Murder Gone A-Rye (A Baker's Treat Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

needed a good home. Heaven knew the house had been big enough.
    I called her Aunt Phyllis even though she wasn’t a true relative, as she was more a mother to me some days than my own mom had been.
    “I had a feeling something was wrong so I hopped a train in.”
    “You don’t mean that literally, do you?” I glanced at her. She watched out the window as if her life depended on it.
    “Amtrak goes into Newton, dear. After that I hitchhiked into town. Got in and heard tell Ruth had been arrested.”
    “She was questioned, not arrested,” I corrected. “And you know better than to hitch rides. A serial killer could have picked you up.”
    “Honey, at my age, it would have simply made things interesting.” She was serious. I hated that. At only sixty, she was far from being old or ready for death.
    “Not for me,” I stated flatly.
    She put her hand on mine and squeezed. “It’s always nice to know someone cares where a body is.”
    Phyllis was one of the best women I knew. She had a heart bigger than the state of Texas and was always popping in and out of my life as I needed her. I had a feeling she did that with a lot of people. She simply didn’t talk about it.
    “Now, tell me what’s going on,” she said.
    “I have no clue.” I pulled into the parking lot next to the high school football stadium. It was Thursday and football season was over, which meant it was only me, Phyllis, and the scent of gravel. I parked and turned toward her.
    She wore a fringed, brown, leather jacket, a white tee shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of expensive sneakers. While my hair was a wild, kinky mess, Phyllis looked perfectly polished, from her shiny, flat hair to the ironed crease in her jeans.
    “Let me guess: Lois Striker died.” She studied me. “The police think Ruth had something to do with it?”
    “How do you do that?” I was stunned by her ability to know what was going on even when she lived in California.
    “I have connections,” she said, brushing my amazement aside. “Besides, Ruth always had a big aura. When something’s going on I can feel it halfway across the world.”
    “How did you know about Lois?” If her aura reading was that good I was going to ask her for lottery numbers.
    “Oh, Mary Hazleton called me the minute Lois missed their breakfast meeting. Not like Lois to not be there for free donuts.”
    “Amazing.”
    “Never underestimate the power of the senior grapevine, dear. Besides, Ruth and I were working on a top secret article together. Ruth was supposed to check in with me and didn’t. I got worried and called.”
    I put the van in gear and started backing out of the parking lot, until I spotted an empty Volkswagen van with California plates in the lot. “I knew you wouldn’t hitchhike.” I stopped in front of the van.
    Phyllis laughed and unbuckled her seat belt. “Had you going for a moment there, didn’t I?” She winked at me. “I’ll follow you home.”
    “You know where it is.” I leaned out my window and watched her unlock and open the creaky old door.
    “But that would have spoiled the surprise, now wouldn’t it?” She hopped in and started the VW up. Its engines purred smoothly, even if the exterior looked as if it had gone through the ravishes of time. Phyllis had owned the van as long as I had known her, and it was an antique when she got it. But she had liked the look of it and the freedom of living inside its closet-like quarters.
    I smiled as she followed me down the road. When I was a teen, spending a night in the van with Phyllis had been as cool as sipping pretend gin and tonics. She always made it all seem effortless—the easygoing lifestyle, the perfect clothes, the ability to come and go as she pleased. And always, always ensuring that everyone was okay before she left.
    Having Phyllis around lifted my spirits. It made me think I could even battle my reemerging feelings for Brad. I simply had to make sure I didn’t spend any nights in the van. These