Read Online A Quiche Before Dying by Jill Churchill - Free Book Online Page A

dreadful, nasty woman. Made my mother-in-law look like Mother Teresa. She had some kind of seizure and was saying terrible things about everybody. What do we do now?”
    The door had opened again as she was speaking. “You could get out of the way,“ Grady said. He was propping the double doors open. Jane expected the ambulance attendants to be just behind him, but Missy, Bob Neufield, and Desiree Loftus came out next. Neufield’s face was white and set in a grimace, and Desiree looked suddenly old and vulnerable. She had her hand on his arm lightly.
    “Gather around,“ Missy said in her best schoolteacher manner. “Are we all here? Yes, I believe so. In spite of this tragic and terribly upsetting occurrence, I believe the class should go on. We won’t, of course, reconvene tonight, but I suggest we meet tomorrow night at the usual time and go an hour extra. I have a lot of material to cover, and you’ve all paid good money for it. Is that satisfactory? Everyone?”
    There was a faint chorus of agreement.
    “Your teacher’s a sensible woman,“ Mel murmured to Jane.
    “Very well,“ Missy said. “I suggest we all go home and try to put this out of our minds as best we can. It’s not acceptable to speak ill of the dead, but Mrs. Pryce was not a valuable addition to the class, and I genuinely look forward to seeing the rest of you tomorrow.“ She smiled at Jane. “See? I don’t believe in anybody going down with the ship.”
    They were all drifting away from the front doors when Jane suddenly said, “Mrs. Pryce’s maid! She ordered the poor old thing to pick her up after class. Somebody should tell her.”
    Missy sighed. “I guess it’s my responsibility. I’ll run by there.“
    “Do you want Jane and me to go with you?“ Mel said.
    “Yes, that would be nice—who are you?“ Jane made the introductions.
    “A detective?“ Missy said, alarmed.
    “Off duty. Jane and I had a date after class.“
    “Well, well, well,“ Missy said, smiling at Jane like a fond auntie. “How nice. I don’t mean to ruin your evening, but I would appreciate it if you’d run by there with me for a minute. The maid will probably be pleased to know that her bondage is over, but who knows? I wouldn’t know what to do with her if she went to pieces on me.”
    As they were getting into Mel’s car, the ambulance attendants were maneuvering a gurney out through the doors. The figure on it was completely covered. Jane knew she should feel sadness at Mrs. Pryce’s death, but could only be sad about her life—her wasted, empty, mean-spirited life, filled only with souvenirs. Jane suddenly realized that in all the trash and treasures, there hadn’t been a single picture of a person.
     
    They rang the bell three times. Finally the maid opened the door. Although it was nearly dark, she was shading her eyes and squinting. “Yes? Who are you? Misses, she’s out.“
    “I’m the teacher. Mrs. Jeffry and I were here a while ago at dinner,“ Missy said. “May we come in?“
    “Yes. But misses not here.“ She fished a handkerchief from her pocket and seemed slightly unbalanced by the action. She steadied herself against the doorframe for a moment, then stood aside.
    They followed her into the front hall. “I’m afraid we have bad news,“ Missy said. “Mrs. Pryce became ill during class—“
    “Yes, yes. I pick her up.“
    “No, you don’t have to pick her up. She’s been taken to the hospital—“
    “Keys. Car keys. Don’t know where—the lawn.
    Yes. Water the lawn—storm coming,“ she said, then lapsed into babbling in a foreign language.
    Mel was looking a question at Missy and Jane. “Is she crazy?“ he seemed to be asking.
    “—and then we go to market,“ the maid said. She staggered, and Jane grabbed her to keep her from falling.
    “Mel, there’s something wrong. This is how Mrs. Pryce was acting—sensitive to light, raving, off balance.”
    The woman was leaning against the doorframe, clutching at her