A Body at Book Club: Myrtle Clover #6

Chapter Eighteen

Myrtle held out the knife in front of her and grabbed at her cane with the other. "Now that you're in here, you can make a phone call for me. Give Red a call and tell him that I've solved his murders for him and that he can collect his perp from my house."

A smile spread across Maxine's face. "Clever aren't you? But a horrible actress, Miss Myrtle. I could tell at book club that you'd found something out after you talked to Erma Sherman. It was written all over your face. But you've made the mistake of bringing a knife to a gunfight." She revealed that she'd been holding a pistol under the dip and chip dish. "Now put that knife down."

Myrtle reluctantly lowered the knife, but didn't drop it. "This is stupid, Maxine. And you're not a stupid woman. There's no way you can get away with this. Your car is out in my driveway. I live directly across the street from the police chief who is a fairly observant man and likely saw you outside on my front step with my serving dish. If I end up dead from a gunshot wound, who do you think will be the most likely suspect?"

"It won't be me. And you're not about to die from a gunshot wound...the gun is here just to keep you in line. You're going to die a natural death and I'm going to be someone who is extremely upset by your passing, because I'll be the last person to have seen you alive. As I was returning your dip and chip dish. I have to tell you, Miss Myrtle, I really hate that you've put me in this position. I like you. I thought perhaps I'd met my match." Maxine's mouth twisted. "This isn't my fault. It's yours."

"That's an interesting method of switching blame," said Myrtle with a short laugh. Her mouth was dry and her brain flew as she considered her options. "Did you do that for Naomi's death and Rose's? How convenient for you. To murder and yet remain blameless."

Maxine raised her carefully groomed eyebrows. "A little venom in your voice there, Miss M. But to answer your question...yes, I do blame them. These women weren't lambs to the slaughter, you know. Naomi Pelter was elbowing me out of any relationship I embarked on. If it weren't for her, I'd be married by now. I wouldn't be slogging through a boring day job and figuring out a household budget every quarter...I'd be doing what I wanted to do. And Naomi was a serial boyfriend-thief. She didn't care a thing for any of the men in question. Her goal was simply to end my relationships."

"It was a horrible way to die, though," said Myrtle reprovingly. "You can't think she deserved that."

"No," said Maxine thoughtfully. "No, I suppose she didn't deserve it. But the garden club speaker didn't do a very good job describing what the effects of eating Destroying Angel were."

Myrtle said, "Well, clearly, the speaker stated it was a fatal effect."

"Sure. But not that it was this drawn-out affair. I thought that perhaps Naomi would eat the mushrooms at the luncheon, go home, and be dead by the next day." Maxine shrugged.

"Was it difficult to obtain the mushrooms and put them on her salad?"

"Are you joking? It was a piece of cake, Miss Myrtle. Our town is virtually covered with Destroying Angel mushrooms. And the menu for the annual garden club luncheon is always the same and sitting out on the tables when we walk in."

Myrtle said, "What if they'd changed the menu for the luncheon this year? What would you have done then?"

"I did check online to ensure that the garden club president hadn't had a burst of culinary creativity and changed up the menu. But she hadn't. As usual, spinach salad with bacon bits, sliced hardboiled eggs, red onions...and button mushrooms. As the garden club speaker warned us, Destroying Angel mushrooms look just like button mushrooms. It's uncanny. While everyone was gabbing with each other, I added mushrooms to Naomi's plate. I took a few of the button mushrooms away, since Naomi seemed to have too many mushrooms. It worked perfectly."

"And Rose?" asked Myrtle. "How on earth did Rose deserve her fate? Hit over the head with a fire poker? What a horrid way to die."

Maxine tilted her head and her raven-black hair swept to the side. "Horrid? No, I don't think so. Instantaneous. There was no fear, Miss Myrtle. She didn't know what hit her."

"There must have been some type of anxiety though. After all, Rose clearly knew it was you. She'd seen you switching place cards, hadn't she? She knew that you and Naomi weren't exactly the best of friends. When Naomi died, she must have realized that you'd poisoned her. Did she threaten to expose you if you didn't pay her to keep quiet?" Myrtle gripped the knife tightly. Could she catch Maxine off-balance and make her drop that gun?

Maxine gave a wolfish grin. "Well, she didn't exactly put it that way. Rose was too refined, you know. She couldn't even blackmail like a normal crook. She said something along the lines of needing her retirement income supplemented. And if I could accommodate her by supplementing it, then there were certain things she might be persuaded to overlook."

"Didn't sound appealing?" Myrtle asked.

"Not particularly. Being blackmailed would mean that I was a victim, you see. I'm no victim. And who knows how long I'd be on the hook paying out? I don't have much money, myself. That's one of the reasons Naomi made me so furious. She was keeping me from finding a husband to help keep me afloat. I was tired of the day-to-day scrabble for money. And I certainly didn't have enough of it to share with Rose Mayfield." Maxine snorted at the idea.

"You tried to come after me the other night," said Myrtle reproachfully.

Maxine sighed. "As I've already mentioned, Miss Myrtle, I do not want to have to do this. I really like you. The only part of you I don't like is your nosy side. I knew you were starting to figure things out. I'd gone too far to get caught and spend the rest of my life in prison. You just kept pushing. And, really, if you're going to investigate crimes, you need to work on your poker face. I could clearly see that you were getting too close."

"You couldn't get in, though," said Myrtle a bit smugly.

"I thought surely you were one of those old ladies that slept with a window open or a door unlocked. I mean, really. You've lived in Bradley your entire, long life. Most of the people in this sleepy little village think it's the safest hamlet in the whole world." Maxine's brows drew together in consternation.

"But, you see, my son is the police chief. And so I get a sense of what's really going on in Bradley. It's a very safe place. But it's not safe enough to leave a window open. No place is."

Maxine gave a sudden laugh. "Were you chasing me with pepper spray, Miss M? Because that's what it looked like."

"Absolutely. I have a seer who advises me," said Myrtle haughtily.

Maxine laughed again and Myrtle, never one to take kindly at being laughed at, took the opportunity to lunge forward, extend the knife and slash at Maxine's hand that held the gun. Maxine's reflexes were too quick for her, though, and she batted the knife from Myrtle's hand with the gun. The knife clattered to the hardwood floor.

"That's enough," hissed Maxine. "Now move into the bedroom. You're about to die tragically in your sleep."

Myrtle snorted. "Shows what you know. My son will never buy that, Maxine."

"What do you mean?" grated Maxine.

"My son knows I never sleep. Ever. That will raise all kinds of red flags. And he is, after all, the police chief. If you smother me with a pillow, which is apparently what you're planning on doing, he's going to know."

"You have to die sometime. Why not in your own bed? I think he'll be more willing to buy that than you think. Get moving," said Maxine, shoving the gun into Myrtle's ribs.

The doorbell rang. Maxine and Myrtle both froze.

"A Body at Book Club" is completed and available now on Amazon (at https://tinyurl.com/o6wn4sk ), Nook, Kobo, CreateSpace, and other major retailers. All my Myrtle Clover mysteries are also available on Amazon India: https://tinyurl.com/ohdbffq . I'll post a chapter each Wednesday, but if you can't wait, please visit one of the listed retailers for the completed book. Follow me on Twitter (elizabethscraig), sign up for my newsletter for a free ebook at http://eepurl.com/kCy5j , or visit my website at Elizabethspanncraig.com for more information. Hope you'll enjoy the book. Please vote on the chapter if you enjoy it.