A Skeleton in the Closet (Kate Lawrence Mysteries) by Judith K. Ivie
Authors: Judith K. Ivie
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couldn’t.”
Margo looked up, understanding at last. “ Ahhh . Now I get it.” She dropped her nail file back into her capacious purse and leaned forward to grab my hand. “Listen to me. You and Armando are two of the prickliest little devils I’ve ever met. Total pisspots , the two of you, but somehow you found each other. You know as well as I do, Sugar, that the only thing that matters in a relationship is that you can stand his quirks, and he can stand yours. You have both had years to decide that you can. I think it’s goin ’ to be just fine.”
For Margo, that was quite a speech, and she didn’t give speeches very often. “You do?” I asked finally.
“I do,” she said firmly, “no pun intended. Now, what can we do to get the knot out of Strutter’s tail?”
Four
Twenty minutes later, we decided that since we were just assuming that Strutter was expecting, and it was possible that we were wrong, it was probably best to respect her obvious wish to keep her secret for the time being. We got on with the business of the day. Margo left to show a house, and I went to visit the Henstock ladies to see how they were bearing up under all the excitement.
As I waited once again on the sagging front porch of
185 Broad Street for one of the sisters to answer my knock, I gazed around me and thought how truly splendid the French Second Empire-style house must have been in its heyday. Constructed in the late 1800s by Henstock ancestors, it had been home to Judge and Mrs. Henstock in the early years of their marriage, I knew. I did some hasty calculations and concluded that the sisters, now something over eighty years of age, would have been born in the 1920s. I smiled, imagining the two little girls playing among the now overgrown hedges and shrubbery. Perhaps they had tea parties for their dollies, much like those my Emma had hosted for her Barbies years ago.
A tapping on the front window interrupted my reverie. Lavinia and Ada Henstock peered out at me from the front parlor window. Ada jabbed a finger to her right and mouthed words I couldn’t quite make out. Was someone else in the room with them? No, Lavinia wanted me to go somewhere. But where? Then I remembered the side entrance and nodded to show I understood. She smiled, and the sisters trotted out of sight to let me in.
Later, seated at the capacious kitchen table with another cup of excellent tea before me, I broached the subject of the remains retrieved that morning from the Spring Street Pond. “You’ve had quite a couple of days, haven’t you?”
Ada rolled her eyes in agreement and sipped thirstily at her tea, but to my surprise, Lavinia’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Oh, my, yes! Such a lot of coming and going, what with the plumber and you and your partners, and then the police. That nice Lieutenant came by again this morning to give us the news about finding the, um, body.” She slid her eyes sideways to Ada , but receiving no rebuke for her boldness, she continued. “I don’t suppose we’ve had this many people in the house since poor Papa’s funeral. My, wasn’t that a day, though.” Her face glowed at the memory.
Mention of the corpse hadn’t drawn a response from Ada , but mention of their father’s demise did. “For heaven’s sake, Lavinia , that was nearly forty years ago. We have certainly entertained guests since then. Why, don’t you remember that Christmas open house we had in celebration of the Bicentennial in ’96?” She was positively bristling at the implication that she and her sister were antisocial.
“I’m sure it was a lovely occasion,” I intervened hastily. “Tell me, have you had any further thoughts on the identity of the body? I’m sure the police have already questioned you about that, but I confess that I’m curious.”
“ Mmmm , yes, we have.” Ada stirred her tea thoughtfully. At first, we thought it might be from the Civil War era, perhaps a runaway slave who
Margo looked up, understanding at last. “ Ahhh . Now I get it.” She dropped her nail file back into her capacious purse and leaned forward to grab my hand. “Listen to me. You and Armando are two of the prickliest little devils I’ve ever met. Total pisspots , the two of you, but somehow you found each other. You know as well as I do, Sugar, that the only thing that matters in a relationship is that you can stand his quirks, and he can stand yours. You have both had years to decide that you can. I think it’s goin ’ to be just fine.”
For Margo, that was quite a speech, and she didn’t give speeches very often. “You do?” I asked finally.
“I do,” she said firmly, “no pun intended. Now, what can we do to get the knot out of Strutter’s tail?”
Four
Twenty minutes later, we decided that since we were just assuming that Strutter was expecting, and it was possible that we were wrong, it was probably best to respect her obvious wish to keep her secret for the time being. We got on with the business of the day. Margo left to show a house, and I went to visit the Henstock ladies to see how they were bearing up under all the excitement.
As I waited once again on the sagging front porch of
185 Broad Street for one of the sisters to answer my knock, I gazed around me and thought how truly splendid the French Second Empire-style house must have been in its heyday. Constructed in the late 1800s by Henstock ancestors, it had been home to Judge and Mrs. Henstock in the early years of their marriage, I knew. I did some hasty calculations and concluded that the sisters, now something over eighty years of age, would have been born in the 1920s. I smiled, imagining the two little girls playing among the now overgrown hedges and shrubbery. Perhaps they had tea parties for their dollies, much like those my Emma had hosted for her Barbies years ago.
A tapping on the front window interrupted my reverie. Lavinia and Ada Henstock peered out at me from the front parlor window. Ada jabbed a finger to her right and mouthed words I couldn’t quite make out. Was someone else in the room with them? No, Lavinia wanted me to go somewhere. But where? Then I remembered the side entrance and nodded to show I understood. She smiled, and the sisters trotted out of sight to let me in.
Later, seated at the capacious kitchen table with another cup of excellent tea before me, I broached the subject of the remains retrieved that morning from the Spring Street Pond. “You’ve had quite a couple of days, haven’t you?”
Ada rolled her eyes in agreement and sipped thirstily at her tea, but to my surprise, Lavinia’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Oh, my, yes! Such a lot of coming and going, what with the plumber and you and your partners, and then the police. That nice Lieutenant came by again this morning to give us the news about finding the, um, body.” She slid her eyes sideways to Ada , but receiving no rebuke for her boldness, she continued. “I don’t suppose we’ve had this many people in the house since poor Papa’s funeral. My, wasn’t that a day, though.” Her face glowed at the memory.
Mention of the corpse hadn’t drawn a response from Ada , but mention of their father’s demise did. “For heaven’s sake, Lavinia , that was nearly forty years ago. We have certainly entertained guests since then. Why, don’t you remember that Christmas open house we had in celebration of the Bicentennial in ’96?” She was positively bristling at the implication that she and her sister were antisocial.
“I’m sure it was a lovely occasion,” I intervened hastily. “Tell me, have you had any further thoughts on the identity of the body? I’m sure the police have already questioned you about that, but I confess that I’m curious.”
“ Mmmm , yes, we have.” Ada stirred her tea thoughtfully. At first, we thought it might be from the Civil War era, perhaps a runaway slave who
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