Death in Reel Time Read Free

“Though if I’d known I was going to have all this excitement today I would have primped a little more this morning.” She smoothed the front of her red T-shirt and patted at her hair.
    After Tony left the room I worried that I’d agreed too soon to his involvement. Video scrapbooking was a new trend, one I’d wanted to explore, but I wondered how the presence of the camera might affect the interviews and how much it might slow down the process. Esme must have been having the same second thoughts as she whispered out of the side of her mouth, “Just so he knows, he works on our schedule, not the other way round.”
    I was pleasantly surprised when Tony came back a moment later with only a small camera mounted on a slimtripod. I’d been anticipating an intrusive shoulder-mounted camera and an array of hot lights. He set up quickly in an out-of-the-way spot by the window and asked us to pretend he wasn’t there.
    Though I suspected that might be easier said than done, after a few minutes I forgot about the camera and it seemed Olivia did, too, though she was still struggling to find a way into her story.
    â€œLet’s try this,” I said. “Start off with ‘I was born in . . .’ ”
    She nodded. “I was born in Crawford, North Carolina—that’s about seventy miles from here—in January 1944. My mother’s name was Irene Damaris Lockwood Hargett. People called her Renny. She was born August 17, 1924, and she died in 1981. I never knew her parents, my grandparents. Their names were Thomas Lockwood and Victoria Lockwood. I don’t know middle names and I don’t know my grandmother’s birth name, nor any dates for them. They were foreign missionaries and they died in a ferry accident somewhere overseas just after I was born. They never set eyes on me.
    â€œMy father, the black sheep of his family, was named John Lamont Hargett. I think most people called him Johnny. He ran off before I was born, so he never saw me, either. His parents died young, too, so I didn’t have any actual grandparents in my life. But my father’s older brother, Riley Hargett, was like a grandfather to me. He and his wife, Celestine, lived right next door to Mama and me. They never had children of their own and they doted on me. I loved them dearly. Riley died in 1985 and Celestine passed a little over a year ago, at the golden age of ninety-seven. She lived alone in her own house until her dying day. That’s about all I know.”
    â€œSo if my math is right, your parents were very young when you were born,” I said.
    â€œMy mother was nineteen,” Olivia said. “Not too unusual for those times, I guess, but she’d be considered too young today. These days the gals are waiting longer to start their families, sometimes too long.” I caught a sidelong glance in Beth’s direction before Olivia went on. “I don’t know my father’s age. I really know very little about him. It was like the whole family just tried to erase him after he showed himself a coward.”
    There was a noise in the front hall and we all turned in unison as Beth’s husband, Blaine, appeared in the doorway, looking preoccupied. “I figured I’d find you here,” he said to Beth.
    â€œYes, we’re giving Mom her present,” Beth said, her voice bright.
    â€œOh yeah, happy birthday, Olivia,” Blaine said absently.
    â€œNot my birthday,” Olivia said with a weak smile, “but thanks, Blaine.”
    Most townspeople would say Beth was lucky to have snagged the most eligible bachelor in these parts. Blaine Branch was the scion of a rich family and was handsome to boot. And as the owner of a large sporting goods store called The Sporting Life, he was a pretty big cheese in the Morningside business community. Still, I thought Blaine had gotten the better end of the bargain.
    He’d given the rest of us