Hushed Up--Myrtle Clover Mystery #15

Chapter Sixteen

Annie gave them a brief smile before staring for a few moments at the house next-door. She walked over to their car.

"Sorry we're in your driveway," said Myrtle. "I wanted to speak with Red to see what was going on and there was no room on the street."

Annie said distractedly, "No, that's fine. This driveway is usually deserted now, anyway. I'm just here to start organizing Mama's things. What is going on at Tallulah's?"

Myrtle told her. Then she said, "So you weren't here earlier, dear? Organizing your mother's things? Such a pity, since you might have seen something."

Annie shook her head. "No, I was busy earlier at home. I needed to clean up and organize at my own house before coming over here, otherwise I'd have been too tired coming home. Martin is not going to be any help at all," she said with a sigh. "So I didn't see anything. Don't know anything. And why would anyone murder Tallulah? It seems crazy. Are they systematically taking out everyone on the street?"

Myrtle said, "We think Tallulah must have seen something that might have exposed your mother's killer."

Annie slumped a little. "This is all so incredible. I mean, I'm leaving Bradley because it's a town where nothing happens. And suddenly, things are happening here all the time. Bad things." She paused. "And now I'm even wondering if I really want to leave at all. After all, Mama is gone and she's the main reason I was looking to leave in the first place."

Myrtle gave her a sympathetic look. "Family relationships can be tricky, can't they?"

A single tear trickled down Annie's face. To Myrtle's relief, no others seemed tempted to follow. In a somewhat shaky voice, Annie said, "Yes. I've been feeling bad about Mama's death, mostly because it's made life so much easier for me. Mama would berate me all the time. I could never seem to do anything right. She never liked a single decision I ever made, nothing I did in school was ever good enough. It was one thing after another."

Myrtle made a tsking sound. "That's dreadfully unfair to you, Annie. She was too harsh."

"And very controlling. But that's the funny thing about being controlled. After you aren't anymore, it's a huge adjustment. I've had to really stop and think what I need to do next. Right now, I'm just taking baby steps like cleaning out Mama's house. But soon I'll have to figure out the bigger picture."

Myrtle said slowly, "There was one thing I wanted to ask you about, Annie. You'd mentioned you'd been watching Tomorrow's Promise at the time your mother died."

"That's right. Well, I guess we don't really know exactly when she died, but that's what I was doing that evening. I was just trying to chill out after a long day." Annie's tone changed and she sounded cautious as she spoke. "One of my grandmothers got me hooked on the show when I was a teenager."

Myrtle nodded. "It's just that I happen to be something of an expert when it comes to Tomorrow's Promise. I've been watching for decades. And I could tell when I spoke with you about it that you clearly haven't been watching the latest episodes."

Annie slumped. "Got it." For a moment, it looked as if she was searching her mind for an appropriate alibi. Then she sighed. "It's true. I wasn't at home that night. Not that I had anyone to confirm I was home anyway. The truth is that I was out driving. Sometimes I like to go out to the public beach area of the lake and sit and just look at the moon and stars for a while. It helps me get centered again. And, of course, I went past Mama's house a couple of times when I did. When Red asked me, I just panicked and Tomorrow's Promise was the first thing to come to mind. But I promise I had nothing to do with Mama's death . . . or Tallulah's."