Birthday Party Murder by Leslie Meier Page A

Lucy informed her.
    â€œOuch!” exclaimed Sue. “You didn’t have to bite my head off.”
    She was obviously determined not to let the general gloom affect her good spirits.
    â€œNow, listen up,” she said, holding up a manicured finger for emphasis. “I have big news.”
    â€œWell, are you going to tell us?” challenged Lucy, busy scraping up the last soggy flakes of cereal with her spoon.
    â€œThis is big, this is so big,” replied Sue, hugging her hands to her chest. “I need a fanfare or something.”
    â€œBupababupa ba ba!” sputtered Pam, setting off a coughing fit.
    â€œJust tell us,” said Rachel, “before Pam has to be hospitalized.”
    â€œOkay, okay. Here it is: Norah is going to put the birthday party on her show!”
    Three jaws dropped open as the women considered this news. They all knew Norah Hemmings, the “queen of daytime TV,” whose afternoon talk show was at the top of the ratings, because she had a summer home in Tinker’s Cove. In fact, Sue’s daughter Sidra worked on the show and had recently been promoted to a full producer from her previous job as an assistant producer.
    â€œHow is this going to happen?” asked Rachel. “Do we have to get Miss T to New York?”
    â€œIt won’t be a surprise if we do that,” moaned Pam. “Besides, I’ve got the high school band all signed up. How are we going to get them to New York?”
    â€œMiss T on TV?” Lucy’s mind boggled at the very idea.
    â€œThis is not the reaction I was expecting,” harrumphed Sue. “I thought you’d all be excited.”
    â€œIt is exciting,” said Pam. “But I thought this was going to be a homegrown, hometown kind of celebration.”
    Lucy and Rachel nodded in agreement.
    â€œIt still is,” said Sue. “Norah is going to come to us. They’re going to videotape Miss T and air it as a segment on her show. It will be part of a larger theme. Vital old women or something like that. All the details haven’t been worked out yet.” She paused and looked at Lucy. “That’s where you come in.”
    â€œMe?” Lucy’s voice was high and squeaky.
    â€œYes!” Sue produced a sheet of paper from her purse. “Sidra faxed this to me yesterday. She needs some information so they can decide how to do the segment and she needs the answers to these questions. I thought you could sort of mix them in with your interview.”
    Lucy reluctantly took the fax. She was beginning to think the machine was an invention of the devil, at least in Sue’s hands. As she expected, the list was long and the questions were complex, focusing on how women’s roles had changed through the years.
    â€œI’ll do what I can, but—” she began.
    â€œI knew I could count on you!” exclaimed Sue, cutting off her objections. “Now, moving right along, let’s talk about refreshments. Joe Marzetti’s promised us a hundred dollars’ worth of groceries at the IGA—whatever we want, soda or chips or paper goods—but that’s not going to be nearly enough if the whole town turns out and I’m pretty sure they will. Any ideas?”
    Lucy found her mind was wandering again, drifting back to Sherman Cobb, and she was relieved when Rachel looked at her watch and pushed her chair away from the table.
    â€œSorry, guys, but I’ve got to get going. Miss T will be wondering where I am.”
    â€œI’ll go with you,” said Lucy, impatient to get moving. “I’ve got a lot of things to do today.”
    Â 
    Â 
    Since it was only a few blocks to Miss Tilley’s house, Lucy decided to follow Video Debbie’s advice and walked, hoping the mild exercise would stretch out and relieve her still achy muscles. Rachel drove because she would need the car if Miss Tilley asked her to run some errands, so she was already