Authors: Between a Clutch,a Hard Place
Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Mystery Fiction, #Mystery & Detective
We fixed our plates and sat down and said grace. Just as we dug in, the phone rang.
“Want me to get it?” Sunny asked.
“No, sweetie,” I said, “let’s eat. That’s what the answerin’ machine is for.”
The machine’s message played: “Hello, Ms. Crumb. This is Sheriff Norville. Thank you for calling me with the information about Jim Adams yesterday evening. I talked with Dr. Moorefield today and he confirmed that Mr. Adams has an imaginary internalized companion named Flora. Naturally, this clears him of murder and closes this case. Since I have you to thank, I’d like to take you to dinner tomorrow evening. What do you say? Give me a call. I’m looking forward to talking with you.”
Sunny laughed and started making circles with her fists. “Go, Mimi! Go, Mimi! Go, Mimi!”
I grinned. “Quit that and eat before your supper gets cold.”
“Does anybody wanna let me in on this?” Faye asked.
“Mimi’s been detecting again,” Sunny said, “and this time, I think she detected the sheriff.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “If you’ll recall, the last man I dated was . . . um . . . too wrapped up in himself.”
Sunny giggled. “So? You gonna go out with the sheriff?”
“Not yet. I think I’ll play hard to get for a day or two . . .make him pay for not giving me a temporary badge.”
Faye took a drink of her iced tea. “I wanna hear all about this sheriff . . . and this other guy, too.”
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“I’ll make time,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gayle Trent is a full-time writer/editor/mom/wife/chief cook and bottle washer. Like Myrtle, I live in Southwest Virginia. As a matter of fact, some of Myrtle’s stylish personality was derived from my grandmother, Marilyn Hicks. Still, this is a work of fiction; and any similarity to persons living or dead is merely a coincidence—with the exception of Grandmother, who loved
to sit in her recliner and watch “The Young and The Restless.” I once was able to video actor Doug Davidson (who plays Paul Williams on the show) waving to her and saying, “Hello, Marilyn! How are you?” I still have the tape. Though Grandmother had a run-in with a German Shepherd when she was a little girl and didn’t care for dogs, Matlock is based on my good friend Jake, a Chocolate Lab who lives with his owner Michael in our neighborhood. Jake knows where to visit when he wants a hug, a piece of ham or a doggie treat. As a matter of fact, every animal in the neighborhood does.
Visit Gayle online at
http://www.gayletrent.com
.