Murder in the Past Tense (Miss Prentice Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) Read Free

easy!”
    She fluffed her blonde hair. She wore it medium-long, with the ends kind of flipped up. I’d have liked to try that style, but I could never get my bone-straight brown mop to cooperate. A pony tail was as good as it got.
    My mouth was full of ice cream, so I just tilted my head and frowned in disbelief.
    Lily understood. “Really! And besides, I know for a fact you’ve memorized every one of those Broadway show tapes you’ve got in your room. Barbara told me. You could sing one of those songs.”
    Leave it to my older sister to inform the world about my private life.
    “I don’t know why you have to have me along, Lily. You were in Oklahoma and Brigadoon last year. You’re already in. Anyway, why don’t you take Barb with you?”
    They were in the same class, after all. I was just the pesky kid sister.
    I glanced in the mirror on the wall at the end of the booth, where I’d just spotted Elm DeWitt, the recently-graduated star quarterback, entering the shop. I refocused my eyes. I was wearing my new blouse with a flowered vest. That was okay. Was my hair all right? I’d washed it only last night, but it had a tendency to get greasy. I smoothed back a few stray hairs.
    “Take your sister? Hah!” Lily leaned forward and whispered, “You know Barb can’t carry a tune. Everybody knows she got the looks and you got the talent in the family.”
    It was typical of Lily to say something that both insulted and complimented my sister, and also implied that I might be on the homely side. As usual I decided to let it pass. It was just Lily being Lily. She had chocolate syrup on her chin, but I didn’t tell her.
    “Why do you need anybody along at all?”
    Lily explored her sundae dish for any remaining nut fragments. “Well, it’s my mother. She won’t let me do summer theatre without another girl along.” She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “She thinks I’ll be seduced or something. Allison Bouyea was in it with me last year, but she’s starting summer classes at the college and can’t do it. Come on, Amelia. It’s so much fun! You’ll love it.”
    I stirred my float thoughtfully and watched Elm. At this moment he was talking to a couple of fellow athletes at the counter. Very soon now he would pass our booth. I was about to throw up. No, I was going to have a heart attack. No, I just needed to burp. I snatched a paper napkin from the little dispenser at the table and held it in front of my mouth.
    “Earth to Amelia! Are you coming with me or not?”
    I nodded, still pressing the napkin to my lips. Elm would be here any second now.
    Here he was!
    “Hi, girls. Free at last, huh? What’cha doin’ this summer?”
    I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I also couldn’t breathe.
    “Hi, Elm.” Lily straightened in her seat. “We’re doing summer theatre, right, Amelia?”
    I nodded and burped silently into the napkin.
    Elm smiled and the sun shone brighter. “Wow, neat! Maybe I’ll go see one of the shows.”
    “The first one is The Last Leaf ,” Lily informed him. “Opens in a few weeks. What are you going to be doing, Elm?”
    Looking uncomfortable, he tapped his chin. “You’ve got some, um—”
    Lily looked at herself in the booth’s mirror. “Oh.”
    She blotted her chin with a napkin and threw me a sharp glance that said, Why didn’t you tell me ? She turned a sweet smile back toward Elm.
    “You asked what I’m doing?” He shifted his canvas carryall to his other hand. “I’ll be starting summer classes at the college like Allison.” He knocked casually on the booth’s marble tabletop. “Got a football scholarship, you know.”
    Lily lost her pretended composure a little bit. “Oh, yes, we heard. It was all over school.”
    I nodded in nervous agreement and stared at the sharp ninety-degree angle of his jawbone. I didn’t dare look into his eyes, which were pale blue, like limpid pools of something or other.
    “Um, well, good luck at the theatre.”
    He sauntered away, his