Three Bedrooms, One Corpse - By Charlaine Harris Page 0,44

clothes with as much care as she picked her makeup. Your clothes always said something to your date, she claimed, and she had had such a long and varied and successful dating career that I figured she knew what she was talking about.

“It has to be modest enough to where you could see your mom while you were in it without turning red,” she had advised. “But it has to kind of growl to your date, ‘Later, baby!’ ”

It was a slow day at the petite shop, Short ‘n Sweet (hey, I didn’t name it), and the saleswoman who’d helped me before was glad to see me. I was too embarrassed to spell out what I wanted, but I tracked it down eventually. It was a sweater dress, soft and beige and shapeless but clingy, with a big cowl collar—and you wore it almost off the shoulders. I had to buy a strapless bra to go under it, and then big gold earrings, and then some shoes, so I made the saleswoman’s afternoon a happy one. Quite a switch for someone who had worn her college and high school clothes for ten years.

I ate lunch in the city and visited my favorite bookstore, so I came home to Lawrenceton fairly laden down with good things.

I tuned in to the local radio station as I left the interstate. It was time for the news. “Police are questioning a suspect in the murder of a Lawrenceton realtor,” said the newswoman chattily. “Today a prominent local businessman was taken in for questioning regarding the death of Tonia Lee Greenhouse, who was found strangled in an empty home last week. Though police would not comment, an unnamed source says police will also question James Hunter in connection with the death of Idella Yates, whose body was found yesterday.”

I sucked in my breath. Jimmy Hunter. Poor Susu! Poor kids! I wondered what new evidence Lynn had uncovered that had led to Jimmy’s being taken to the police station. I thought perhaps the police had found some of the stolen things in Jimmy’s possession. Or maybe . . . but it was no use speculating.

Martin was ten minutes early.

He took in the dress appreciatively.

“I just have to brush my hair,” I said, my hands extended to hold him off.

“Let me,” he suggested, and I could feel a blush that began at my toes.

“We’ll never get there if I do,” I said with a smile, and scampered up the stairs before he could grab me.

“One kiss,” he said as I came back down minutes later. He and Madeleine had been regarding one another warily.

“One,” I said strictly.

It was very sweet at first, but then it began to steam up.

“My glasses are fogging,” I murmured.

He laughed. “Okay, we’ll go.”

But it wasn’t until a few minutes later that we got into his car. It didn’t take long to get to the Carriage House, which had actually formerly been what its name implied. It was the only fancy restaurant in Lawrenceton, and had very good food and service. It was small, dark, and expensive, with a large added-on room at the back where local groups held dinners. We were shown a corner table and sat side by side on the L-shaped banquette.

Being so close to Martin was seriously interfering with my paying attention to anything else, but I was determined to get through a normal-date evening with him. We talked about what wine to order, and I selected my food; and he talked to the waiter, and the wine arrived.

“Jimmy Hunter’s being questioned about the death of the woman whose body we found,” I told him.

“I heard someone was. Do you know the man?”

So I told Martin about Jimmy and Susu, and Jimmy’s little quirk.

“He likes to look at houses with female realtors? That’s pretty—kinky.”

“But he’s never done anything to anybody,” I pointed out fairly. “And frankly, I hope the police have got something more on him than that, as I assume they must, because I find it very hard to believe that Jimmy did it.” I hadn’t known I felt that way until it came out of my mouth. “And they haven’t charged him in Tonia Lee’s murder, or Idella’s, and surely the same person killed them both.”

But Martin hadn’t heard about my finding Idella’s body, and I had to tell him now, his light brown eyes fixed on my face.

“I wish you had called me when you were upset,” he said. I had an uneasy feeling that he