Read Online Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini - Free Book Online Page B

Miss Helen Henley was dead. Murdered it appeared. But, as Jack kept insisting, who had never wanted to kill Miss Henley? Tra la la.
    By the time Olivia Henley Simonett, the sole surviving relative, was escorted in her wheelchair to the front of the church, it was standing room only, with stragglers sulking outside on the stairs. Everyone strained to see the fragile figure in the wheelchair. Her long, wavy white hair was held back by a pink ribbon. Each cheek had a spot of rouge like a target, and her bright lipstick had overshot the mark on her upper and lower lips. She wore a strange, shy smile, alternated with an expression of stunned surprise. On her way toward the front, she began to wave coyly at the crowd. Muffled laughter swept the church. Near the front, she began to try to get out of her wheelchair and was promptly shoved back in her place by the sturdy, dark-haired woman who was wheeling her.
    Benjamin shook his head. “Oh, poor Olivia. This kind of circus won’t do her any good.”
    “Do you know her?” I whispered.
    He nodded. “I was her GP before she went to Stone Wall Farm. She’s very fragile.”
    I hadn’t known Olivia Henley Simonett was one of Benjamin’s patients. Of course, I didn’t know much about her at all. I wanted to ask him what he meant by fragile. But I knew Benjamin well enough to know that he wouldn’t spill the beans on anyone under his care.
    The memorial was uneventful. I couldn’t imagine what people would find to say that would be all that heartwarming about Miss Henley. I had admired her passion for order, her spectacular self-discipline, and her shoes. But that would hardly bring a tear to anyone’s eye.
    There were no tears in the church that day. Imagine spending seventy-plus years in one town, and when you die, the church is packed and everyone’s in a mood to party.
    Six St. Jude’s students carried a half dozen large arrangements of lilies and green mums up the center aisle. As the flowers neared the front of the church, Olivia Simonett leapt to her feet, staggered away from her wheelchair, and waved her arms in what appeared to be jubilation. I guarantee you just about everyone in that church experienced a most unChristian thrill. The dark-haired attendant was knocked sideways. Her glasses flew through the air. Olivia blew kisses to the crowd. The attendant recovered in time to grasp Olivia by the arms, just as the elderly woman staggered and sank out of our sight, with a crash that must have been wheelchair related.
    “Holy shit,” Sally said.
    Benjamin pressed past us and hurtled toward the front of the church.
    “He’s great in doctor mode, isn’t he?” Sally said. “That’s what I fell in love with.”
    “He’s great in any mode,” I snapped. “What do you think was going on up there?”
    Jack climbed on the seat of the pew and stretched to see over the hundreds of craning heads. “A celebration, for sure. Seems to have ended badly though.”
    As I strained to see the ongoing commotion, I caught sight of a pair of dark eyes. And they caught sight of me. I found myself staring once again at the man from Tang’s. Mr. I-may-have-the-eyes-of-a-shy-woodland-creature-but-I-also-have-a-wedding-band was heading toward the front of the church too. I turned away but not before Sally noticed.
    “Who’s that stud muffin?” she said.
    “What?”
    “Don’t get all coy, Charlotte. The guy with the leather jacket.”
    “Nobody.”
    “Come on, Charlotte.”
    “Actually I have no idea, and I don’t need to know, Sally. Remember we’re in church. Pay attention to the ceremony.”
    “Since when do you care about ceremonies? Anyway, it’s stopped, as you must have noticed.”
    Benjamin gave us both another of his irritated teddy-bear frowns as he hustled by with the attendant wheeling Olivia Simonett. The attendant still seemed pretty dazed, her glasses tilted at a definite angle. Olivia, her long white hair hanging loose, waved to the crowd. The hair ribbon