Free Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1) by Riley Blake

lie, Johnny,” Mary Louise said. “Around here, we’re too old to remember what we did yesterday. If we have to start remembering who said what to whom then you’ll end up in a heap of trouble and we’ll end up in witness protection.”
    “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Mary Louise. Sounds a bit drastic.” Sheriff Littleton entered, ducked under the small chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, and nodded at Johnny. “I’m only here to help.”
    “Which is what we’re doing,” Opal said. “We’re helping a friend.”
    “Let me assure you that I’m Johnny’s friend as well. Maybe we can help him remember something. Pearl tells me you have some incriminating evidence.”
    Opal snorted. She looked mad enough to throw a tantrum. At the very least, she was mad enough to toss something at Pearl. “You couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”
    “He’s the boss in this county.”
    “And we don’t even know if a crime has occurred and you’re offering to hand over our records? Those are private.”
    “I can get a court-ordered search warrant,” Littleton said. “In fact, I thought about it. What do you know about selling cinderblocks?”
    Mary Louise picked up the stack of receipts and thrust them at Sheriff Littleton. “We keep very detailed records.”
    “What was the story behind them?”
    “A construction company donated them to a daycare center and someone had the wise idea to let the kids decorate them with spray paint. They then sold them to local merchants to raise money for their annual tuition drive.”
    “So it was for a good cause?”
    “I’m guessing that’s a matter of opinion,” Opal said, looking at Johnny. “Did you tell Sheriff Littleton everything you know?”
    “Yes,” he replied.
    “Wait a second,” Pearl said. “Are you saying our cinderblocks were used in a murder?”
    “I don’t think they were used to kill anyone,” Sheriff Littleton said. “But they may have been used to keep a body buried.”
    “He means Oscar’s,” Pearl explained, clearly proud to be in the know.
    “Would someone please tell us what’s going on here?” Mary Louise was frustrated by the lack of information.
    “When Pearl knows more than anyone, it’s kind of scary for those of us who have known her for more than a minute,” Opal added.
    Johnny turned his trucker-style cap around and instantly transformed into the boy-next-door. “I already told Opal everything, but I was about to share information with Pearl and Mary.” 
    “By all means.” Littleton probably wanted to test Johnny to see if his story now matched the one he likely gave down at the sheriff’s office. Sure enough, he pulled out a handheld tape recorder and placed it on the coffee table. “Go ahead.”
    “I saw the pillow over Samantha’s face. It was one of those half-body cushions.” Johnny’s tale seemingly started in the middle. “Still had that crinkled look like someone had just released it and darted away, maybe even when they heard me pull up.” He glanced around the room, clearly gauging expressions before he added, “I was only there because Clarence had asked me to drop off some potato soup. Samantha always loved soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.”
    “She was already dead?” Pearl asked.
    “I don’t know,” Johnny said honestly. “Clarence’s truck wasn’t there. I was scared that someone might have still been in the house so I left. A few hours later, Clarence stopped by to see if everything was all right. Told him I’d been real busy and didn’t have a chance to drive out to their farm.
    “I gave him a pint of soup and told him to tell Samantha I was thinking about her. He left without correcting me so I assumed she was all right.” He looked ashamed of himself. “Truth is, I tied one on the night before so I started thinking that maybe I’d imagined the whole thing, ya know?”
    “No, I don’t,” Pearl said.
    “What if she had needed assistance?” Mary Louise asked.
    “She