Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) by Marilyn Levinson Page A

her! Promise me you won’t tell her about Leo and me.”
    I pulled my hand free. “Of course I won’t.” My voice remained calm but inside my heart was singing. Len and Felicity had a romance going. He had nothing to do with Shawn from Utah. Now Brian would have no reason to link Gayle to the murder!
    My sense of relief was cut short when it occurred to me that Gayle might have killed Len because she thought he worked for Shawn. She could have changed her bloodied clothes before waking me and stuffed them in her duffle bag. No, that was too preposterous. I ignored the tug at my moral strings and said I had to get home.
    Felicity gave me a tremulous smile. “I don’t mean to be a bother, only I feel I can talk to you.”
    “I’m glad, Felicity. Any time.” Except now.
    I fed Puss, showered and got dressed for my dinner at Rosie and Hal’s. I thought about my conversation with Felicity. Now I knew why Len had been peering in at our meeting. But it didn’t explain how he ended up dead in my backyard the following morning. I hadn’t realized until now that Felicity was terrified of her sister and  fearful of making her angry. I could understand why Corinne wanted to protect Felicity. They were no more than two or three years apart, and must have been close their entire lives. True, Felicity was fragile, and she had awful taste in men. I wondered if, even now, she knew that her boyfriend had been a thief. But did that give her older sister the right to control her? 
    Which made me think about my sister. I laughed out loud, and it wasn’t a pretty sound. Gayle was naïve and did one stupid thing after another. Not that I blamed her for running when she realized Shawn had murdered her boyfriend. But I’d never presume to have the right to control her life.
    Had Len really cared about Felicity, or did he have an ulterior reason for getting involved with her? She was easy prey. Given her sheltered life, she had little opportunity to socialize and was probably thrilled that a nice looking man like Len was interested in her. I wasn’t too surprised when she told me she’d spent time in a hospital. I assumed it was a psychiatric hospital, where they probably fed her tranquilizers until she was calm enough to leave.
    But where could a relationship with Felicity get him?
    Almost two hours later I was back in the car and heading for Old Cadfield, the big-bucks town where Rosie and Hal lived and where I’d spent the previous summer. Though I took pleasure devouring every bite of my pot roast, roasted potatoes, and salad, I was happy when Rosie cleared the table and the three of us got down to analyzing what was going on in my life.
    Rosie shook her head in disbelief as I repeated the conversation I’d had with Felicity.
    “I have a problem seeing her with a man like Len Lyons,” she said.
    “Are you sure she’s not pulling your leg?” Hal asked. “Maybe their relationship was all in her head.”
    “I’m skeptical but parts of it rang true.” I nodded to his offer to refill my wine glass. “She believes Len loved her and they were a couple. I’ll check out her story as best I can.”
    Rosie grinned. “You have to tell Brian Donovan what she told you.”
    “Of course I will, though it doesn’t explain what Len was doing in my backyard.”
    “Maybe he asked Felicity to meet him there—close to her house but with little chance that Corinne would see them,” Hal said. “It figures, since he wanted to tell her something.”
    “And she killed him?” I stared at him incredulously. “Felicity’s fragile and has the mind of a child.”
    Rosie narrowed her eyes. “Children kill.”
    “But she loved the guy,” I protested.
    My best friends exchanged knowing glances.
    “Tell Brian everything she said,” Rosie advised.
    “Do that,” Hal seconded.
    “I said I would!” I snapped, annoyed by their hovering. “Then maybe he’ll stop questioning me about Gayle.”
    “Any word from her?” Rosie