Read Online A Ghostly Grave by Tonya Kappes - Free Book Online Page B

about Chicken Teater. Not that everyone wasn’t going to find out soon anyway. It wasn’t like the warrant wasn’t public record. It was just a matter of time.
    â€œWhat? I told Mable Claire. I can’t help it if other people were eavesdropping on our conversation.”
    â€œAre you talking about me?” Beulah looked up from her contorted position that I was sure was not a yoga pose.
    â€œIf the shoe fits,” Granny chimed as she changed position trying to mimic Hettie Bell.
    â€œNow ladies,” Hettie warned, planting her forehead on the ground with her arms stretched out in front of her. “Concentrate on this pose. It will calm you.”
    â€œI’m not sure I can sit on my thighs like that.” Mable Claire referred to the childlike pose Hettie was trying to get them to do.
    I watched as they followed Hettie’s lead. It was as if they had been brainwashed.
    â€œStinkin’ thinkin’ is not welcome here ladies.” Hettie took a deep breath through her nose and released a rush of air out of her mouth.
    â€œ Ridiculous ,” I murmured under my breath. “Have you lost your mind?” I climbed the steps to the porch. They had moved all of the welcoming rockers and beautiful planters for the guests to enjoy. “Jack Henry doesn’t know if Chicken was murdered or not. There was some paperwork that didn’t add up.” I did my best to cover up Granny’s loose lips. The older she got, the worse she got. I didn’t want her taking over as president and CEO of the Sleepy Hollow gossip mill. “It was four years ago.”
    â€œStill.” Beulah put her hands on her hips, making her bangles clink together. Her silk jumpsuit glistened in the afternoon sun. “An unsolved murder means there is a murderer out there.”
    â€œThis is not good.” I shook my head.
    â€œEmma Lee, everyone in town knew that something was wrong when the police put up yellow tape.” Granny craned her neck in a position that I didn’t ever want to try. “But when they dug up a grave”—­Granny reared back her head—­“that was another story.”
    â€œWe will see what kind of modern-­day forensics you get from that fancy company you pleaded with the city to spend their extra dollars on.” Beulah gave her shit-­eatin’ grin.
    Beulah was the first one at the council meeting to protest when I suggested we use the extra taxpayers’ dollars to spend on the latest forensics equipment for the police station. Granted, Eternal Slumber’s morgue had always been the site the Sleepy Hollow Police Department used way before I had taken over and way before Jack Henry was my boyfriend. It was a deal my dad had made in his younger days.
    The equipment we had was outdated. Sleepy Hollow had spent even more money sending off any type of forensic things they needed and I actually saved the city money. Regardless, the equipment was approved and Vernon Baxter was happy about it. Especially now, since we needed to do some of that fancy extracting from Chicken Teater’s four-­year-­old decayed bones.
    â€œFocus, ladies.” Hettie Bell ignored me and did some sort of long breathing which I was sure was because her pants and top were too tight. Looking at her made me have shallow breath.
    Granny, Beulah and Mable all took a deep breath at the same time. Hot air. I glared at them.
    â€œYep, y’all have lost your minds.” I pointed to each of them. “You too, Hettie Bell.”
    â€œOhmm . . .” Hettie spewed some jibber jabber from her gut.
    â€œOh stop it, Hettie.” I rolled my eyes.
    Granny took a deep breath and stood up, following Hettie to a tee. “We are doing this so we don’t lose our minds.” Granny swooped back down lifting her head high in the air.
    â€œIt’s not working.” I pointed to the tree. “You have completely lost it and the