Death Pays a Visit : Myrtle Clover #7

Chapter Twenty-One

The worst part, reflected Myrtle that afternoon, was that she was starting to feel the teensiest bit at home at Greener Pastures, which was completely abhorrent. But sure enough, there was a sort of rhythm to life there that was easy to fall in step with.

First she joined in a Scrabble game with two very sharp-looking women who were both wrapped up in fluffy sweaters and scarves as if it were winter inside the retirement home. Myrtle was beaming when she won the match, even though she hadn't played Scrabble for ages. The daily crossword puzzles were key, she decided.

Lunch was rather uneventful and not as good as the meal she and Miles had had their first time there. It was a shame Miles wasn't there to witness its blandness.

When it was time to watch Tomorrow's Promise, Myrtle hesitated. She really did want to watch the episode today and not only to find out what had happened between Marlene and Cheyenne. She'd love to pick back up on her train of thought from yesterday—the train of thought that had almost revealed the killer to her.

The only problem with watching Tomorrow's Promise could be Ruby. Myrtle cleared her throat as she and Ruby walked on the way back from the dining room. "Say, Ruby, do you ever watch soap operas?"

Ruby frowned in concentration. "I think I used to. Which one do you watch?"

"Tomorrow's Promise," said Myrtle. "You don't have to watch it with me, but if you're not planning on watching anything else, I'd like to watch it on your TV if you don't mind."

Ruby's TV was a tiny set with questionable reception, but Myrtle didn't feel like watching the soap out in the commons area with everyone milling around.

"Well, sure!" said Ruby, beaming. "I'm happy to share my TV. I'll watch it with you."

Unfortunately, the soap opera watching was a real bust. Ruby, even more than usual, had no idea what was going on and asked a lot of questions. And she asked some of the same questions more than two or three times.

"Who is the girl with the black hair again?" she asked in a concerned voice. "And why is she hiding outside the blond man's house?"

Miles never interrupted with silly questions when they watched Tomorrow's Promise together. Although Puddin had. But who could expect more from Puddin?

Then there was supper. She and Ruby were running slightly late and couldn't find a place to sit. Finally, they spotted two free chairs at Fred's table. Fred rolled his eyes as they approached. Myrtle supposed that he didn't much like Myrtle knowing his secret about not going to college. She put a thumb and finger to her lips and mimed zipping them. Fred glowered at her.

Myrtle decided that when Greener Pastures was having a bad day in the kitchen, it was a bad day. Supper was meatloaf (she supposed) with some sort of cold, salty sauce on it. The accompanying peas were just short of frozen, and the bread was stale.

The rest of the table was engaged in conversation so Myrtle leaned closer to Fred and murmured, "You can relax, you know. I'm not here to disclose your secret."

"It's annoying that you're here at all," said Fred. "You're not a resident, but you're staying over just about as much as one. You don't even have Miles with you this time. He's probably gotten fed up with all your nonsense and investigating."

"Miles had a toaster oven to replace," said Myrtle serenely. "He likely had other errands to run, too."

"That's the best part about living here," said Fred. "I don't have to worry about toaster ovens breaking. If they break, it's not my problem."