This Old Murder Read Online Free PDF

while she explained the ideas Sam had come up with and then a large grin spread across his face. “Thanks, Mom. I knew you’d be reasonable. You know what I’m going to do with my salary?”
    “Put half of it in your college fund,” she reminded him.
    “Sure, but after that I’m going to start saving for my car.”
    “Your what? Tyler, you won’t be driving for another year. And cars are expensive.” Josie shut up. A year was a long way away and Tyler’s enthusiasms could be as brief as they were intense. Besides, the smell of hickory-smoked bacon filled the air and there were more immediate things to worry about. “Did you check to see if we had any syrup?”
    “The real stuff,” he replied, pointing to the plastic jug she hadn’t noticed at the end of the counter.
    “You really planned this well.”
    “I figured we could celebrate my new job if you agreed to it. And if not, I’d try bribing you with a good home-cooked meal. You know what they say: The way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach. Right?”
    “That’s not quite how I heard it,” Josie admitted, reaching for the plate Tyler passed her. The plate, bought at a garage sale, was extra large. And it was in danger of overflowing. She picked up her fork and reached for the syrup, suddenly famished.
    Josie was a good and enlightened mother. She had read her share of articles about the importance of self-confidence, so she forced herself to stop eating after the first pancake and compliment her son’s cooking.
    “So when do you start work?” Josie asked, putting down her fork and reaching for her coffee.
    “Today. At nine o’clock. So I’d better get,” Tyler said, standing up. He seemed to notice the pile of dishes in the sink for the first time. “I’ll clean these up tonight, okay?”
    Josie smiled. She doubted it. “Great. I’ll have a hard time matching this meal for dinner tonight.”
    “Uh. Mom.”
    Josie knew what was coming. “You’re not going to be home for dinner. I thought if you worked early, you’d be off by five.”
    “Oh, it’s not work. It’s just that I promised some of the guys that I’d meet them for pizza and we could watch a video or two.” He grinned, for a moment resembling his mother. “I get free videos, you know. This could make me the most popular person on the island this summer.”
    “As far as I’m concerned, you already are.” Josie glanced at the large grandfather clock Tyler had made for her in his shop class at school. “Damn. I’m going to be late if I don’t get a move on. When will you be home?” she called over her shoulder as she hurried to the bathroom.
    “I’m not sure. I’ll call and tell you where I’m going to be and what time I’ll be home. I can leave a message on the machine if you’re out.”
    “Okay, but be here by ten—”
    “Thirty. I know, Mom. I know.”
    Bobby Valentine hadn’t lied.
Courtney Castle’s Castles
had folded its equipment into its vans and vanished into the sunset (or wherever). Happily, everyone from Island Contracting seemed to be present, accounted for, and working busily. The windows of number 23 were open and dust was flying out of them. As well as noise. Lots of noise, as the heavyset man standing on the side deck of number 25 seemed anxious to point out.
    “You Josie Pigeon?”
    Josie forced a polite smile onto her face and admitted the truth.
    “Howard, is that the contractor?” The question came from the dark interior of the house behind the man.
    “I’ll take care of this, Cheryl. You just keep trying on everything in your wardrobe.”
    Josie knew what was going on. It wasn’t the first time she’d had to deal with a neighbor who came to the shore for a nice quiet vacation only to discover the realities of early-morning remodeling going on nearby. “This isn’t going to last forever,” Josie said, waving toward the house. “And this is the noisy part. In a few days the demolition will be complete and things will get