Read Online A Fit of Tempera by Mary Daheim - Free Book Online

she could identify their latest visitors.
    â€œSwell,” she muttered, heading for the door. “It’s the sheriff and company.”
    Two uniformed men wearing trooper hats marched intothe cabin. Both were average height; one was in his early forties, the other no more than twenty. The older of the two surveyed the living room before looking directly at Judith and Renie.
    â€œAbbott N. Costello.” he announced in a voice devoid of inflection.
    Judith looked puzzled. “You’re Abbott? And he’s…?”
    The fortyish lawman shot Judith a look of reproach. “I’m Abbott N . Costello. The ‘N’ is for Norman.” He gave a nod at the younger man. “Deputy Dabney Plummer.”
    â€œOh.” Judith worked hard at not smiling. She didn’t dare glance at Renie, who seemed engrossed with her shoes. “You’re investigating the Tobias murder, I take it?”
    Abbott N. Costello didn’t reply. He moved ponderously in a small circle, absorbing every detail of the cabin’s interior. His uniform was steel gray; so were his eyes. The sideburns under the hat were dark, with a touch of gray. He was solidly built, but without an ounce of fat. His features were even and ordinary, except for the stern set of his mouth. By contrast, Dabney Plummer was lean, blue-eyed, pink-cheeked, and boyish. The shock of fair hair that jutted over his forehead was almost white. He struck Judith as both anxious and eager.
    Costello concluded his survey. He pointed a sturdy finger at Dabney “Go.”
    Judith expected the younger man to leave, but instead, he took out a ballpoint pen and hoisted a clipboard he’d been holding at his side. It was obvious that he understood Costello’s method of communication. Judith and Renie were both wearing an air of bewilderment.
    â€œName?” The word shot out of Costello’s mouth, aimed at Judith.
    â€œUh…” Judith reeled a bit, taken aback by the lawman’s abruptness. “Judith Flynn. I actually live in—”
    â€œName?” Costello had swung around, now fixing Renie with his frozen stare.
    Renie couldn’t resist. “Smith N. Wesson. The ‘N’ is forNincompoop.” Unable to control herself for another second, she burst out laughing.
    If Judith was dismayed by Renie’s verbal high jinks, Abbott N. Costello was infuriated. He puffed out his chest, lowered his head, and looked as if he intended to charge at the still-giggling Renie.
    â€œYou think homicide is funny? What’s funny about death? What’s funny about Murder One? What’s funny about me? ” His ferocious glare would have terrified any woman who hadn’t been married to the same man for almost thirty years.
    If not intimidated, Renie was at least seemingly chastened. “Yeah, right, murder’s not a lot of laughs, Sheriff. Sorry. We’ve been under a strain.” She attempted her middle-aged ingenue expression.
    It got nowhere with Abbott N. Costello. “That’s better,” he muttered. “And don’t call me ‘Sheriff.’ I’m the undersheriff. The Boss is over on the other side of the county, chasing a serial killer.”
    Having elicited the pertinent information about the cousins’ names, addresses, phone numbers, occupations, and why they were not back in the big city where they belonged, Costello shifted into the investigation at hand.
    â€œYou knew this Tobias?” he demanded, his steel-gray eyes darting back and forth between the cousins.
    Judith briefly thought about asking the lawmen to sit, mainly so she and Renie could, too, but if they remained standing, they might not stay as long. “We’ve known him for over twenty years,” she answered, trying to be accommodating. “He bought that property next to ours from the Kirbys. They were here when my grandparents started building back in the thirties.”
    If Judith thought