Free 03 Murder by Mishap by Suzanne Young Page A

contain a chuckle. “Besides, he’s promised to give me a ride on his bike. I can’t fire him until I have my first motorcycle ride, can I?”
    Edna gave a short laugh. “I give up.” For now , she thought. 
    Peg removed a small jeweler’s box from her handbag, carefully wrapped the brooch in a bit of tissue paper and placed it on the cotton in the box. Replacing the tiny lid, she put the box back into her bag. Her smile had faded as she’d concentrated on this chore. Looking across the table at Edna, she said, “Ready to go?”
    They settled their bill with the waiter and rose to confront the task ahead.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    Twenty minutes later, as she and Peg approached Cherisse’s room at the nursing home in West Warwick, Edna gently laid her hand on her friend’s arm. “Shall I wait for you in the sitting room?”
    The look Peg returned was one of near panic. “No. I need you with me, Ed. I’m not sure I can face her alone. You don’t have to say anything, but I’ll feel much braver if you’re there.” Taking hold of Edna’s hand, she moved quietly, pulling Edna along behind her, and slowly peered around the half-opened door.
    “May I help you?” A soft, melodious voice came from inside the room.
    When Peg didn’t move, Edna nudged her forward. If she were to join them and not wait in the lounge, she at least wanted to see those in the room and not simply the back of Peg’s head.
    The speaker was a woman Edna guessed to be about seventy and then adjusted the age by two years when she realized this must be Cherisse’s daughter Renee. She was a slender woman with wispy, white hair cut boyishly short. Wearing a sea-green polo shirt and charcoal-gray woolen slacks, she looked prim seated in a chair by the bed. Edna watched Renee’s expression turn from curiosity to puzzlement to slow recognition as her eyes moved from Peg’s face to Edna’s and quickly back to Peg. The book she’d been reading dropped to her lap.
    A brief silence ensued during which Cherisse’s daughter stared long and hard at Peg. Finally, she said, “You look like your mother.” Only then did she shift her gaze to the woman on the bed. “Don’t you think, so, Mama?”
    Cherisse Froissard rested against a mound of pillows that seemed to be keeping her upright. Her skin had a grayish cast and her short, straight hair lay like a limp cap on her head, but her light blue eyes held an interest that belied the frailty of the body.
    When Renee turned back to them, her eyes, a slightly darker shade than her mother’s, were cool. “It’s been a very long time, Peg. What brings you here?”
    “I …” Peg started to speak, then faltered until Edna gently poked her in the back. “I came to visit Cherisse .”
    “Why? And who have you brought with you?” Renee nodded toward Edna as she frowned at Peg. Her voice hadn’t risen, but it did hold a hint of animosity.
    “Renee.” The woman on the bed reached a shaky hand toward her daughter, her tone weak but admonishing. Her other hand lifted from the coverlet to beckon Peg. “Come closer, dear, so I can see you better. These old eyes aren’t so good anymore.”
    The room was overly warm and small, filled by the single hospital bed, a narrow bedside table and two chairs. The unoccupied chair stood beside a long, narrow window that looked out onto a small patch of grass and beyond to another wing of the facility. On the side of the room opposite the window were two doors. One concealed a bathroom and the other a closet, Edna guessed. 
    Peg took the few steps to reach Cherisse’s side and stood across the bed from Renee who continued to frown, but more in question than hostility now, it seemed to Edna. In contrast, Cherisse’s smile was open and friendly.
    “You do look like your mother, Peggy dear. She was very pretty, you know.”
    Peg didn’t reply, but took the old woman’s hand and held it between her own. Edna couldn’t tell if Peg didn’t know what