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Back Murder Past Due Save as PDF
Chapters (36)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE

“I’m nosy. I admit it,” Melba said. “So what do you want to know? But maybe I should ask why first. Godfrey wasn’t exactly a buddy of yours.”

“No, he wasn’t,” I said. “And if it weren’t for certain circumstances I’d be happy to keep my nose out of it.”

“And they would be?”

“First off, you know Justin Wardlaw is boarding with me,” I replied. “And I’m sure by now you’ve heard about his relationship to Godfrey.”

“Yes, I have,” Melba said. “Can’t say I’m surprised. I remember how hard Godfrey was running after Julia back then. And frankly, honey, if I had to pick between Godfrey and Ezra, I’d pick Godfrey. Even knowing he was a class A jerk most of the time.”

I started to speak, but Melba went on. “And her already engaged to Ezra. That’s what got me. Julia never seemed like the type, but I guess you never can tell, can you? When the baby was born, people started counting up, but it was close enough that no one knew for sure.”

Poor Julia, I thought. Having to be the cynosure of all those suspicious people in town, many of them gleefully assuming the worst.

“It was certainly a surprise to me,” I said. “I feel a certain amount of responsibility for Justin because he’s boarding with me, and I can’t help feeling concerned for him and Julia, naturally.”

“Of course,” Melba said. “They need support right now, because I’m sure the sheriff’s department is looking pretty closely at them.”

“They are,” I said. “But the other reason I’m concerned about this is . . . well, I found the body, basically.” I didn’t see any point in giving Melba the full details of the situation. This would be more than enough to make her eyes pop.

“You dog,” Melba said. “You never said a word to me.” She chuckled. “But I won’t hold it against you.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Trust me, I’d rather not have been the one. It wasn’t pleasant.”

“No, I’m sure it wasn’t,” Melba said, her tone serious. “It’s one thing to read about it in a book, like one of Godfrey’s, but it’s something else to experience it for real.”

“It sure is,” I said, doing my best to suppress that ugly image from reappearing in my head. “I guess you can see now why I’m curious about it all.”

“Sure,” Melba said. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

“I know Godfrey came back to Athena on a regular basis,” I said. “He had quite a track record with women, like the episodes with Julia and Peter Vanderkeller’s wife. Are there any other outraged husbands or boyfriends or spurned women in the area?”