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

weeks to discover. And she had gotten it her first day on the case!
    Jackie opened her mouth to ask for more details, but Margaret stood abruptly. “Look at the time! I’m afraid we need to leave.”
    “So soon?” Mrs. Sawyer asked, surprised. “You’ve barely arrived.”
    “Yes, Margaret,” Jackie agreed, looking sideways up at her. “We’ve barely arrived.”
    Margaret had evidently had enough. “We have three more visits this morning, and I’m afraid I have plans for the afternoon.”
    A lame excuse, if Jackie had ever heard one. But the look on Margaret’s face kept her from asking anymore questions. She sat quietly as Margaret gave Mrs. Sawyer a cassette tape of last week’s sermon and a bulletin and then led them in a quick prayer.
    They saw themselves to the door, leaving Mrs. Sawyer sitting comfortably in her Queen Anne chair. As Jackie pulled it closed behind them, she saw Mrs. Sawyer reach for the telephone.
    “What was that all about?” she demanded, trailing after Margaret toward the car. “Why did we leave in such a hurry?’
    Margaret whirled on her. “What on earth made you ask about Esther Hodges?”
    “Something I overheard at church yesterday. And my question paid off.”
    Margaret’s lips pressed into a hard line. She stalked to the car and jerked the door open. Jackie slid into the passenger seat as Margaret slammed her door shut. Harder than necessary. Jackie shut her own door as quietly as possible. What had she done to make Margaret so angry?
    Margaret turned in the seat. “What do you mean by that—that your question paid off?”
    Jackie shifted in the seat and looked out the window. Anywhere but at the outrage on Margaret’s face. “I’m assembling a list of possible suspects, people with a motive for killing Mrs. Farmer. Obviously, I’ve just found the first two.”
    Margaret gasped. “Esther Hodges is a good, Christian woman! She wouldn’t hurt a flea!”
    Jackie shrugged and kept her tone apologetic. “Maybe she is. But Mrs. Farmer hurt her child. Revenge is a pretty strong motive.”
    “That is ridiculous.” Margaret twisted the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.
    Jackie held her tongue as the car backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the street. Margaret’s hands gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white.
    “Is that the kind of conversation you intend to have every time? Because if so, I don’t think I want to go with you anymore. That wasn’t simply a matter of asking questions. That was nothing but gossip.”
    Jackie looked toward her, surprised at the accusing tone. “I wasn’t gossiping. We have to ask about people who have a grudge against Mrs. Farmer. How else will we find the murderer?”
    Margaret took a few deep breaths, an obvious attempt to calm down. “Jackie, you might not have intended to gossip, but Mrs. Sawyer did. Esther is my friend, and though I don’t know Nick and Sharon Carlson, Nick’s father, Vince, is our choir director and a friend of Earl’s. That conversation left me feeling sullied and low.”
    The look Jackie had seen on Mrs. Sawyer’s face as she related the story of Mrs. Hodges’s son certainly proved Margaret’s point. No doubt the old woman was on the phone right now, passing along the information she’d gotten from their visit.
    Still, without a doubt Mrs. Sawyer had already been gossiping before their arrival. If anything, Jackie and Margaret had just set the record straight. At least now the gossip would be true. A look at Margaret’s tight lips told Jackie now was not a good time to argue that point.
    “Listen, Margaret, I don’t want to gossip, I really don’t. But you can’t get upset every time I question someone. I have to talk to people if I want to get to the bottom of this.”
    Margaret took her eyes off the road to give her a quick look. “Why, Jackie? Why is it so important to you to find the murderer?”
    “I don’t want my name coming up every time Mrs. Farmer is