Read Online Murder by Mushroom by Virginia Smith - Free Book Online Page A

excitement lately.”
    Settled on the couch, Jackie tried not to grimace. “What do you mean?”
    “I heard somebody murdered Alice,” Mrs. Sawyer said. “Someone dumped poison in her drinking water, they say, and you found her dead body.”
    Obviously the grapevine reaching into Mrs. Sawyer’s home operated on a several-day delay, and without much accuracy. She hadn’t heard about Pastor Palmer’s announcement yesterday morning.
    “Actually,” said Margaret, “her water wasn’t poisoned, her food was.”
    “Really?” Mrs. Sawyer’s eyes widened, and Jackie detected a twinkle of excitement. Yes, just like Aunt Betty’s friends.
    “And when I got to her house she was still alive,” Jackie added. If the gossip was going to get spread around, at least it should be correct.
    “My goodness, how frightening. One of our own, poisoned.”
    The old lady shifted in her chair and glanced toward the telephone. She’d be on the phone the moment they left, spreading the news. If there was anyone who hadn’t yet heard, that is.
    Jackie leaned forward on the couch. “Did you know Mrs. Farmer long?”
    “Oh, yes, dear. For nigh on thirty years, ever since my husband and I moved to Versailles when he retired, God rest his soul.”
    “Do you know anyone who might want to harm her?”
    Margaret shot her a look. What? Mrs. Sawyer didn’t seem offended by the direct question. In fact, she seemed eager to talk. She leaned against the upholstered back of her chair, her lips pursed for a moment as she thought.
    “I expect so. Alice wasn’t exactly a friendly person. We all loved her, of course, because she was one of our own, but she had sharp eyes. She knew things about a lot of people in that church. The stories she used to tell!”
    “Such as?”
    This was just the sort of thing Jackie had hoped to hear. She picked up her purse and set it in her lap, the little black microphone pointed toward Mrs. Sawyer.
    The old lady tapped her finger against the molded leg of her walker. “Why, I can’t think of a single one at the moment!”
    Jackie hated to ask leading questions, but maybe she could discover a little more information about the incident Mrs. Murphy had alluded to yesterday at church. “Did you happen to hear anything about, uh, difficulties between Mrs. Hodges and Mrs. Farmer?”
    Beside her on the couch, Margaret’s back stiffened. Jackie glanced her way, surprised to see a spot of color high on each cheek. Her expression was unreadable. Mrs. Sawyer didn’t seem to notice.
    “Of course!” The old lady brightened. “That’s a perfect example. Esther’s son Joshua was a wild one. Drugs, you know. Trouble with the police, too. Oh, the trials Esther had with that boy! But he straightened himself up, and when he got out of high school he went to Bible college somewhere up north. Then he got a job as a youth pastor at a big church in Ohio.” Her attention shifted toward Margaret and then back to Jackie. “Alice didn’t believe someone with a past like his should be leading youth, so she wrote a letter to the board of elders at his new church. They fired him.”
    Jackie gasped. What a terrible thing to do to someone. Malicious, even. Had Mrs. Farmer never heard of forgiveness? Didn’t she think people could change?
    “Why would she do that?” Margaret asked.
    Mrs. Sawyer gave a delicate shrug. “Alice had high standards. And that’s one reason Nick Carlson is probably resting easy about his promotion out at the factory since she’s gone.”
    A new name! Jackie shifted the purse to the edge of her knees, as close to Mrs. Sawyer as she could get it without shoving it under the older lady’s nose. “What do you mean?”
    Mrs. Sawyer included both of them in her smile. “Well, it’s no secret Alice disapproved of his speedy marriage to Sharon, and especially when the baby was born just a few months later.”
    Another person with a motive. This was exactly the sort of information the police would take