Darcy Campbell has a nose for news. Is that what’s constantly getting her into trouble? Flora says she has a curiosity bump directly inherited from Darcy’s Irish father, Andy Tucker. Whatever is the reason, it’s true that our Oklahoma gal has a penchant for finding herself in tight places. She was pretty near disaster in Best Left Buried when an emotionally over-wrought stranger very nearly punched her in that trouble-sniffing nose. And accused her of murder, for heaven’s sake. Thank goodness Grant was there!
Grant got up, went to the coffee dispenser, and brought back a Styrofoam cup of the hot drink. I held it in both hands, trying to stop shaking.
Folding his arms across his chest, he frowned at me. “So, do you think Eileen put something in your coffee while you were gone and then drank it by mistake?”
My teeth clicked together like nervous castanets. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
We stared at each other, trying to absorb the awfulness of this situation.
A man stopped in front of us and I looked up into a fiery red face topped with hair sticking out from under his baseball cap like tufted straw.
“You!” he screeched, jabbing his finger in my direction. “You are the one who killed her. She’s dead and you’re a murderer.”
Grant stood up and placed himself squarely in front of me. His voice held a threat when he spoke to the stranger.
“Hold on and quiet down. I need some information from you and I need you to come with me to my office.”
The man huffed and puffed. I expected to see smoke coming from his ears. When he showed no inclination to move, Grant jerked his thumb toward the door.
“Now!” he barked. Glancing at me, he said, “Darcy, go home and stay there.”
For once, I didn’t mind his bossiness. Home sounded like a good idea! I stumbled out of the hospital. It was only when I reached the door of the Escape that I realized I still held the Styrofoam cup as if I were grasping a lifeline.
So, was Darcy a murderer? Did she, however innocently, happen to cause the early demise of this woman she admittedly didn’t like? One person, at least, thought she was guilty. And that one person was enough to put her life in danger.
http://pen-l.com/Mystery.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blanche+day+manos
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