Free Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) by Marilyn Levinson

quiet!” her sister growled.
    I tamped down the twinge of guilt, and urged Felicity to answer. “Whom did you want to kill, Felicity, and why?”
    “Johnny! For killing Oscar, my pet ferret!”
    “How awful!” I looked about for Puss, and sighed with relief when I saw him fast asleep in the corner against the baseboard
    “A pet killer,” Joy said with distaste. “Who could blame you?”
    Corinne shot her an angry look. “The creature was sick and dying. Our father asked a family friend to put it out of its misery.”
    “Oscar wasn’t sick!” Felicity insisted. “Don’t you remember? It was because Daddy hated—”
    “Felicity!”
    Felicity whimpered.
    “We don’t air family matters in public.”
    I expected Felicity to burst into tears. Instead she bowed her head and murmured, “I’m sorry, Corinne, but thinking about Oscar upset me all over again.”
    Corinne put an arm around her sister and marched her out of the room and into the hall. “Good-bye. Thanks for everything, Lexie,” she tossed over her shoulder as she slammed the door behind her.
    Good job, Lexie, I told myself, convinced I’d just lost two members of the mystery book club.
     

 

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    “What do you make of Felicity’s ferret story?” Joy asked the following Wednesday afternoon as she handed me a steaming cup of coffee.
    She’d called, asking me to come over ASAP, when I was driving home from teaching my morning classes. I fed Puss, ate a few tablespoons of tuna salad standing at the sink, and hurried over. I was still glowing from last night’s date with Brian. I’d called to tell him about Felicity’s relationship with Len Lyons, and he asked me to meet him for dinner at our local diner. Afterward, we shared a long, lingering kiss in my car, both of us grinning like fools when we said good-night. My heart soared because I had the definite sense our feelings for each other were mutual.
    “Lexie?”
    “Mmm?”
    “I thought I lost you on another planet.”
    “I’m here,” I said, struggling to retrieve her question. I stirred in a dab of milk and sipped. Heavens! The Soccer Mom made awesome coffee.
    “Felicity’s story has me mystified,” I said. “What kind of father asks someone to kill his daughter’s pet?”
    “And why was Corinne so intent on shutting her up?” Joy asked, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “I’ve an idea I’m working on. Meanwhile, I’ve learned a few things about our fellow members you’ll find interesting.” She crooked her finger. “Come with me.”
    I followed her into the small room off the kitchen that she’d turned into an office. I noted the pile of pages beside the printer.
    Joy picked up the sheath of papers. “This is the info I’ve gathered so far.”
    “All that. I’m impressed. Anything of interest?”
    “Uh-huh. Everything’s of interest. I’ll start with Sadie.”
    “Sadie?” I moved some books to the floor so I could sit on the chair next to a small bookcase.
    “She’s pretty much what she claims to be, a guidance counselor at the local high school. Though she has some DWIs from over ten years ago.”
    “Really! I’ve never seen her drink.”
    “Probably doesn’t any longer. Sadie’s divorced. No children. Three months ago she arranged for a loan to buy a bigger house.”
    “The one she’s living in is beautiful!  And certainly large enough for one person.”
    “Haven’t you noticed? Sadie likes having the biggest and the best: perfect hair, beautiful clothes. She drives a Mercedes. Her expenses far exceed what she earns on a guidance counselor’s salary.”
    I nodded. “I suppose. Maybe she’s inherited money. Or got a great settlement when she divorced.”
    “Neither. Sadie’s maxed out her credit cards and owes money to the bank. The loan I’m referring to was arranged by Len Lyons.”
    “Oh? He set her up with a loan shark?”
    “Looks that way. It seems Len Lyons had his finger in quite a few pies. Tim settled a minor case for