Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

they’d described Oscar’s last days. “Apparently he told a few folks that his days were numbered. He even left a note for his children and told them some things weren’t worth salvaging. Other things were worth the sacrifice.”
    Opal frowned. “Sounds like he was a depressed fellow.”
    “At least he was thoughtful which is strange…considering his disease and all. Anyway, he had a chance to say farewell and he took it. The letter was straightforward from what I understand.”
    Which was part of the problem . Pearl typically caught only bits and pieces of a conversation and remembered even less.
    “He left his family instructions. He told them, ‘Please choose someone to say nice things about me in my eulogy. If that’s impossible then lie about my accomplishments in an obituary.’ He gave them a few words of advice and that was it.”
    “He wrote this letter to his children?” Mary Louise stopped rocking. “Why not his wife?”
    “I don’t think they got along.”
    Opal leaned forward. “You are talking about Oscar Leonardo, right?”
    “That’s the one.”
    “Hon, that’s not how he died. He committed suicide. The letter is proof enough but Charlton’s Café owner Margaret? Why she told Louise down at the Parading Lingerie store that his wife found him in an alley behind the Neighborhood Bar and Grill. They think he drank himself to death.”
    “Now that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.” 
    “Because dying of irritability makes more sense?”
    “No. Because everyone knows that Oscar never touched a drop of alcohol. He was a man of the cloth.”
    “He was not a man of the cloth,” Opal said, sounding exasperated.
    “Oh yes he was. He made the most beautiful dresses you ever laid your eyes on. Denise down at the Five and Dime said she read about him in a magazine once. Said the article pointed out that ‘the evening gowns were some of the most beautiful ever seen from the Oscar’ and he is very well known.” 
    “The Oscars.” Opal turned to Mary Louise. “I’m not touching that one. You have a beautiful way with words. This time, she’s all yours.” When Mary Louise didn’t say anything, Opal looked concerned. “What’s the matter?”
    “I’m about to add one more story to the line of tall tales.” Troubled by the number of discrepancies surrounding Oscar’s death, she said, “Small town fiction is a bit more twisted than usual, girls.”
    “How so?” Opal asked.
    “I talked to Oscar’s wife—Kelly Leonardo—right after he passed. She stopped by the store and according to her, Oscar slipped away quietly in the night.” 
    Opal gasped. “Are you pulling my leg?”
    “Oh no. She wouldn’t dare. Might pull your hip out.” Pearl shivered. “Replacement surgery wouldn’t be your idea of a good time.”
    “My idea of a good time isn’t trying to figure out how someone died,” Opal said in a matter-of-fact voice. “Johnny B owns the bar and grill. He lives across the street so I’ll find out what he knows.”
    “He lived across the street from you.” Pearl fluttered her eyelashes. “You’re not in Topeka anymore, Dorothy.”
    “It’s Liberal,” Opal said, correcting her. “Liberal, Kansas.”
    “As if it matters.”
    “And here we go…” Opal was Hollywood’s version of a walking encyclopedia and she loved all things Oz. “Considering I’ve watched The Wizard of Oz two hundred and five times? It matters. Dorothy’s house and the Land of Oz are now located in Liberal, Kansas.” 
    “Well Dorothy must’ve been real busy back in the day because she also has a nice place in Beech Mountain, which is closer to us by way of car. But you go on and click your heels. See how close you get to Kansas.”
    “Did he have an open casket?” Mary Louise cut their argument short. “Don’t answer that.” She turned to Opal. “And you can’t believe anything Johnny B says. The truth’s not in him.”
    “What just happened?” Pearl asked, clearly