A Body in the Backyard: #4

Chapter Ten

Miles and Myrtle stared at each other.  

"You didn't stuff a man's suit and put a dummy out there?" asked Miles in an unsteady voice. 

Myrtle shook her head. 

"You didn't ask someone to volunteer to be a body in order to reenact the tragic evening Cousin Charles died?" 

Myrtle shook her head. 

Miles took a deep breath. "Then this reception is over. I'll go get Red. You make sure that nobody goes out there and messes with the crime scene." 

He dashed out the front door-it was more of a twisting, turning, pushing type of dodging dash-and Myrtle stepped outside into the backyard, closing the door behind her. She wouldn't dream of tampering with the crime scene (well, not this time, anyway), but she did want to take a closer look at it.  

It was Lee Woosley, her handyman. It looked as if he wouldn't be finishing those projects for her after all. He appeared to have been struck on the back of the head with the shovel that Dusty had forgotten and had fallen face first-apparently on top of her memorial. How anyone thought this could be a reenactment of Charles's murder was inconceivable. This time, there was no Viking gnome in evidence for one thing.  

What had he been doing in Myrtle's backyard? What had the murderer been doing in Myrtle's backyard-again? And how could Myrtle continue missing the most excitement her yard had seen since Red and his buddies played kickball there? 

Red would be over in seconds and he would be coming around the side of the house, not bothering with pushing his way through the crowded house. She stooped and squinted at the ground. There was no sign of any footprints in the dry soil. There hadn't been anything left behind by the killer that she could see. A wallet with ID surely would have been helpful. Lee didn't seem to be clutching a note with a scrawled meeting time on it-that would have been helpful, too. 

But it did appear that Lee had been planning on going to either the funeral or the reception, or both. He was not in his usual handyman clothing, but wore slacks and a button-down shirt. He looked to be lying mostly on top of something. Myrtle peered closer and saw that it was a small toolbox-not the big one he'd brought when he came over to do her repairs. And there was something just barely visible in one hand. She stooped, then stood back up. Screws. Lee had come back over to fix her planter so everything would be perfect before the funeral reception. 

Myrtle put her hands innocently behind her back as she heard heavy breathing coming around the side of her house. Moments later, Red appeared looking flushed and annoyed. Miles was right behind him. 

They gazed silently at the dead man.  

"Right on top of my memorial," said Myrtle after a moment. 

"Mama, don't you think this is getting extreme? Two bodies in your yard? This time you even have a house full of guests." 

"Well, it's not like I'm responsible for this, Red. If I were, I'd certainly have chosen a different time of day for a body to appear in my backyard. Preferably one when I'm around to look out the window and catch the murderer." Myrtle was very cross at her failure to observe murder mere yards from her. "It looks like Lee came back with the right screws or bolts to hang my planter back on the wall." 

They continued looking at Lee. Miles cleared his throat. "Not to be pushy, but what are we going to do about the funeral reception. I feel mildly responsible for the guests, considering my connection to the first victim." 

Red rubbed the side of his face. "I've got to call Lieutenant Perkins and tell him we've got another body. They'll need to get the forensics team over here. I should talk to the guests before they go and find out if anyone saw anything. Although I'm guessing that this murder took place while the funeral was going on."