Moving Can Be Murder Read Online Free PDF

town.”
    Before My Beloved could answer, a young man,
obviously the owner from the mantle of authority he wore over his
crisp navy blazer with “Chita” emblazoned on the breast pocket,
arrived at our table with two margaritas. “On the house, Señor and
Señora Andrews. Welcome to Chita. We are honored to have Mike’s
parents as guests here.” He bowed slightly, then left to attend to
another table.
    I had to laugh. “So that’s how you did it,
Jim. It’s not who you know that counts. It’s who your kids
know.”
    “Let’s face it, Carol,” Jim said. “Our
parents called these the golden years. I don’t know if that’s true,
but we’re still here and we might as well make the best of it,
right? Cheers.” He raised his glass and toasted me.
    What the heck. I could be a sport. I
mimicked his toast and took a sip of my drink. And choked.
    I am not a serious drinker. Unless you count
wine, of course. Which I don’t.
    “So how did this happen, Jim?” I asked once
I’d stopped coughing. “I want details. Who is this guy, how does
Mike know him, and how did you find out about the connection?”
    With the ability Jim had perfected over the
years as a public relations agent in New York, he neatly deflected
my questions and changed the subject. Oh, well, I could e-mail Mike
later and get the details, so I let him get away with it.
    Until I realized that he’d placed a glossy
folder in front of me with the legend “Eden’s Grove – One of the
Top 100 Active Adult Communities in America” stamped on the front.
My head was a little buzzy from the margarita, but not that
much.
    “I thought we were through looking at these
places,” I said, and took another sip of my drink. “I went along
with you, we saw two, and we both decided they weren’t for us.”
    I turned my palms up. “End of story.”
    “I just wanted you to see those two first
for a basis of comparison,” My Beloved said. He slapped his hand on
the folder and nudged it closer to me. “This is the one I really
want us to look at. It sounds fabulous. Just look at all these
amenities. It has an indoor and an outdoor pool, exercise rooms,
tennis courts, and a golf course. If we moved there, we’d feel like
we were on vacation all the time. Look at these photos, honey.”
    Right then and there, I should have stopped
him. But he was so excited, I just couldn’t throw cold water on his
enthusiasm. At least, that’s what I told my best friends Nancy and
Mary Alice later when I brought them up to date on our foray into
active adulthood.
    I hadn’t seen Jim this energized since his
first meeting with his retirement coach, Davis Rhodes. And look how
that worked out, Carol, my little voice reminded me. Jim ended up
being suspected of murdering him.
    “But Jim,” I countered weakly, trying to
inject some reality into the situation, “neither one of us plays
golf or tennis.”
    “We’re not too old to learn,” he snapped
back. “Come on, Carol. Let’s finish our lunch and go check it out.
What have we got to lose?”
    My beautiful home for one thing, I
thought.
    But it meant so much to him. The last time I
saw such a pleading look was when Lucy and Ethel wanted to go
outside and romp around the yard. And when I ignored that look, I
was always sorry.
    What the heck. I raised my margarita glass
and said, “Eden’s Grove, here we come.”
     
    And I repeated my mantra silently: Two
master suites. Two master suites.

     
    “The Eden’s Grove entrance is pretty
impressive,” Jim said.
    “Hmm,” I said. “It’s different.”
    With its stone fence, guard house, and gate,
I thought the community looked more like a prison than my idea of
an active adult community.
    “I wonder if they’re keeping the bad guys
out, or keeping the residents in.”
    “Very funny, Carol,” My Beloved said. “Try
to keep an open mind. I think you’ll really like this place.” He
took my hand and eased me from the car.
    I took a closer look around the grounds.