Death at a Drop-In: Myrtle Clover #5

Chapter Twenty

"What I don't understand," said Red. "Is why that reporter just happened to be out there in the middle of nowhere with you."

They were back at Myrtle's house-Kim too. She'd needed a ride to get back out of there since she was still too shaken up to get behind a wheel. Red had taken only a few minutes to arrive-he must have been flying. Now Myrtle was settled in her living room with a glass of sherry and Kim had gone to the restroom, which was why Red was questioning Myrtle now about it.

"I might have given her a lead," said Myrtle.

"A lead that took her out to the middle of nowhere? No wonder the girl carries a gun," said Red.

"I was only trying to keep her from being so underfoot all the time. She was driving me nuts, covering this story and then doing those ridiculous follow-ups on my 'fall.'" Myrtle sighed.

Red looked away at the mention of the fall. "Yes, well. Okay, well, sorry about my not believing that you were pushed, Mama. Joan already admitted she'd done that to the state police, apparently."

"I guess it did sound like I was making it up instead of owning up to unsteadiness," said Myrtle grudgingly.

"So she was driving you nuts and you told her...?" Red looked questioningly at her.

Myrtle cleared her throat. "I recommended that she go talk to Darla Covington. It was a fool's errand."

"I'll say! I bet Darla sent Kim off with a flea in her ear. She lives out in the boonies for a reason-and it's not because she likes company. That wasn't a very nice thing to do, Mama."

"Well, right now it looks like a stroke of genius," said Myrtle. "After all, Kim apparently got lost after Darla turned her away. She saw Joan's car and decided to ask for directions. Although I thought all the young people had GPS on their phones or something." Myrtle frowned.

"They do. But Kim's phone was out of range. That's what she said when I talked to her a few minutes ago. I knew what happened after she talked to Darla; I just didn't know how she came to be out there. Thank goodness she was out there, Mama, or you'd be deader than a doornail by now."

Myrtle shivered and took a sustaining sip of sherry as Kim came back out. Red looked at her and said, "Kim, I appreciate your talking to me. I think I've gotten all the information from you that I need. I have asked a sergeant from the state police to give you a lift back to your car if you're feeling more relaxed. He should be outside in a cruiser. I'll let you know if I need to talk with you again."

Kim nodded. "I'll give you my cell number. I don't think I'll be sticking around. If I couldn't handle what happened today, I shouldn't even be in this business. Now I've found out that I didn't even get the details of your mother's fall right. You said that Joan pushed her and that she was on a ramp, not the stairs?" She shook her head in self-disgust. "Miss Myrtle, do you think you could write up this story for me? I don't even want to relive what happened today."

Myrtle felt a twinge of guilt. She was the one who'd practically set the whole thing up. She nodded and said, "Kim...you do have some talent, you know." The words were hard to say. "I mean-you did get the details of my fall wrong, so you do need to make sure you double-check your information before you publish it. But you write well."

Kim made a face and shook her head again.

"Okay, maybe crime reporting isn't your thing. There are other types of things you could write. Do you have any interest at all in lifestyle reporting? Fashion, fitness, the arts, things like that?" asked Myrtle.