A Body at Bunco : Myrtle Clover #8

Chapter Four

On closer inspection, Luella appeared to be very dead indeed. Her eyes were wide open and staring lifelessly into the dark. Her mouth was frozen in a snarl. The cigarette she'd been so keen on was lying next to her at the base of a particularly mischievous gnome.

Miles's voice came from behind her. "Any luck, Myrtle? The natives are getting restless in there."

"I found her, all right. But she won't be playing Bonkers tonight. Someone killed her, Miles."

"What?"

"Yes." Myrtle squinted into the dark, leaning forward on her cane. She saw a gnome with a large adjustable wrench on its head. "I told Dusty to put his tools away! I think that wrench must be the murder weapon."

"I'll get Red," said Miles.

"Just let Elaine know on the way out...she'll need to go over to be with Jack," said Myrtle. A cool breeze came up and Myrtle shivered. "I believe I'll wait for Red inside. Just to be on the safe side."

The nice thing about having a police chief across the street from you is that it takes seconds for him to arrive. Myrtle didn't have to tell everyone that they weren't playing the game because someone had gotten herself killed in the backyard. Red did it. And the announcement didn't have quite the stunning, silencing effect that Myrtle had expected. Perhaps everyone was anaesthetized with wine.

Florence Ainsworth, after returning from her powder room expedition, fell asleep shortly before the awful discovery and was peacefully snoring with her head on her chest. She startled awake, however, at Red's deep voice speaking loudly in the small space. "What number are we on?" she asked drowsily. Tippy Chambers had to whisper an explanation and then the old woman looked abashed at having the bad manners to nap during a murder.

Although Red's face was grim when he made his announcement, it was even grimmer when he told the group that he had a call out to the state police to bring a forensic team. "While I'm waiting on them, I'll need to talk to everyone here, privately. Everyone should make sure that they stay put until I've told them they're clear to leave."

Luella's last living relative, Mimsy, had instantly choked up when hearing the news. But while listening to Red, her tears dried up and her eyes opened wide. "But...surely you don't think one of us did it, Red! We're all here to play Bunco and have a fun night."

"That's right," said tattooed Georgia. "Nobody set out to murder anyone tonight. Shouldn't you be searching the neighborhood for the bad guy?"

Red narrowed his eyes. "I'm not making any wild accusations here, I'm only following protocol. It's too early for me to say anything. I'm simply not ruling anything out."

Mimsy said in a pleading tone, "But maybe it wasn't even foul play. Maybe she simply stumbled and fell. It's...well, it's a little crowded out there."

"I'm afraid it was foul play, judging from what I saw," said Red in a more gentle voice. "Her wound wasn't accidental."