, fine. I lost my job today, and you know what? I don’t give a damn. I hated working at the bank. I disliked my boss, and her boss, too. They’re nothing but a bunch of asses.” Her grin widened as she ushered me into the reading room. “Sit, sit.” BettyJo motioned to a chair at the table.
    Had she lost her mind? I’d be scared to death if I’d lost my livelihood. But, then, she wanted to make card reading her livelihood, didn’t she? Could she pull it off? Only God knew, because I certainly didn’t.
    “You really lost your job? Well, this is your chance to sink or swim, isn’t it?” I asked.
    BettyJo laughed, rubbed her hands together, and said, “Imagine my boss’s surprise when I left the bank without a plea for my job. She said I’d been terminated and Friday would be my last day, but I said today was my last day. As a matter of fact, that minute was my last minute on the job. She stared at me as if I’d just landed on Earth from Mars. What the hell, did she think I’d beg for more of her abuse? Instead, I came home, called the unemployment office, and lodged a complaint against her. Then I called the Better Business Bureau and lodged a complaint against the bank for unfair treatment of employees. The Civil Liberties Union might be my next stop and then from there, who knows. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t give a shit about losing that job, but I refused to allow those people to treat others like they treated me.”
    I laughed out loud as she slapped the table with the flat of her hand. Instead of continuing her mousy behavior and keeping her head down to avoid confrontation, this girl had taken my advice and stood up for herself. She did me proud.
    “What’s so funny?’ BettyJo asked.
    “When I said to stand up to your father, you just took that piece of advice and ran with it. I’m so glad you did.” I chuckled. “Have you heard from your father?”
    “He’s coming by later. I guess somebody told him I’d been fired and he called me about it. I was in traffic and didn’t want to argue while I was driving. He insisted on coming by around five this afternoon.” BettyJo swept her hair from her brow and puffed air through her pursed lips. “I’m sure he’ll rant and rave like a fool, but no matter what, I’m not going back to banking.”
    “Good. I’m glad to hear it. George Carly wanted to know if we could all meet here on Friday evening to talk about our circumstances where Mrs. Peterson was concerned. He also said he’d heard that Mrs. Peterson’s daughter would handle the rents for now.”
    BettyJo nodded. “Sure, we can meet here. What time