Ghosts Beneath Us: A Third Spookie Town Murder Mystery (Spookie Town Murder Mysteries Book 3) by Kathryn Meyer Griffith Page A

collaborating with her and making the bakery a place people will love to gather and eat what Kate bakes.” Abigail hadn’t noticed any of Kate’s chronic conditions or her limp, but then she hadn’t seen her moving around. They’d both sat on stools most of the time. Then again Myrtle didn’t always get things straight. She liked to embellish her stories, whether they were true or not.
    They were at Abigail’s car. She was anxious to get home and draw out remodeling ideas for Kate and the bakery. She didn’t want to hurt Myrtle’s feelings, but she had to get going. She had so much to do before the kids came home from school. Then there’d be super to make and time with the children.
    “Are you up to going to Stella’s for a piece of her pie of the day?” Myrtle suggested hopefully. “I think today it’s chocolate. My favorite.”
    Yeah, any kind of pie was Myrtle’s favorite and Abigail would end up paying for it as she always did. She was about to turn the old lady down, too busy she’d use as an excuse, then glimpsed the loneliness in the old woman’s face she tried so hard to hide and Abigail gave in.
    “Sure, I have a half hour or so I can waste…for chocolate pie. Let’s go.”
    “Good. I can fill you in on all the heartbreaking details of Clementine’s life. It’s quite the story. And tell you about the cruise I’m going on.”
    The two aimed themselves towards Stella’s Diner, Myrtle chattering all the way like a magpie and Abigail listening. Well, half-listening. Her mind was already busy with the donut shop makeover.
    They sat in a booth at Stella’s and over pieces of pie Myrtle told her what she knew about Clementine, her life, and her daughter. It was a sad story and it made Abigail look at Kate in a different way. Kate was a true survivor. All that tragedy so early in her life could have turned the woman bitter, but, as far as Abigail could see, it hadn’t.
    When the sad story was over Myrtle gushed about her cruise and the fun she was going to have.
    “So, Myrtle, you’re going on a sea trip?” Stella had brought them their pie and coffee and Abigail was spying on the other diners around them. There were a couple of locals and several people who must just be passing through town because she didn’t recognize them. “When and where are you going?’
    “Leaving tomorrow morning with my friend Tina and we’re going to the Bahamas. It won’t be a long cruise, only seven days, but I’m looking forward to it. You sure can have fun on one of those fancy boats. There are activities and entertainments galore. Singers and dancers. Every night. Gambling even. As you know I do love cards. You stop at these ports and get to stretch your legs in an exotic town you’ve never been to where you can buy souvenirs to your heart’s content. The best thing? The food, exquisite and never ending buffets of it, is free and it’s fantastic.” Her mouth went up into a grin as her fork dug into the pie.
    “Well, the food isn’t exactly free. You pay for it with your ticket fee.”
    Myrtle ignored that comment and yammered on, “I stay up every night and play dominos, pinochle or rummy with all sorts of fascinating people and eat all the scrumptious buffet food. They have crab legs and shrimp every night! And in the mornings, whoa, those breakfast spreads are out of this world.
    “Did I ever tell you about the last cruise I went on? Oh, back a couple years me and Tina went to the Caribbean. On a gigantic ship called The Princess. I bet there were a hundred thousand people on that tour. Now that was a hoot.”
    “A hundred thousand?” Abigail tried not to smile but it was hard not to.
    “Yep. Maybe more. Let me tell you what happened on our first island stopover….”
    Soon she had Abigail laughing over her on-board antics and hilarious anecdotes.
    And, before they parted ways, she revealed another case of a haunting she’d uncovered in town. “My friend Alfred–that’s Alfred Loring who