Read Online Death Dines Out by Claudia Bishop - Free Book Online Page A

his ego. He sets himself up, then wails like a banshee when things don't go his way. He reminds me a great deal of my six-year-old grandson. Bratty. Very bratty."

"But he's a lot more dangerous than that six-year- old, Bea." Birdie's shrewd brown eyes flicked over Quill. "Tell me, dear. How is this inn of yours doing? Would it be a good investment for two old biddies like us?"

Quill blinked. She knew she shouldn't drink in the middle of the day. As a matter of fact, she shouldn't drink at all. "I beg your pardon?"

"Why don't Bea and I buyout your mortgage ahead of Verger? That'll teach him a lesson."

"No. Thank you, but no. I didn't... I mean, I didn't burden you with this in order to ask you for money."

"That'd be a first, " Bea muttered. "Get that message to my so-called friends, will you?"

Quill, conscience-stricken, had a brief glimpse of what it must be like to be elderly, widowed, and wealthy. She wished she'd insisted on seeing the pictures of Bea's family. It wouldn't have taken much time, and the old lady was obviously proud of them. "Meg talked to our family lawyer in Hemlock Falls this morning. He's a very good one, and he's taking steps with the bank to keep Mr. Taylor from pulling whatever strings he thinks he can pull. So thank you, both of you, for offering to help in a financial way. But we don't need that kind of help. At least, not yet."

"Don't be too grateful," said Bea a little cynically. "We'd insist on a substantial portion of the equity in your restaurant. Your sister's pretty well known, you know. And there's money to be made there, if it's handled right. You sure you don't want to reconsider our offer of help?"

"I'm sure," said Quill firmly. "What I want to know is how I can get past Verger's - prejudices, I guess. I mean, he seems to lump both Meg and me with Tiffany and her dread - I mean, her charitable work. I thought that Evan - his son - might be the way to approach him and get him to see that we're really innocent of any - well - malice. He seems to think we want to embarrass him, too."

"Evan," said Bea thoughtfully. "That's Cressida's boy, isn't it?"

"Cressida?" Quill asked.

"Verger's first wife. She's a Houghton. Was before she married Verger and is again. She lives out on Hobe Sound. Good tennis player."

"Better at bridge," said Birdie. "Cressy's a whiz at bridge. Evan's a nice boy, but he is a boy."

"You remember him when he was eight and played croquet with you at Cressy's, Birdie. He's all grown-up now. Went to Harvard."

"Yale," said Quill.

"Whatever," said Bea dismissively. "But he must be twenty-four, at least."

"He's still wet behind the ears, Bea. I know what Quill should do. She should talk to Ernst."

"Birdie! How clever of you."

"Ernst?" Quill asked.

"Ernst Kolsacker," Birdie said. "Verger's business partner. The brains behind the whole Taylor empire, if you ask me: He's always been able to keep Verger from going too far over the line. That's it, Quill. I'll go give Ernst a call right this minute. You wait right here."

"You wait right here, Birdie. Look!" Bea pointed to the front entrance. "My mother always warned me: Speak of the devil and he appears."

Quill twisted around in her chair. The restaurant had filled up while they had been talking, and the noise level was high. The biggest racket was coming from Verger Taylor.

"Oh, my goodness." Quill felt a cowardly impulse to crawl under the table.

"Steady," Bea said. "He's with Ernst. See? That short fellow there, with the wire-rimmed glasses and the golf hat. Looks like a little teddy bear. He's a dear, dear man."

"Good friend of Arnie Palmer's, Ernst," Birdie murmured. "Never could see golf, myself. Now polo, in my young days..."

"Forget your young days, Birdie. We're both long past them. Now what in goodness' name is Verger doing here?"

"Oh, yikes," Quill said. "It's Tiffany!"

The crowd in front of the cash register parted as for Moses. Tiffany's white-blonde hair was drawn up tightly over her ears and