Murder Has a Sweet Tooth - By Miranda Bliss Page 0,22
little in that uncomfortable way people do when they’re not sure if they should be laughing or not. “If you knew her, this isn’t news to you. You know she was beautiful, and that she took pride in her looks. You know she kept a perfect house, and that if the Big Guy up there”—Glynis looked toward the ceiling—“if the Big Guy ever decides to re-create the Garden of Eden, he’ll ask for Vickie’s advice. She was gifted when it came to gardening and decorating, and she could throw one heck of a party. There isn’t one . . .” Glynis turned toward the urn on the table. “There isn’t one party any of us will ever have or ever attend that we won’t think of you, sweetie. We’ll miss you.”
Beth was waiting at the podium even before Glynis walked away. “Vickie loved her family,” she said. “Edward . . .” Beth’s eyes welled and her voice wobbled over the words. “She loved you, Edward, and you know she was the perfect wife. She loved you, Antonia. And you, Henry. Your mommy is looking down on you right now from heaven. She’ll always . . . always . . .” It was all Beth could say. Sobbing, she returned to her seat.
Sobbing, we all watched her.
After that, things wrapped up pretty quickly. On behalf of the family, the funeral director thanked everyone for coming and invited friends and relatives to the Monroe home for lunch. We all stood and, row by row, filed past the urn.
Because Eve and I were in the back row, we were the first out the door. But when she made to go out to the parking lot, I put a hand on her arm. “I want to talk to them,” I said. “To Vickie’s friends.”
Eve was taller than me. She didn’t even have to strain to look over my head and back into the room where the service had been conducted. I looked that way, too, and saw Celia, Glynis, and Beth, their arms linked, standing in front of the urn. “What are you going to say? That you’re trying to find their friend’s killer? They know Alex is in custody.”
“I was thinking I’d say I was a friend from college, that I heard about Vickie and—”
Just as I was practicing the lie, the three women walked out of the room. They stood in a tight circle, their arms around each other, and well-prepared lie or not, I didn’t have the heart to butt in.
But then, I didn’t have the luxury of not butting in, either. Not if I intended to get to the bottom of Vickie’s murder.
Just as I approached, Glynis pulled out of the hug. “We should go Wednesday after school,” she said to her friends, sniffing. “We always go on Wednesdays, and the kids will be disappointed if we don’t. We don’t want to upset them. We don’t want to let them know how upset we are. Besides, we owe it to ourselves to keep things as normal as we possibly can.”
“You’re right.” Celia nodded.
Beth said, “I promised Erin we’d do Clemyjontri Park this week.”
“That’s fine,” said Celia.
“Agreed,” said Glynis. “Four o’clock?”
And when nobody objected, the three women split up and went to stand with their husbands.
Watching them go, Eve leaned over my shoulder. “You’re not going to tell them you’re an old friend from college?”
“I’ve got a better idea.” No one was paying any attention to me, but I turned away anyway when the three friends walked toward the door. “I’m not going to be an old friend, I’m going to be a new friend,” I told Eve. And before she could ask for details I hadn’t thought of yet, we turned and left the funeral home.
WHEN IT COMES TO PLAYGROUNDS, CLEMYJONTRI Park is something of a legend. At least in this part of Virginia. It features four different play areas with a carousel in the center, and though I’d read that the playground took up the better part of two acres, that didn’t quite translate. At least not until I arrived there Wednesday at four and realized it wasn’t going to be easy to find Celia, Glynis, and Beth. I trudged over just about the entire playground before I caught sight of them watching a horde of children scramble over the jungle gym in the Fun and Fitness area.
That was just about the time I realized something else—showing up at a playground without a kid made me stick out like