Free Murder by Arrangement (Edna Davies mysteries Book 5) by Suzanne Young

imagine Peppa doing anything unlawful.
    “Vehicular
homicide.”
    That one, Edna
could believe. Having been a passenger in Peppa’s vintage Mercedes when they’d
first met, Edna managed to repeat the harrowing experience only twice in the
last year and a half. True, the woman was quite reckless behind the wheel, but
miraculously had avoided having an accident in over fifty years. Tickets for
speeding, running red lights and ignoring stop signs were a different matter,
but she always paid promptly and cheerfully.
    “My goodness.”
Shocked by the news, Edna needed time to absorb what she’d just heard. “I knew
it was bound to happen sooner or later, but homicide .” Her voice rose on
this last word, making it sound like a question.
    Tuck nodded as
she removed her overcoat and pulled off her snow-caked boots.
    “Come into the
kitchen. The coffee’s fresh,” Edna said, feeling numb and wanting to sit before
her knees gave way.
    In the kitchen,
instead of sitting, Tuck paced and babbled, apparently talking more to herself
than to Edna. “She’s got old Dick Feinberg to represent her. He’s not a
criminal attorney, but they’ve known each other for years. She phoned me this
morning after she called him. Officially, she’s only allowed one phone call,
but most of them at the station are her Saturday morning kids, you know.”
    They and half
the town, Edna thought and almost felt like smiling. If there was anyone in
the area who hadn’t attended Peppa’s weekend story hour, they hadn’t grown up
locally.
    “You’ve got to
go talk to her.”
    “To Peppa?” Edna
was confused. When Tuck merely gave a curt nod, Edna asked, “Why me?” She
realized her question sounded like she was reluctant to speak with her friend,
but before she could amend it, Tuck spoke.
    “Because she’s
not speaking to me at the moment.”
    Edna shook her
head, trying to decipher Tuck’s convoluted way of thinking. “I thought you said
she phoned you this morning.”
    “She did, but
when she found out I knew Clem was back in town, she got angry and hung up on
me. I called back, but was told she wouldn’t come to the phone. I even went
over to the station. That’s where I was before I came here. She’s flat out
refusing to see me.
    “Clem?” Edna
couldn’t imagine there was more than one man in town with the name, but it was
too coincidental. “You mean the ‘Clem’ who works for Lily Beck?”
    Tuck nodded.
“Peppa’s ex.” Her tone implied Edna was already supposed to know, but in the
relatively short time she’d known Peppa, the woman hadn’t discussed her former
husband or anything about the divorce. She definitely hadn’t spoken his name.
    “What has he to
do with it?”
    “He’s the man
she ran over last night, the reason she’s been arrested.”
    This last
pronouncement was too much for Edna. “Hold on, Tuck. I need you to take a deep
breath, then sit down and tell me what’s going on. From the beginning, please,”
she added as she herself sat at the kitchen table.
    Tuck did as she
was told, taking a minute to stroke Benjamin’s golden fur. In the seat next to
hers, the cat blinked sleepily, having been awakened by the commotion. Seeming
slightly more relaxed, Tuck stared down at the coffee Edna placed before her
and began her tale.
    “Peppa’s call
woke me. I didn’t realize she was calling from the police station. I wasn’t
wearing my glasses, you see, so hadn’t looked at the caller ID before picking
up.”
    Edna knew Tuck
was apt to go off on a tangent and lose her train of thought, so she prompted.
“What did Peppa tell you?”
    “That she found
a body at the foot of her driveway this morning.” Tuck raised her eyebrows and
lifted her shoulders as if totally baffled. “I thought she was joking, so I
laughed and waited for her to deliver the punch line. She got huffy and said
she wasn’t kidding. That’s when she mentioned she was calling from the police
station. She’d already phoned Dick