Free miss fortune mystery (ff) - body in the bog in the bog by j l johnson Page B

Sinful, Louisiana.
    He’d been partially right, but she soon discovered there were lots of quiet secrets in little towns, especially those of the Southern variety. And drama didn’t take naps in Sinful, it was always wide-awake and raring to go.
     
    They were near the bayou that ran down the center of Sinful, not too far from the main part of the town, when she found the partial remains of the body. She was glad she wasn’t alone, that she’d talked Gertie into coming with her. The whole experience unsettled her, it was creepy out here, and she was relieved Gertie was nearby.
     
    Fortune had recently decided Gertie needed some exercise too. The poor old dear wasn’t as flexible as she once was, although she still had some amazing Kung-Fu moves for someone who called herself ‘older than dirt.’
    Gertie had wanted to drive, but Fortune had ridden with her a time or two, and never, ever wanted to repeat the experience. Gertie didn’t like wearing her glasses, even on the rare occasions she could find them, and tended to crash into things.
    Instead, she used the exercise excuse and convinced Gertie to walk the short distance with her to pick some of the berries. They’d left after breakfast, hoping to be home before the oppressive heat of the day set in. Each of them had brought a bucket to fill. One of the buckets now lay on the ground, flung there by Fortune after she made her gruesome discovery.
     
    “Although I’m pretty sure I know who that body is, or was, we need to talk to Ida Belle. He needs to stay buried… Hidden,” the old woman muttered as she stooped to reach for her bucket.
    “He?” Fortune asked, as she just shook her head and sighed. “Of course it’s a he, I should’ve known… ”
    “Yes, if it’s who I think it is. Why don’t you just bury those bones, or rebury them I guess.” Gertie straightened her back, making assorted old-people noises, and then turned to head toward home.
    “Wait. Who? Wha… Why?” Fortune sputtered, her brain formulating questions too rapidly for her mouth to settle on any single one. “Now, wait just a damn minute,” she called forcefully, watching Gertie march home. She sputtered again, this time under her breath, then she quickly shoved the bones deep into the dirt and packed it down over the bones.
    She was afraid the animal would come back for them. If the animal was anything at all like Marge’s old hound dog, aptly named Bones, even a ton of dirt wouldn’t be enough to keep the bones securely buried.
    “C’mon,” Gertie turned back to her. “Please, just leave it alone Fortune,” Gertie sighed. “This isn’t my story to tell. Ida Belle… Well, it’s not her story either, but she’ll know what to do.”
    “How many secrets, and bodies, do you Ladies have hidden around here?” Fortune shook her head. She had quickly learned the Sinful Ladies Society really was more Syndicate than knitting club, and Ida Belle was truly the Godfather… no, make that Godperson of the elderly organization.
    No wonder the so-called normal folk in Sinful called them the Geritol Mafia, she thought as she gathered the strewn berries. She placed them back in the bucket, and then trotted to catch up with her senior friend.
     
     

Chapter 2
     
    Ida Belle and Gertie were waiting in her kitchen when she came down the staircase after showering. She sniffed deeply and then smiled. At least they’d made coffee, and she hoped the other scent she detected was Gertie’s homemade cinnamon rolls.
    “I don’t know how the bones got out of the ground. Fortune thought it was some kind of animal,” Gertie was saying as she rounded the corner. “At least no bills surfaced, at least, not that I could see.”
    “I know we buried him plenty deep…” Ida Belle paused when she spotted Fortune, she at least, had the good sense to look sheepish.
    “So, who was he?” Fortune asked, the first of a million questions she had about that body. There hadn’t been much doubt in