Free Someone to watch over me by Jill Churchill

was her only day off from the beauty shop to do things with her daughter, and she mentioned twice that to attend this meeting she’d given up a trip to Poughkeepsie to visit an old uncle.
    Even Susan Gasset, who’d been so funny and cheerful about her popcorn-smelling hair and their diet of rabbits, wasn’t herself. “We aren’t going to have to stay and do our sewing today, are we?“ she asked Edith. “This is the day I do all my washing and ironing.”
    Henry White dropped in on the meeting again. “A Sunday meeting? I can hardly believe it. Isn’t my wife a wonder?“
    “Oh, Henry, how you do go on.“ Edith actually blushed, something Lily suspected nobody had ever seen happen before. “Now scoot. We’ve got things to discuss. It won’t take long.“ She gave him a look that suggested they had very intimate plans for the afternoon.
    The minute he left, chuckling to himself, Edith came right back to where the conversation at the last Ladies League meeting had left off, though first she daintily blotted a bit of a sheen off her upper lip. “No, Susan. We’re not sewing today. I just want to give you a report from my cousin so we can get on with the traveling shop,“ Edith answered, apparently unaware that nobody was thrilled with her summons.
    When everyone was present, Edith started reading from her notes about how the scrip exchange worked. Lily had given up trying to understand it because Edith was obviously going to see that it was done with or without anyone else’s approval.
    There was no point in trying to grasp the concept or try to improve it in the face of such determination. Glancing around the room as Edith cheerfully and tediously laid out a complex set of rules, Lily realized the rest of them appeared to have come to the same conclusion.
    Phoebe seemed to be feverishly taking notes, but Lily suspected she was really sketching out hats she planned to make.
    Poor Peggy Rismiller, the minister’s wife, who’d put in a good three hours greeting churchgoers this morning, looked as if she might fall asleep at any moment. Lily had heard that since so many of the parishioners could no longer be as financially supportive of the church as they used to be, they’d worked out a round-robin program of inviting the minister and his wife to a big Sunday dinner each week of the year. The Rismillers must have found this rotating hospitality somewhat of a trial in addition to all their other community activities.
    Lily herself felt sleepy but was kept from napping by a tiny sound behind her. She turned slightly to look out the window and saw Chief Howard Walker standing so that nobody else could see him. He gestured to her to come outside.
    Lily said, “Will you ladies please excuse me for a moment,“ without explanation, and went out the front door where Walker was now standing.
    “What are you doing peeking through windows?“
    “I understand Mrs. Anderson’s at this meeting.”
    “Yes?“
    “Could you manage to have her come out here?“
    “I suppose so. What’s this about?“ He didn’t reply.
    Lily went back inside and leaned over Roxanne’s shoulder and whispered, “Someone needs to see you outside.“
    “Has something happened to my children or my brother?“
    “I don’t know,“ Lily replied.
    Without another word, Roxanne hurried out the front door, and a few moments later there was a horrifying scream.
    Lily was the first to get outside. Roxanne was pounding on Chief Walker’s chest and sobbing. “No, no, no! It can’t be true!”
    Walker looked at Lily with a “help me“ glance as he gently tried to grab Roxanne’s wrists. Lily snagged one of Roxanne’s hands and tugged. Roxanne whirled around and fell into Lily’s arms so violently they almost toppled to the ground. By this time the rest of the women had come out- side and were standing in a confused, alarmed clump on the porch.
    “What’s this all about?“ Edith White demanded. · Walker removed his hands from his aching