Proof of Murder (Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #4) - Lauren Elliott Page 0,51

on her. She and her husband had lived in that house for nearly fifty years, and now that he’s gone she seems a little lost.”

“She was a good friend of Mom’s. I’ll ask about her and make sure she’s doing okay.”

“That’s a great idea. In the meantime, I told her we couldn’t take the books unless she let me give her a store credit, so I’ve marked that in the consignment book and made a note under her account on the computer. She said she had about eight crates of books to bring in yet, so after she does, I’ll enter how much of a credit we’ll give her.”

“That’s nice, but if she’s looking to downsize her book collection, won’t that defeat her purpose?”

“I’m one step ahead of you, because that’s exactly what she said,” Addie said with a laugh. “I pointed out our wide selection of children’s books and told her the store credit would make her the most popular grandmother ever at birthday parties and Christmases if she accepted it.”

“Good idea. I bet she jumped at that. I think she has about a dozen grandkids.”

“Fourteen at last count. Plus, I also suggested she join the book club. I thought it might be good for her to get together with some of the other members who have lost their husbands, too.”

“Yeah, she and Ida might hit it off. I’m pretty sure they know each other, but maybe not socially.”

“I was thinking . . .” Addie twisted her fingers together. “Maybe you could ask your mom if she wants to join, too.”

“My mother at a book-club meeting? That’ll be the day. Unless they’re cookbooks, I don’t think she’s ever read anything else.”

“It might be good for her, then, don’t you think? Since she’s started to come into the store, she does seem to be taking more of an interest in what you’re doing. It might be good for both of you to do something like read and review books together.”

Paige shrugged and pushed the cart up the aisle. “I’ll ask her, but don’t hold your breath.”

“That’s all we can do, is ask,” Addie said with a chuckle. “Oh. Wendy said she’d be back later with those other books if she can get her sons to help her with them.”

“Sounds good,” Paige called back and then stopped. “Did you eat yet?”

“No, I haven’t. What was Serena doing when you were in there?”

“She was on the phone with her suppliers trying to get her orders sorted out for next week. I saw her eating her sandwich while she was on hold.”

Addie peeked at the wrapped sandwiches in the bakery bag. “There’s a couple left in here. Maybe I’ll take one over to the hospital and see if Simon’s hungry. I haven’t seen him since last night.” She recalled the haunted look in his eyes when she was led out the door in handcuffs and then ushered into the back of the police cruiser. “Yeah, I better go see him.” She called out as she grabbed the sandwich bag, her purse, and headed out the front door through the park to the hospital.

* * *

Addie raised her hand to knock on Simon’s hospital office door and froze when voices drifted through the partial opening. She edged closer, not averse to eavesdropping. As a matter of fact, this was a skill she had learned to recently embrace.

“What you’re saying, Simon, is that there is no cause of death?”

“No, Marc, I said there is no indication of poison, trauma, or any other weapon used that would have caused a sudden death in this manner.”

“Same thing, isn’t it?”

“Not exactly.” Simon let out a labored breath. “It only means I have to run more tests before I can determine an actual cause of death and file my report.”

“I need to know if I have a murder on my hands or not.”

“At this point, I can’t say for certain.”

“Come on, you have to give me more than that. I have a suspect who is convinced that the death and the book thefts are related, and a special agent who feels that particular suspect is guilty of both crimes.”

“I can only tell you, again, that I have run the standard toxicology tests, plus I’ve tested all the herbal samples you brought me, and they all came back negative in the blood and tissue samples. Nothing that I’ve tested for induced sudden death. Unless you can bring me exactly whatever it is that you think poisoned this woman, it appears