AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mostly I’m trying to help Holly Burns because it was her tea party to celebrate the Imago Gallery. You know Holly, right? You two have met?”
Lois nodded. “She’s a sweet woman. A little scattered, but sweet.”
“Her Imago Gallery has taken a nosedive since all this happened.”
Surprise registered on Lois’s broad face. “No kidding.”
“Most of the artists Holly represented have bailed on her, and she’s lost more than a few sales.”
“That’s awful. It’s difficult enough to keep a small business afloat these days without that kind of trouble. I guess it is nice of you to try and help.”
“ ‘Try’ is the operative word because I’m not exactly getting anywhere.”
Lois looked interested. “No suspects?”
“There are almost too many,” Theodosia said. “All with a motive for killing Osgood Claxton. Unfortunately, there’s no specific evidence I can pin on any one of them.” She stroked Pumpkin’s back. “Needless to say, I’m getting a bit disheartened.”
“No.” Lois shook her head vehemently. “Don’t be. Your intuition is usually spot-on. When my daughter was murdered, you practically single-handedly figured out the whole thing. Even the police with their professional investigators were two steps behind you.”
“That was then, this is now.”
“The thing is,” Lois said, “you not only brought me closure, you brought me a good deal of peace.”
“That’s kind of you to say.”
“So maybe you need to keep that in mind. You can help bring peace to Holly and her lovely little art gallery. And maybe that murdered politician’s family, too.”
“Maybe,” Theodosia said.
“You can do this,” Lois urged. “You have the smarts, now you need to put your mind in the right place. Zen out and engage in a free flow of ideas.”
“You mean not focus quite so hard?”
“Exactly. Then maybe the answer will come to you sort of organically.”
Theodosia studied Lois’s face. And saw only kindness and encouragement. “Okay,” she said. “It’s worth a try.”
***
Theodosia drove her loaner back to the dealership and picked up her Jeep. Talked to them about the insurance for a few minutes, then drove home, windows down, enjoying the final sparse glow of sun on the horizon and the spring warmth that tinged the air.
Theodosia parked in her back alley, whistled a greeting to Earl Grey as she came in the back door, and ran upstairs. Once she’d changed clothes, she took Earl Grey out for a quick walk. It was dark now, a lovely evening, the sky mottled with purple clouds and an almost full moon peeping down from the heavens. A dove cooed from its leafy hideaway in an azalea bush, and as she ducked down a narrow alley, the air was redolent of something cooking on a backyard grill. Springtime nights were still cool and lush, but soon the heat and humidity of a Charleston summer would come creeping in.
Back home in her kitchen, Theodosia heated up some of Haley’s chicken and wild rice soup on the stove and popped a buttermilk scone in the microwave. She was planning to eat dinner, watch a little TV, then curl up with her new cookbook. Maybe dream about the quaint tea shops in Bath or the lush green Salisbury Plain. And definitely select a few recipes (with Haley’s input, of course) that would be perfect for the Fox and Hounds Tea they were planning to have later this summer.
Arranging her soup and scone on a wicker tray, Theodosia carried everything into her dining room, Earl Grey at her heels, and sat down. That’s when her cell phone let out an unmistakable burp.
Drat. Please don’t let this be one of those pesky telemarketers.
She pulled the phone from her pocket and checked the caller ID. It wasn’t a telemarketer; it was Haley. “Hello?” she answered. She thought Haley had gone to Ben’s tonight. That they planned to cook dinner together.
Words flooded out so fast and furiously that Theodosia could hardly take them all in. Haley sounded absolutely hysterical!
“Haley, slow down.”
“Theodosia!” Haley yelped. “I need your help!”
Theodosia stood up so fast her chair almost tipped over backwards.
