Edit to Death : Myrtle Clover #14

Chapter Twenty-One

Naturally, it did not take until the end of the day. Red's hyperbole made Myrtle drive a bit speedier than her usual twenty-five mile-per-hour clip. She drove straight back to her house, without stopping to drop off Miles's phone.

It took Red a little while to process Hubert and Boone's arrests and to speak with the state police when they arrived. While she was waiting, Myrtle ate another hearty breakfast and worked on her crossword puzzle, which she was able to complete in a mere fifteen minutes.

When Red and Lieutenant Perkins from the state police finally showed up, Myrtle was just pouring herself another cup of coffee. After seeing Red's face, she said, "Here, take this one. I'll make myself another. You need it more than I do." She beamed at Perkins. "I'm glad we have the chance to talk again! Can I make you a cup of coffee?"

"Good to see you, Mrs. Clover," said Perkins in his even voice. "And no, I'm fine, thank you."

"You certainly do look better-rested than Red does," observed Myrtle.

Red glowered at her. "Some of us aren't used to getting up before dawn, Mama."

"It was dawn. That's why I was going to the car dealership. It wasn't even that early," said Myrtle.

"Early is relative," said Red. He took a large sip of the coffee.

Myrtle settled into a chair. "I suppose Hubert and Boone told you everything?" she asked.

Perkins shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Instead, they asked for lawyers. It remains to be seen what information, if any, they'll provide us. So we'd be very grateful to you if you could share what you know."

Myrtle preened while Red glowered at her.

Red said, "Of course, it's just your word against theirs. Hearsay."

"On the contrary," said Myrtle, looking down her nose at Red. "As a matter of fact, Miles has this nifty app on his phone. It's a voice recorder. While I was in the car, I was able to tape what they said."

Perkins raised his eyebrows. "A full confession?"

Myrtle thought back over the rather tense conversation she'd had with the two men. "I'm afraid not. But there should be enough material there for you to convict them. And I can tell you the rest of it."

Red groaned and Perkins gave him a repressive look. "That would be very helpful, Mrs. Clover."

"Where should I begin? I'll start with poor Tara. Because that's where everything started," said Myrtle. She frowned. "I'm so annoyed with myself for not seeing it decades ago and for trusting our very incompetent police department at the time. You see, Tara wasn't the type of girl to run away at all. And she didn't—she was right here all along. Red knew a very important piece of information."

Red cocked his eyebrows and Myrtle continued, "Although he didn't realize that he knew it or of its importance. Where my book club friend, Georgia, thought that Boone and Tara were dating, Red knew that Boone and Tara were not dating but that Boone wanted to date Tara. There's a world of difference between those two things."

Perkins nodded. "Tara didn't want to date Boone."

"That's right. It all came to a head the night of the party, which makes sense—no one was on their best behavior because they'd all been drinking. Inhibitions were lowered. Rose argued with Tara that night, despite the fact that they were the best of friends," said Myrtle.

Perkins looked intently at Myrtle. "So Rose killed Tara."

"No, Boone did. Rose simply argued with her. But Boone, according to him, gave Tara a shove out of frustration. That shove went badly wrong and resulted in Tara knocking her head and dying from her injury," said Myrtle. "You can hear that on Miles's phone."