Free Death Pays a Visit (A Myrtle Clover Mystery Book 7) by Elizabeth Spann Craig Page B

Miles. “Of course she’s there. She’s there every day.”
    “Yes, but it doesn’t mean I have to interact with her. She makes me lose my appetite and I had such a lovely appetite for breakfast when I was walking up to your door.” She paused. “Actually, I still do. Mind if I make us some scrambled eggs?”
    Miles made a sweeping, be-my-guest gesture toward his kitchen. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I thought we already had a plan for today. And that the plan started out later than this.”
    “Oh. I forgot to tell you. Mickey is dead,” said Myrtle. She opened up Miles’s fridge and pulled out eggs, milk, and some shredded cheese she found. There was already a frying pan on the stove. She eyed it suspiciously. “Is this clean? And, if it’s clean, why isn’t it away in the cabinet?”
    “It’s clean and was drying on the stove last night after I used it. For heaven’s sake, Myrtle, stay focused. Mickey’s dead ? The Mickey we met yesterday and thought might make a promising murder victim? That Mickey?” Miles pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down rather abruptly.
    “That Mickey. And Ruby called me hours ago to let me know. The staff is acting as if it were a natural death, apparently.”
    “And Ruby clearly disagrees?” asked Miles.
    “Yes. And Inez too, apparently. Who can blame them though, with Mickey going on and on about feeling endangered at Greener Pastures? And, of course, we have our psychic advisor indicating that there was going to be foul play,” said Myrtle. She whisked the eggs and milk together, looked in the bowl and added two more eggs. They needed fortification today.
    “Myrtle, I have to caution you about using the term psychic advisor too loosely. We’re already in a position where no one is going to believe us and if we mention Wanda, then it’s only going to get worse.” Miles rubbed his eyes as if he were still struggling to wake up. “So…what are we going to do? I guess head on over there this morning and try to talk to someone?”
    “That’s right. I was going to give the staff a chance to respond. We’ll tell them that Mickey said she thought she was in danger at the home and that there were definitely some people who might have wanted to get her out of the way.” Myrtle put two slices of bread in Miles’s toaster.
    “And if the Greener Pastures staff doesn’t respond appropriately?” asked Miles. “Which is what I’m guessing will happen?”
    “Then we’ll call the police,” said Myrtle simply. “So that means Darrell since Red is out of pocket. Elaine filled me in on Darrell earlier today and it sounds as if he might be one of those incredibly earnest types … he might actually believe us and open an investigation.”
    “Wait a minute … earlier today ? You’ve already been visiting somewhere else before now?” Miles stared at her.
    “Just be glad that I realized you might still be asleep,” said Myrtle, waving a spatula at Miles. “Yes, all the lights were on at Red’s house, so I popped over there before coming here. It was fine. I’m actually going to babysit Red this afternoon, so that’s why I was thinking we could go ahead and get to Greener Pastures as soon as you’re ready.”
    There was too much talking and not enough paying attention to the skillet, unfortunately. Myrtle scraped up some eggs that were sticking to the pan. She surreptitiously looked behind her. Fortunately, Miles appeared to be deep in thought. Myrtle took the opportunity to put the dried-up scrambled egg onto some rather overcooked toast and then put a large slice of American cheese on the top to cover up any potential egg inadequacies. The slice slid off the egg pile immediately, so she quickly popped it into the microwave to melt it a little.
    “Babysit Red ?” muttered Miles. “Don’t you mean Jack ?”
    “No, I most definitely mean Red. After lunch. So let’s get a move on.” The American cheese started popping in the microwave and