Murder in Wonderland Read Free Page A

rhetoric.
                  "But it's not the inherited money that does it, is it? Makes a person behave like that? It's what drives a person like that to money in the first place. That relentless drive. It's not like some go-getter MBA or even a CEO gunning for his rival. It's more like a sleazy used-car salesman using any tactic necessary to seal the deal, with no regard for personal reputation. It's as if the potential pot of gold blinds people like that to mirrors."
                  "Have a scone, honey," said Ben. "You'll feel better. Those are scones from The Sugar Loaf I smell?"
                  "Very good," said Allie, truly impressed. "We'll have tea and scones once the book discussion gets underway. In the meantime, we haven't heard from the lovely June Brody. How is the jewelry business?"
                  "More to the point," said Ben, "What do you hate about Tori Cardinal?"
                  June's lip curled in a half-smile and she shook her head slightly. "I don't really have anything against her."
                  Allie watched the dark-haired girl. There was the slightest hesitation after June had spoken, as if there was going to be a 'but' or an 'except', only it never came. She thought this because the girl's lip had curled back down a bit too quickly after she spoke.
                  Jill/Jenny Metzger—the one without the glasses—said, "Well, all's I know is she wreaked havoc at the last fundraiser, making those comments about war widows. She must have spent a fortune in PR because the whole thing died down, and then all of a sudden she was everyone's darling again. But it cost us. We didn’t raise as much as we'd projected, right?" She turned to her sister, who confirmed with a nod. "It was terrible. She's a terrible person, unless you don't know her personally."
                  Allie felt a chill in the air and looked around, half-expecting to see some dark and horned figure looming in the corner, nodding appreciatively at all the vitriol in the room, feeding on it.
                  And just then, in a perfect example of exactly how and when to make an entrance, Tori Cardinal arrived.

4
     
                  Allie stiffened herself as she opened the door. If there was anyone approaching the status of royalty in Verdenier, it was Ms. Cardinal of Bayer Street.
                  She was dressed in an immaculately white cotton shirtdress over cropped wool trousers, embellished with a playful silk multi-stripe scarf. From the perfect golden wave of her hair down to the black pats on her feet, the woman was a walking photo op. Rumors had placed her age at anywhere between 45 and 55, but here in Allie Griffin's living room, Tori Cardinal was a smart 35 at best, with poise and grace at every turn.
                  "I didn’t realize how close to town you were," she intoned in velvet notes.
                  It was an insult, of course. "Close to town" meant cheap housing and low taxes. It meant lunch at La Boit in Shelburne was a luxury; dinner there was an impossibility. It meant that weekends were for staying at ones place in New York City, and to trek out here for a Minnie Mouse book club was to be regarded as a condescension, or an act of Good Samaritanism, or both, and if you didn't understand that, then you had no right holding a book club and inviting Victoria Cardinal.
                  "Yes," said Allie, feeling a slight shame at the statement. "I can walk to the bakery on Sunday. I wouldn't trade that for anything."
                  "Oh, I'd trade it for a lap band eventually," said Tori Cardinal, turning away from her hostess and greeting the other members of the club.
                  "Sorry I'm late. I had to pick up my newest purchase." She turned her head and dangled her gold earrings for everyone to see. "Courtesy of Mr.