Murder on Opening Night: Myrtle Clover #9

Chapter Six

The diner wasn't nearly as busy this afternoon as it had been yesterday. Parking was ample right in front of the restaurant on the street. The old boys that Miles had seen at the gym that morning had now camped out on the benches at the front of the diner. Miles muttered, "So they went to the gym and now they're having a calorie extravaganza? I thought it was usually another group of old guys that hung out here."

"I'm sure they must think the same thing about us. We appear to be doing the same thing. Except that we didn't exercise," said Myrtle.

"And we won't be eating the high-calorie stuff," said Miles.

"Speak for yourself."

When they opened the door into the diner, Cady was walking by with a tray of food. "Hi!" she said with a grin.

"Hi Cady," said Myrtle. "Where is your section? We wanted to talk to you if you can spare some time."

"Right there," said Cady, gesturing to some tables at the front of the restaurant by the window. "I can probably talk a little, if we're not too obvious about it. It's pretty quiet in here now. Not like earlier."

Miles, who always had a very well-developed work ethic, said with a frown, "We won't get you into trouble, will we?"

Cady grinned at them, "Who cares? If I get fired from this job, there are other jobs waiting tables."

Miles and Myrtle sat in Cady's section to wait for her to finish up. "She seems rather cavalier about her job," said Miles in a disapproving tone.

"Which could indicate other issues. She's cavalier about her job. She's perhaps a little less than totally reliable. Perhaps she lies. Perhaps she even murders people."

Miles raised his eyebrows. "Surely that's a stretch, isn't it?"

"A personality flaw is a personality flaw," said Myrtle with a shrug. "It all depends on how the person with the flaw squashes it down."

"Why do I feel a Tomorrow's Promise example coming?" asked Miles, picking up a well-worn laminated menu with a sigh.

"Because they cover the gamut in terms of personalities, flaws, and strengths," said Myrtle promptly. "Remember little Tina?"

Miles's brow wrinkled. "Not so much, no. I do like the show, but all the characters start running together."

"That's what happens when you nap in the middle of the show," said Myrtle severely. She left out the fact that she'd drifted asleep during today's show, since it was an anomaly. "Anyway, Tina's flaw was that she was overly impressed by people with money. Totally distracted by bright, shiny objects. On a small scale, this meant that Tina got involved with the wrong people for the wrong reasons. She was in relationships with men only because they had flashy watches or nice cars."