Seams Like Murder Read Online Free Page B

“It shouldn’t be a problem, really, but there are a few extra people. And I have something exciting to present to the group.”
    I assured her that everything would be fine and said I would get the supplies from my car. The dogs had tired of sniffing my shoes and took off for parts unknown while CeeCee took the basket inside. When I returned with the bin of yarn, the dogs were heading back to the house, one of them carrying a fuzzy-looking ball in her mouth. They started yipping as they followed me inside.
    I went straight to the dining room and set the bin down. There were already three women sitting at the table, and I realized they must be the extra people CeeCee had mentioned. I recognized two of them. “Kelsey Willis and Pia Sawyer,” I said in surprise. “I haven’t seen you in ages.” Ages might have been a little extreme, but it probably
had
been close to twenty years. We’d all volunteered together in the old days, when our kids had gone to Wilbur Elementary.
    It amazed me to think about it, but there was an “in” crowd even in the PTA. They were part of it. I wasn’t. All of them had even looked about the same. They had blond hair—notnatural—wore similar fashionable clothes, and drove whatever style of vehicle was in at the moment. In those days it had been minivans. These two had always considered themselves on a level above me. Kelsey’s husband was an executive at one of the studios, and Pia’s husband produced all of Flynn Huntington’s movies, while my husband had just had a public relations firm. Executives and movie producers trumped lowly PR guys on the status scale.
    Amazingly, Kelsey looked just the same as she had when we’d volunteered at the school together. She was still tiny with sharp features, and her blond hair was in the same shoulder-length style. She still had the kind of figure that could pull off wearing clothes designed for a twenty-year-old and not look like she was trying too hard.
    The two women looked at me blankly. I started to explain that we’d worked together when our kids were young, hoping to jog their memories. It was kind of odd that I remembered them so clearly, and they seemed to have no recollection of me. Finally, Pia’s eyes lit in recognition. “Polly, isn’t it? You worked in the school library with us.”
    She nudged her friend. “You remember her. We worked with the kids, and she put the books back on the shelves.”
    Kelsey looked at me closely but still didn’t seem to recognize me. “Maybe this will help,” I said jokingly, turning and pretending to be pushing a library cart.
    “Oh,” she said finally. “Now I do remember you.”
    The third woman was a complete mystery to me, but she actually recognized me. “I know who you are,” she said in an excited tone. “You work at the bookstore on Ventura Boulevard. Shedd & Royal, isn’t it?” she asked. She didn’t wait for an answer before going on about bringing some children to story time and the wonderful woman who made it all so dramatic. She abruptly stopped herself and looked at me.“How silly of me. Of course you don’t know who I am.” She held out her hand. “Babs Swanson.” Barely taking a breath, she continued as she glanced in the direction of Kelsey and Pia. “I talked them into coming with me. It seemed like the neighborly thing to do when CeeCee told me about the problem you have.”
    CeeCee was rolling her eyes out of sight of her guests. “Molly, dear, come into the kitchen so that we can make some coffee to go with these biscuits.” I wanted to laugh. The only thing CeeCee knew about her kitchen was where it was. It was rumored she could burn water. And make coffee? No way. We passed through the swinging door into the other room just as Rosa, her proper-looking housekeeper, came in the back door. She stopped in her tracks, startled to see us in her domain.
    “We’re just making coffee,” CeeCee said to Rosa, who wore a gray uniform and sensible shoes. I