Cleaning is Murder : Myrtle Clover #13

Chapter Eleven

But Myrtle didn't get a phone call first thing. She shrugged, figuring Miles must have slept in. She poured herself a large bowl of granola and then fed Pasha when she jumped in through the kitchen window. She was just putting on her new funeral outfit when the phone rang. It was Miles.

"Do you think Elaine can take you to Amos's funeral? I woke up with a raging headache," said Miles. His voice was subdued.

"If she can find someone to watch Jack for her. A funeral is hardly the place for a preschooler. But never mind that. Are you okay?" asked Myrtle.

"It's a migraine. I get them from time to time. I'm going to close my eyes for a while and hope it goes away," said Miles fervently.

"Good luck. Take aspirin, too," said Myrtle. "I'll check in on you later."

"Great," said Miles. His voice didn't sound particularly grateful, however.

Myrtle called Elaine and found that, fortunately, Jack had a playdate at a friend's house for the morning. And, despite whatever worthwhile tasks Elaine had planned on doing in that period of time, she was more than happy to drive Myrtle to Amos's funeral.

As usual, Elaine was cheerful as Myrtle walked up to Elaine's minivan.

"Myrtle! I love the new funeral outfit!" said Elaine. "Did you give your funeral dress the old heave-ho?"

"It was looking a little tired. I'm holding onto it, though. It can be the backup dress. It's good to have something else in the rotation. Bradley has so many funerals that I have to have something appropriate to wear."

Elaine reached over and quickly cleared off the passenger's seat, which held two organic granola bars, a small blanket, a canister of antibacterial wipes, a packet of travel tissues, a tube of sunscreen, a couple of sippy cups, and a few toy trucks.

Myrtle sat gingerly down in case there was any more preschool paraphernalia lurking on the seat below. Somehow, she'd thought all those things would have been in the backseat, near the car seat.

Elaine said, "Sorry about all that. Oh, and hey, let me know if you want to try this snack that I've brought. It tastes so amazing and it gives you energy and vitamins and minerals." She held up another zipper bag full of brown and black crunchy things of various shapes and sizes.

Myrtle was proud of the steady smile she was able to levy on Elaine. "Thanks, but I've already eaten breakfast. And I feel fairly energetic this morning."

"Well, it's here if you need it. Red loves it. And you might be hungry by the time we head home. I'm not sure how long Amos's service will be." Elaine backed out of the driveway and drove at a fair pace down the street.

"Probably not very long, from what Josephine was telling me. She's somewhat short on funds and wasn't planning anything elaborate," said Myrtle.

"I didn't realize that you were close to Amos," said Elaine, giving her a quizzical look before looking back through the windshield. "Or is this more to do with the case surrounding his death?"

"The latter," said Myrtle. "For one thing, I'm trying to clear Puddin's name. She seems to be a suspect."

"Really?" Elaine's eyes grew wide. "Puddin? I mean, I knew she was the one who found Amos's body, but Red never really mentioned that she was a suspect. Why is that?"

"Oh, just her general foolishness. Threatening Amos in public in front of witnesses and that sort of thing. The type of nonsense you would expect from Puddin," said Myrtle.

"Why on earth would she threaten Amos? He was her employer!" said Elaine.

"Her employer who owed her money," said Myrtle. "Puddin is very particular about getting paid. Not so particular about showing up to work, definitely not as particular about the quality of her work, but most particular about receiving payment in a timely fashion."