Read Online A Motive For Murder by Katy Munger - Free Book Online Page B

told, but
with each sharp clap and each barked command, she felt her body
rebelling as it was pulled farther and farther away from its
natural center of balance. She ended up hunched over the barre,
teetering precariously, all of her muscles clenched desperately
inward.
    “No, no, no, no, no! Exactly wrong. I told you it
would not be easy.” Paulette made a beeline for Auntie Lil. “What
is your name, dear?”
    “Lillian Hubbert.”
    “Class, watch as I help Lillian attain the proper
posture.”
    “Please,” Auntie Lil murmured. “You may call me Miss
Hubbert.”
    Paulette retaliated by pulling Auntie Lil’s shoulders
back. “I said shoulders back,” she instructed firmly.
    Auntie Lil obeyed, but every time Paulette pulled one
of her body parts, the corresponding muscles on the other side of
her body quite naturally followed. Auntie Lil felt she could be
given credit for flexibility, but Paulette disagreed. After tugging
Auntie Lil this way and that, the former ballerina finally gave
up.
    “The fundamental problem, Miss Hubbert,” she said,
“is that your head is simply too big for ballet. It destroys your
balance. But do carry on. Trying is better than nothing. At least
you are getting some physical exercise.” With this parting shot,
her eyes sought out a fresh victim. She steamed toward Herbert Wong
before stopping short in surprise.
    “Excellent! Excellent,” she cried, clapping her hands
together like a trained seal who smells herring on the wind.
“Class, we have here a natural. Look at that balance, note his
regal carriage, note the straight line from the nape of his neck
all the way down to the base of the spinal column. Bravo!
Bravo!”
    The class burst into spontaneous applause while
Herbert posed like a dignified crane. Auntie Lil checked out her
own contorted frame in the mirror and hoped the class would be over
soon. She’d had enough time to evaluate Paulette Puccinni and Jerry
Vanderbilt. She planned to show them no mercy and was anxious to
get started.
    The interpretive dance portion of the class was a
little better. It also gave Auntie Lil an opportunity to observe
Paulette up close. Swooping her way to the front of the long line
of students swaying obediently behind their teacher, Auntie Lil
evaluated Paulette’s physical conditioning. She knew that many
years ago, Paulette had been a prima ballerina who had studied
under George Balanchine. Rumor had it that she had walked away from
the American Ballet Theater during one of his tempera–mental fits.
She had then thrown herself into a yearlong sulk, compounded by
excessive drinking and overeating. Eventually, she had been offered
a new job training the corps at the newly founded Metropolitan
Ballet But by then, her aging body and rusty technique were
incapable of recovering from the months of abuse. Her dancing days
were over. Some said she did not take the transition well. She was
still quite strong, however, as Auntie Lil realized when Paulette
single-handedly moved the piano back several feet to make room for
a group interpretation of cattails waving in the wind. She pondered
whether this fact was significant as she bent to the left and
right, doing her best to convey the essence of cattailhood.
    “Thank God that’s over!” Auntie Lil whispered to
Herbert a half hour later in the reception area. They had showered
and studied the upcoming class schedule while they waited for
Paulette and Jerry to finish with a private lesson in the
studio.
    “I really enjoyed myself,” Herbert admitted. “I have
always admired the deceptively effortless grace of ballet.” For
emphasis, he bent his knees out and dipped low in a grand
plié. Auntie Lil ignored him.
    “Here she comes,” she muttered, nodding toward the
studio door. A frightened-looking student scurried from the room
and Paulette emerged soon after, her caftan billowing in a blast of
air-conditioning.
    “Miss Puccinni?” Auntie Lil said as she stepped
forward to block her