Wed and Buried Read Free Page A

drove up the steep hill to the neighborhood’s main shopping area. Judith smiled and relaxed behind the wheel. The song had been one of her favorites when she was dating Joe over thirty years ago. They had danced to it, hummed to it, made love to it. And then Joe had eloped with another woman. Judith had never wanted to hear “Moon River” again, refused to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s , despised Andy Williams, and had secretly admired his ex-wife, Claudine Longet, for shooting her lover, Spider Sabich, in a fit of jealous rage. She would have liked to have done the same thing to Joe. Judith hadn’t known then that Joe had gotten drunk after his rookie encounter with teenaged OD fatalities, and been lured onto a Las Vegas-bound plane by the woman known as Herself. Nor had Judith realized that while she suffered in her rebound union with Dan McMonigle, Joe had done penance of his own as the husband of a dedicated alcoholic. It was only when one of Judith’s guests was murdered at the B&B that the erstwhile lovers were reunited. Joe had been assigned to break the case; his marriage was already broken. After all was explained, much was forgiven. Judith and Joe had taken up more or less where they had left off, and five years later, life was usually good. There were minor problems, of course. Gertrude had loathed Dan, but she’d never liked Joe much, either. After Judith and Joe had gotten married, Gertrude had steadfastly refused to share a roof with her new son-in-law. The move to the converted toolshed ensued, though Judith’s mother never ceased to complain aboutbeing thrown out of her own house. There was some truth to the charge, but Judith had been forced into a corner. Gertrude had to go, if only about twenty yards.
    Then, just as Judith foolishly thought life was moving on a fairly smooth course, Herself—or Vivian, as was her real name—returned from Florida. To Judith’s horror and Joe’s dismay, she purchased a house in the cul-de-sac just two doors down from Hillside Manor. While Herself hadn’t quit drinking, she apparently had stopped making passes at her former husband. Judith did her best to accept the other Mrs. Flynn as nothing more than a slightly eccentric neighbor. Most of the time, the approach worked.
    â€œMoon River” ended as Judith pulled into the grocery store parking lot. She had ordered a very large pork roast, since at least two dozen guests would be on hand for dinner. Maybe, she reflected as she waited for Harold, the butcher, to bring her order, she should get a second, smaller roast. It wouldn’t go to waste; she could always use the meat for sandwiches. Gertrude loved pork sandwiches.
    â€œI’m not cooking,” said a voice at Judith’s ear. She turned to see Renie, looking resolute. “It’s too hot. We’re getting a couple of pizzas.”
    â€œSo why are you here if you’re not making dinner?” Judith inquired.
    Renie made a face. “It turned out that my mother also needed a few things at the grocery store.” She waved a lengthy list in front of Judith. “I’ve got coupons, too. She can save twenty cents on toilet paper, thirty on flour, fifty on coffee, and a whole dollar off an oilskin tablecloth. Why does my mother need an oilskin tablecloth? She’s been using plastic table covers for twenty years.”
    Judith made sympathetic noises. “She probably wants to save it for good. My mother has eight slips that have never been out of their gift boxes.”
    â€œSo what?” Renie snorted. “My mother has ten oldgirdles in her closet. The last time she wore one of them, a stay popped up and cut her chin.”
    Harold presented the pork roast with a flourish. Judith gaped at the price, recovered herself, and thanked the butcher. A second roast was beyond her budget. The cousins continued down the aisle, toward dairy.
    â€œAt least you won’t have to cook