A Most Curious Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

long-winded writers. Henry James comes to mind.”
    “Hmmm,” Jenny thought hard. “Loosestrife for all those shades of grey.”
    “Or passion flower,” Zoe said. “I didn’t read the book, but I think that one would work well.”
    “Snapdragon for Gertrude Stein.”
    “That’s mean,” said Zoe.
    “As if you aren’t.”
    By the time they got back to the house, they were almost friends.
    ***
    Dora, who’d declined to take part in the burial, waited, rocking fast on the porch.
    “I think I’d like an annex,” she said as they fell into rockers beside her.
    “An annex to what?”
    “To the library, of course.”
    “What kind of annex?”
    “For children’s books. Another whole house, but like the first one Jim built.”
    “So you’ve changed your mind?”
    “I think I have.”
    “I’ve got the perfect carpenter for you.” Zoe clapped her hands. “Tony Ralenti. He used to be a detective in Detroit, but he was shot in the knee and decided to look for a quieter place to live. He lowered the cupboards in my house. Cut off some furniture legs—like on my bed—so I don’t have to take a flying leap to get in. Built me folding stools that make me taller than anyone I know. Bet you anything he can make that library house look just the way it used to look.”
    “Two houses,” Dora insisted. “Identical. One for children’s books.”
    “Children won’t know which is theirs,” Jenny complained. “You’ll confuse them.”
    Dora tsk ed at her. “We’ll attach flags. One will say ‘Big People’ and one will say ‘Little People.’”
    Zoe took exception to that, and all talk of rebuilding stopped.
    ***
    There wasn’t much to do the rest of the day. Jenny knew she should drive over to the grocery store; Mom’s refrigerator was empty. But she didn’t feel like going anywhere. There would be too many people at Draper’s Superette. They’d all want to know about her life, brag about their kids, and probably comment on Mom’s library—aflutter with sympathy and offers of help.
    She knew Bear Falls people. Along with the bad ones who had driven her from town to begin with, there were plenty of good people. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see them; it was just that she was tired and needed time to come to terms with atleast one or two of the things that had happened to her before and after coming home.
    Zoe went back to her house to write the next chapter of Lewis Carroll and the Two Alices . Jenny found cheese and ham slices for sandwiches. She toasted the bread and put a round of pineapple from a can on each plate. Best I can do , she told herself, thinking pineapple always went with ham and made for a festive touch.
    She made a list of things they needed from Draper’s and then set it aside.
    After lunch, Dora remembered the toilet paper curlers in her hair. Jenny took them out and combed the soft blonde-and-white-streaked hair so it curled softly around Dora’s ears. Looking in the mirror, Dora smiled. “Funny. I look like my mother. Only older than I remember her. I like that. Too bad you don’t look a thing like me. You are all your father.” She reached out to run her hand softly over Jenny’s long, dark hair. “You’ve got his nose—so strong. And his body—agile, lean. And his hazel eyes—sometimes I see him in there with you.”
    “Dad always said I looked like the mailman.”
    Dora dismissed her nonsense with a wave of her hand and suggested they do a picture puzzle together. She brought out a box with the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the front. They sat down to worry pieces of the puzzle into place and argue over pieces that didn’t seem to belong anywhere. Jenny, getting bored, finally made pieces fit whether they belonged or not and put the puzzle away.
    Dora yawned. “I’m a little tired,” she apologized as she got up and walked toward her bedroom.
    Jenny followed down the hall to cover her with a light blanket and open a window in the stuffy room because the rain