Read Online An Anniversary to Die For by Valerie Wolzien - Free Book Online
Authors: Valerie Wolzien
Ads: Link
people, had been able to peer into the house.
She wasn’t surprised to find the curtains drawn again this morning. She picked up the heavy brass door knocker, which was shaped like an urn, and let it drop. The hollow clunk that action produced seemed unlikely to attract the attention of anyone inside.
But Doug Marks wasn’t inside. He was walking around the corner of his home. Apparently he had been gardening. His hands and the knees of his chinos were covered with soil, and he carried a basket overflowing with weeds. He smiled when he saw her. “Hi, Susan. I was wondering if I should call you today. Your party was wonderful. I just hope Ashley and I didn’t disrupt it too much.”
Susan, who had spent the last few minutes trying to think of something consoling and original to say to this man, was completely nonplussed. Fortunately, Doug appeared to be in a talkative, cheerful mood, and didn’t notice.
“I’m thinking of replacing the swimming pool with a Japanese garden and small koi pond. What do you think?”
“I . . . Sounds lovely.”
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since we moved in here. But Ashley wasn’t fond of the idea. She always said fish made her nervous,” he explained cheerfully.
“I . . . How unusual. I mean, they’re supposed to be relaxing, aren’t they?”
“Ashley was a very unusual woman.”
“Yes, of course she was,” Susan said. This was something she could hang a sympathetic statement onto. “I’m so sorry about . . . about what happened last night. We’ll miss her. She was a wonderful neighbor. . . .” She stopped speaking, realizing how unlikely it was that Doug would believe that lie.
But Doug didn’t even seem to be listening. He was sorting through the wilting plants in his basket, apparently searching for something. “Look at this,” he said, finally finding what he wanted. “This is the most invasive weed I’ve ever seen. The backyard is overrun. I’m tempted to have the entire place dug up and reseeded. Do you and Jed have a landscaping contractor you’re happy with?”
“We’ve used the same person for years and years. I can give you his name, but this late in the season . . .” She allowed the sentence to go unfinished.
“I’d appreciate that. He may have an opening you don’t know about. And I would love to get going on this project.” Suddenly his voice dropped, and the expression on his face changed. Susan thought he looked like a bereaved husband for the first time. “It will take my mind off things, you know.”
“It’s an excellent idea,” she enthused. “Your yard takes too much work to maintain the way it is. Martha Hallard loved her rose gardens, but I’ve never thought they were worth the effort it takes to keep them looking good—all that pruning and fertilizing in the spring and fall—and all the poisonous sprays it takes to keep them looking good in the summer. It’s amazing no one was ever made ill by them all.” She suddenly realized what she was saying, shut up, and glanced over at Doug. But he hadn’t seemed to notice; he was still sorting through the dying plants in his basket.
EIGHT
“ AND THEN—THANK HEAVENS—SIGNE SHOWED UP, AND I left the two of them together.”
“Odd.” Jed was making his way through a huge sandwich stuffed with the cold cuts Susan had bought to make sure Chrissy and Stephen didn’t starve while they were visiting, and he didn’t, apparently, want to take the time to reply.
Susan, resisting the obvious comments about cholesterol, continued. “It is, isn’t it? I mean, if I’d been murdered yesterday, I doubt if you’d be out gardening today.”
“Probably not. Is there any more iced tea?”
As Susan told Kathleen later, the surprising thing wasn’t that she and Jed had been married for thirty years. The surprising thing was that, at that very moment, she hadn’t picked up a heavy pot and beaned him with it right there at their kitchen table despite those thirty years
She wasn’t surprised to find the curtains drawn again this morning. She picked up the heavy brass door knocker, which was shaped like an urn, and let it drop. The hollow clunk that action produced seemed unlikely to attract the attention of anyone inside.
But Doug Marks wasn’t inside. He was walking around the corner of his home. Apparently he had been gardening. His hands and the knees of his chinos were covered with soil, and he carried a basket overflowing with weeds. He smiled when he saw her. “Hi, Susan. I was wondering if I should call you today. Your party was wonderful. I just hope Ashley and I didn’t disrupt it too much.”
Susan, who had spent the last few minutes trying to think of something consoling and original to say to this man, was completely nonplussed. Fortunately, Doug appeared to be in a talkative, cheerful mood, and didn’t notice.
“I’m thinking of replacing the swimming pool with a Japanese garden and small koi pond. What do you think?”
“I . . . Sounds lovely.”
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since we moved in here. But Ashley wasn’t fond of the idea. She always said fish made her nervous,” he explained cheerfully.
“I . . . How unusual. I mean, they’re supposed to be relaxing, aren’t they?”
“Ashley was a very unusual woman.”
“Yes, of course she was,” Susan said. This was something she could hang a sympathetic statement onto. “I’m so sorry about . . . about what happened last night. We’ll miss her. She was a wonderful neighbor. . . .” She stopped speaking, realizing how unlikely it was that Doug would believe that lie.
But Doug didn’t even seem to be listening. He was sorting through the wilting plants in his basket, apparently searching for something. “Look at this,” he said, finally finding what he wanted. “This is the most invasive weed I’ve ever seen. The backyard is overrun. I’m tempted to have the entire place dug up and reseeded. Do you and Jed have a landscaping contractor you’re happy with?”
“We’ve used the same person for years and years. I can give you his name, but this late in the season . . .” She allowed the sentence to go unfinished.
“I’d appreciate that. He may have an opening you don’t know about. And I would love to get going on this project.” Suddenly his voice dropped, and the expression on his face changed. Susan thought he looked like a bereaved husband for the first time. “It will take my mind off things, you know.”
“It’s an excellent idea,” she enthused. “Your yard takes too much work to maintain the way it is. Martha Hallard loved her rose gardens, but I’ve never thought they were worth the effort it takes to keep them looking good—all that pruning and fertilizing in the spring and fall—and all the poisonous sprays it takes to keep them looking good in the summer. It’s amazing no one was ever made ill by them all.” She suddenly realized what she was saying, shut up, and glanced over at Doug. But he hadn’t seemed to notice; he was still sorting through the dying plants in his basket.
EIGHT
“ AND THEN—THANK HEAVENS—SIGNE SHOWED UP, AND I left the two of them together.”
“Odd.” Jed was making his way through a huge sandwich stuffed with the cold cuts Susan had bought to make sure Chrissy and Stephen didn’t starve while they were visiting, and he didn’t, apparently, want to take the time to reply.
Susan, resisting the obvious comments about cholesterol, continued. “It is, isn’t it? I mean, if I’d been murdered yesterday, I doubt if you’d be out gardening today.”
“Probably not. Is there any more iced tea?”
As Susan told Kathleen later, the surprising thing wasn’t that she and Jed had been married for thirty years. The surprising thing was that, at that very moment, she hadn’t picked up a heavy pot and beaned him with it right there at their kitchen table despite those thirty years
Similar Books
