Case of Imagination Read Online Free PDF Page A

place.”
    His broad face fell. “Really? You’re staying there? At night?”
    “During the day, too,” I said. “How haunted is it?”
    “Well, there’ve been a number of rumors about the place.”
    “Such as?”
    Hofsteder seemed reluctant to elaborate. “Odd noises, strange shapes, that sort of thing.”
    Kimberly Dawn Williams leaned toward me. “Did I hear you say you were staying in Val Eberlin’s house? It’s nonsense, all of it. Val was a very nice gentleman, just a little eccentric.”
    “Wasn’t there half the time,” Benjy Goins said.
    “What about all those lights in the attic?” Hofsteder said. “I had some people on my street ready to swear he was a mad scientist.”
    Kimberly Dawn dismissed this notion with a wave of her pink-tipped hand. “Nonsense. When he went off on his trips, he had timers on the lights.”
    “Not that any burglar would bother that house,” Goins said.
    “Excuse me,” Cindy said. “Could we get back to pageant and leave the useless speculation for later?”
    Chuck Hofsteder grinned and said to me, “There’s another rumor going around that Evan James is not the one in charge here.”
    A short while later, when Cindy was certain they knew everything they needed to know, the judges were sent off to prepare for their interviews. I went back out through the auditorium to discuss the details of my assignment with Mr. James. He was sitting in the front row. Percy had set up a video camera on a tripod to film the dance. The contestants were making their way through the choreography with varying degrees of success. Miss Tri-County couldn’t dance at all. Miss River Valley Falls kept the beat, doing interesting things with her arms. As for Miss Celosia High, she was perfect. Elegant. Graceful. Coordinated. She caught my eye and gave me a look I had seen many times in many pageants. This young woman was a shark, and she would win if she had to savage everyone in her path.
    Percy waved his hands above his head as if signaling a jet plane to land. “Stop, stop, stop! Girls, for heaven’s sake. All of you come around here and look at yourselves. I guarantee you’ll be absolutely shocked.”
    They crowded around the camera to watch the playback. Some of them snickered.
    Percy drew himself up. “Think it’s funny, do you? I did not choreograph a comedy routine. Look here. Juliet is the only one dancing in time to the music.”
    Juliet Lovelace looked smug. The other contestants straightened and moved away from the tiny screen. They didn’t say anything, but their dark glances and rigid posture telegraphed a world of hate for Miss Celosia High.
    Percy seemed oblivious to this show of resentment, or maybe he just didn’t care as long as they performed up to his standards. He clapped his hands. “Now let’s try it again.”
    When Evan James saw me, he got up. “I must apologize for all the disorganization today.”
    “That’s all right. I know how pageants can be. Cindy was very helpful, but I’d like to speak with the contestants.”
    He checked his watch. “Oh, dear. They’re really busy today with dance rehearsal and interviews. We’re on such a tight schedule. Could you speak with them tomorrow, say, around 1:30?”
    “That would be fine.”
    He shook my hand. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am having a real queen on the case, Ms. Maclin.”
    A real investigator, I wanted to say, but I smiled and thanked him.
    ***
     
    I left the VW bug in the theater parking lot and walked down Main Street heading for the bookstore—Georgia’s Bookshop. I hoped that Olivia had steamed back to Parkland, but if she stayed and if she and Jerry were going to argue all night, I’d need something to read.
    I stepped inside and went over to the magazine section that stretched the length of the store. There were several customers in the broad aisles. Two women hunted through Georgia’s vast array of crochet and needlework magazines. Teenagers slouched against the back wall of