another mouthful of wine. “Gee, did I interrupt something?” Josie asked. “I didn’t mean to. I wouldn’t have thought this was the place to conduct police business.” She glanced at me with asparkle in her eye. “Or maybe Butch wanted the chance to talk to you, Lucy?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” I said, fighting to keep from blushing. “Why are you here, anyway?”
“Date night. How pathetic is that? Jake’s so busy at night getting the restaurant up and running, and I start early at the bakery and work all day; we don’t have much time to spend together. I’m going to sit on a stool and watch him cook.”
“It’ll be worth it, Josie,” Connor said. “You have to make sacrifices when you’re young if you want to achieve your dreams. I’m proof of that.”
“Yeah,” she said, with a tinkling laugh. “You’re such a crusty old guy, dispensing a lifetime of wisdom to us young’uns. Here’s a word of wisdom from me: try the seafood tray. It’s to die for.”
She wiggled her fingers in a wave and skipped through the doors. Diane Uppiton threw her date, who was gaping at Josie’s rear end like a fish on a line, a scathing glare, before calling for another bottle of wine.
I thought about Connor’s words for a moment. I’d never sacrificed anything. Everything I’d ever wanted in life had been handed to me. I’d never given a thought to fees for tennis or music lessons or the extra tutoring I needed to get into a good college. I didn’t even know how much tuition cost at Simmons or a dorm room at Northeastern. I’d taken my monthly allowance without question and thought I was hard done by if I had to phone Dad and ask for more. My Yaris had been a gift for my thirtiethbirthday. I’d been proud of myself, thinking I was proving my independence when I told my parents I’d rent an apartment myself, out of my own salary, rather than letting them buy me a place when I began work.
“Ready to order?” Connor asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“What do you think he meant?”
“Who?”
“Butch. About my job?”
Connor let out a long sigh. “I think, Lucy, he was trying to tell you not to count on Bertie being around much longer.”
“You can’t mean they’re going to arrest her. Charge her with murder? That’s preposterous.”
“I don’t know what the police are thinking, Lucy. But it does look as though, right now, Bertie’s their prime suspect.”
“That can’t be. What about Theodore? Sitting there reading
Moby-Dick
without a care in the world. I saw him go upstairs moments before Uppiton was killed. I told the police that.” I leaned across the table. Despite how upset I was, I kept my voice low, and none of the other diners paid us any attention. I had been well trained never to create a scene. The worst sin, in Mother’s eyes. “Bertie didn’t do it!”
“I know that, Lucy. I also know she needs all her friends around her, and I’m glad you’re on her side. I’m going to take Josie’s advice and have the seafood tray. A Caesar salad to start. What about you?”
I tried to relax and enjoy a pleasant evening with Connor, but I couldn’t get Butch’s warning out of my head. An arrest, a trial, maybe even a conviction,would be a nightmare for Bertie and also for the library.
Diane Uppiton laughed uproariously at something her date said. The man glanced around the patio, grinning, seeking approval. His false teeth were too large for his mouth. Theodore, sitting directly under one of the round white lights, turned a page with his left hand while his right wiped the bottom of his bowl with a slice of freshly baked bread.
Maybe it was time I made some sacrifices in life.
Tonight I’d enjoy my dinner. Tomorrow I’d start poking my nose where it didn’t belong.
Beginning with Theodore and Diane Uppiton and her companion.
Chapter 9
I was awakened by the tinkling of a bell. It took a few moments for my head to clear and for me to realize, first, where I
“I have no idea what you mean,” I said, fighting to keep from blushing. “Why are you here, anyway?”
“Date night. How pathetic is that? Jake’s so busy at night getting the restaurant up and running, and I start early at the bakery and work all day; we don’t have much time to spend together. I’m going to sit on a stool and watch him cook.”
“It’ll be worth it, Josie,” Connor said. “You have to make sacrifices when you’re young if you want to achieve your dreams. I’m proof of that.”
“Yeah,” she said, with a tinkling laugh. “You’re such a crusty old guy, dispensing a lifetime of wisdom to us young’uns. Here’s a word of wisdom from me: try the seafood tray. It’s to die for.”
She wiggled her fingers in a wave and skipped through the doors. Diane Uppiton threw her date, who was gaping at Josie’s rear end like a fish on a line, a scathing glare, before calling for another bottle of wine.
I thought about Connor’s words for a moment. I’d never sacrificed anything. Everything I’d ever wanted in life had been handed to me. I’d never given a thought to fees for tennis or music lessons or the extra tutoring I needed to get into a good college. I didn’t even know how much tuition cost at Simmons or a dorm room at Northeastern. I’d taken my monthly allowance without question and thought I was hard done by if I had to phone Dad and ask for more. My Yaris had been a gift for my thirtiethbirthday. I’d been proud of myself, thinking I was proving my independence when I told my parents I’d rent an apartment myself, out of my own salary, rather than letting them buy me a place when I began work.
“Ready to order?” Connor asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“What do you think he meant?”
“Who?”
“Butch. About my job?”
Connor let out a long sigh. “I think, Lucy, he was trying to tell you not to count on Bertie being around much longer.”
“You can’t mean they’re going to arrest her. Charge her with murder? That’s preposterous.”
“I don’t know what the police are thinking, Lucy. But it does look as though, right now, Bertie’s their prime suspect.”
“That can’t be. What about Theodore? Sitting there reading
Moby-Dick
without a care in the world. I saw him go upstairs moments before Uppiton was killed. I told the police that.” I leaned across the table. Despite how upset I was, I kept my voice low, and none of the other diners paid us any attention. I had been well trained never to create a scene. The worst sin, in Mother’s eyes. “Bertie didn’t do it!”
“I know that, Lucy. I also know she needs all her friends around her, and I’m glad you’re on her side. I’m going to take Josie’s advice and have the seafood tray. A Caesar salad to start. What about you?”
I tried to relax and enjoy a pleasant evening with Connor, but I couldn’t get Butch’s warning out of my head. An arrest, a trial, maybe even a conviction,would be a nightmare for Bertie and also for the library.
Diane Uppiton laughed uproariously at something her date said. The man glanced around the patio, grinning, seeking approval. His false teeth were too large for his mouth. Theodore, sitting directly under one of the round white lights, turned a page with his left hand while his right wiped the bottom of his bowl with a slice of freshly baked bread.
Maybe it was time I made some sacrifices in life.
Tonight I’d enjoy my dinner. Tomorrow I’d start poking my nose where it didn’t belong.
Beginning with Theodore and Diane Uppiton and her companion.
Chapter 9
I was awakened by the tinkling of a bell. It took a few moments for my head to clear and for me to realize, first, where I
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