Free Elizabeth C. Main - Jane Serrano 02 - No Rest for the Wicked by Elizabeth C. Main

lengthy illness, there probably wasn’t much money left over for discretionary spending, either in Oregon or Tahiti.
    At the close of Dr. McCutcheon’s presentation, he was besieged. Alice demanded to know why the governor let this stuff go on, and launched into yet another description of how her father had been cheated of his life savings.
    He cut her off with a brusque, “ Unfortunate, but common. ”
    “ Easy for you to say. It wasn’t your life savings, ” Alice said. “ How’d you— ”
    “ Thank you once again for coming, Dr. McCutcheon. ” T hough I felt sorry for Alice ’s hard life, our speaker wasn’t in a position to help her . I hurried to close the meeting with a round of applause. “ You’ve given us a lot to think about. Now, would you care for some refreshments? ”
    Dr. McCutcheon backed away from Alice’s determined advance. “ Sorry, but I, er, must return to campus. Immediately. ”
    “ In that case, Bianca, could you see our guest out? And Minnie, I’m sure you have some takers for your refreshments. Oh, thank you, Velda. ” Velda was limping toward me with the platter. “ Here’s Minnie’s pound cake. She put the lemon scones on the counter over there. ”
    “ Never too late for either one. ” Phil and Eileen Hedstrom rose and hesitated, unable to decide which snack to sample first. They looked at each other in understanding and then separated, each to stake out a claim on several of the treats to share.
    I snagged a piece of pound cake and offered it to Alice as a peace offering . “ Would you like some? You could take a piece to your father , as well . ”
    Alice was having none of it. “ I come for information, and I’m already behind on my work. Expected more outta the meeting, too. Stuffed shirt’s what he is. ”
    I risked a look behind me . Bianca had successfully shepherded Dr. McCutcheon off the premises and out of earshot of Alice’s continuing vitriol.
    “ Never worked a day in his life. Did you see those fingernails? Manicured, sure as anything. What’s he know? ”
    I was working on a diplomatic response when Velda slid up beside me. “ Excuse me, Alice, but Minnie needs to talk to Jane. ”
    I breathed another silent thank you to Velda for her help as I murmured an apology to Alice. I wove my way through the crowd toward Minnie . She held up the now-empty platter in front of me like a stop sign. Subtlety was not Minnie’s strong suit.
    Minnie darted a look around to make sure no one was close enough to hear and then spoke out of the side of her mouth like some demented gangster. “ We talked to you-know-who. ”
    “ I got Bianca’s message. Upsetting, but things will be fine . ”
    “ Oh, really? ” Minnie raised her eyebrows. Sighing at my na i veté, she continued her ludicrous James Cagney impression. “ Sh e was told not to leave town. ”
    “ They let her go. It was just circumst — ”
    “ But, she’s not to leave town. ” Minnie emphasized each word. “ You’ve re ad the same mysteries I have. ”
    In truth, I avoided the bloodthirsty true crime that Minnie loved, so this was something of a misstatement, but I sensed the volcano building. For Minnie, reading mysteries had become a pale substitute for solving them. Minnie intended to play detective again, even if it meant turning a circumstantial molehill into a sinister mountain on the verge of eruption. From the flush on her plump cheeks, I surmised that the Murder of the Month Book Club was preparing to use its deductive powers to sa ve the world, or , at least , Alix.
    “ But t here’s nothing to do . ” Damage control was a non-starter, now that Minnie was on the track. I m ight as well have told Nick everything last night. The cat was so far out of the bag that it was probably in the next county by now.
    “ Yet. B e grateful for that. It gives us time to plot strategy. ” Minnie looked past me and smiled at the sight of Bianca in conference with Velda . “ Good. Bianca’s