Breaking News Read Online Free PDF

be better off if they just went along with Bernice and her tale of a near-death experience. Knowing the three g’s as well as she did, she knew that they would pick up on her cue. “I believe you, Bernice. So much so that I think it’s time we started observing Mrs. Patterson’s house. We can all take turns, each take a shift. Sophie, do you still have all your cameras and psychic mumbo-jumbo stuff?”
    â€œNow, wait just a minute,” Bernice contested. “I don’t want you to start playing ghost hunters. This is my problem, and I’ll . . . deal with it. Right, Jamie?”
    Flustered at being brought into the middle of a discussion she didn’t want to take sides in, Jamie raised her shoulders, as if to indicate no opinion either way. “This is your story, Bernie. You have to do what you feel is best.”
    â€œI don’t believe a stakeout is in order. I am supposed to watch the place, not move in,” Bernice articulated. “Now, can we discuss something else?”
    Toots, always the leader of the group, spoke up first. “We’re not talking about a stakeout, just one of us paying extra close attention to Mrs. Patterson’s place. Since it’s empty and has that huge FOR SALE sign in the front yard, I’m thinking there could be vandals. If we’re watching the place, and something happens, we’ll just report it to the police. I really don’t believe something evil is going to go down. What about you, Soph? Is your gut telling you anything?” They all knew that Sophie’s gut instinct was almost always spot-on.
    Sophie, her brown hair trailing down her back, shook her head vigorously. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For a few minutes, the kitchen/dining area was completely silent. Suddenly, Sophie’s large whiskey-colored eyes opened wide. “Oh my—”
    â€œWhat? Do you see something?” Toots asked.
    â€œNo, I just have to pee really bad. I’ll be right back.” Sophie practically flew out of her chair and up the stairs, leaving the other women clueless.
    Bernice broke the ensuing silence. “Why, I swear, if I were in better shape, I’d run after that old girl just so I could smack her in that smart mouth of hers.”
    Seconds later, Sophie ran downstairs with an armload of books. “Damn, this getting old sucks. I thought I was going to pee all over myself. Now”—she plopped the stack of books on the table—“I’ve had these for a while. I just haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. So, Bernice, you believe you’ve had an NDE, correct?”
    Mavis’s face reddened. “Oh, please tell me what you just said. Isn’t that . . . well, you know, that pump thing that George needed?”
    They all broke out in hysterical laughter. Mavis had met a gentleman while they were in Malibu. He owned a string of dry cleaners across the country. He and Mavis were just getting ready to take their relationship to another level when he mentioned he would need to use a VCD, a vacuum constriction device, if they were to become intimate. Mavis had been mortified, and she’d broken it off with George, sparing herself his inability to rise to the occasion, so to speak. They’d all had quite a few laughs over that incident.
    â€œYou’re talking about that VCD, right? No, this is something entirely different. Not a sex aid, Mavis,” Sophie explained, a mile-wide grin spread across her face.
    â€œNone of you will listen to me, and yet as soon as . . . Miss Cleo appears with her magic books, you . . . you”—Ida sniffed—“give her your undivided attention. I was going to ask all of you to act as my models on The Home Shopping Club. Now I think I’ll consult a modeling agency and give other senior citizens the opportunity of a lifetime.”
    All the chatter stopped instantly. Toots, Sophie, and Mavis focused their gaze