A Tale of Two Biddies Read Online Free PDF Page A

deal of commotion near the water, you need to be more careful.”
    Richie’s bottom lip jutted out. “I’m always plenty careful,” he said, and no one had the nerve to mention the blown-up summer cottage, or Gordon Hunter’s boat. “I was plenty careful tonight.”
    “Of course you were.” It was a little out of character for Kate to be diplomatic, but then, I knew Richie sometimes helped out around the winery. She knew him better than the rest of us did. “But that doesn’t mean someone didn’t bump into you accidentally and—”
    “It wasn’t an accident.” Richie stomped one foot and water spurted from the puddle and splashed us all. He didn’t apologize. “It was real. You’re all standing around acting like it’s no big deal, but somebody just tried to kill me.”
    “There, there.” Margaret handed Richie a second cup of tea. “You’ll feel better after you’ve had some time to relax and recover.”
    Richie snuffled and took the cup out of her hands. “Thank you, Margaret,” he said, and maybe he was finally coming out of the shock; his gaze snapped to hers. “Or are you Alice?”
    Margaret’s silvery laugh was as gentle as the pitter-pat of the raindrops on the roof. “Don’t be silly, dear. You’ve known me all your life. You know exactly who I am.”
    “Yeah,” Richie said. “Yeah, I do.”
    With Richie sipping tea and Margaret clucking over him like a mother hen, the Ladies and I had a chance to turn our backs and exchange looks.
    “You don’t think—”
    Kate hushed Chandra’s question with a well-placed elbow to the ribs.
    “Well, it’s only natural to ask,” Chandra hissed. “Mike was on the dock, and Mike can’t stand Richie.”
    “And Gordon was around, too. And now . . .” Luella stood on tiptoe and glanced around the park. “I don’t see him anywhere. He disappeared. Just like Mike did.”
    “Oh, come on!” It wasn’t unusual for me to be the voice of reason. After all, I was the one who tried to talk these ladies out of investigating a murder just a few months before. Of course, that hadn’t worked.
    The realization sat on my shoulders, as real as my clammy clothes. I knocked it away with a twitch.
    “You don’t really believe any of what Richie’s saying, do you?” I whispered. “Nobody would try to kill somebody in front of so many people. And even if they wanted to . . . well, they wouldn’t want to. Nobody’s trying to kill Richie. Sure, he’s screwed up some things, but I’m sure Gordon has insurance on his boat, and I know that big summer house on the other end of the island is already being rebuilt. Nobody would actually want Richie dead because of any of that.”
    “Except maybe the guy whose house he blew up,” Kate said.
    “Or the guy whose boat he damaged,” Chandra added.
    “Or Mike,” Luella said. “He lost everything, remember.”
    I cut her off before she could go any further. “Okay, I get it. So lots of people are mad at Richie. But murder?” I scrubbed my hands over my face. “If you wanted someone dead, there are plenty more efficient ways to get it done than to push someone in a lake.”
    “Listen to her!” Chandra screeched her approval, then remembered that we were supposed to be keeping our conversation under wraps. “You do have a freaky imagination, Bea. Just like FX O’Grady.”
    “Thanks for nothing.” I gave her what I hoped was an intimidating look. Since Chandra went right on grinning, I guess it didn’t work. “Just because we caught one murderer doesn’t mean there are others lurking around every corner.”
    “No one said there are,” Kate conceded. “But it does seem mighty coincidental, don’t you think that Mike was on the dock. And so was Gordon. And then Richie—”
    “Tripped and fell. Or slipped and fell. Or wasn’t watching where he was going. Or was in such a hurry to stow that cooler he was carrying, he moved too fast. Or he—”
    “Bea’s right.” Luella patted my arm. I