Murder in the Milk Case by Spyglass Lane Mysteries Page B

caffeine or had an ulcer. I paid for my coffee and the doughnuts, although it would be awhile before I could ingest either.
    “I hope you’re not pregnant,” she said in a loud voice.
    From the sudden silence and surreptitious looks from the people sitting at tables, everyone in the room heard her. Great. Now rumors would fly. I felt heat crawl up my face. There was no way I could be pregnant. The doctors said so. Sammie had been a miracle.
    “That’s all you need—more kids. Four is plenty,” she said as the bobbleheads Gail and April nodded rapidly in the background. “You don’t want to be like all them Perrys, havin’ all those kids out in their shantytown near the landfill.” She took a deep breath.
    “I can’t imagine how they do it,” Gail chimed in. “I mean Cheryl Perry must have one every nine months.”
    I considered explaining exactly how it was done just to watch their reactions, but I refrained.
    “Landfill germs,” my mother said. “They breathe ’em in every day, especially now.”
    April May wrapped a breakfast sandwich in foil for a customer. “Think of the hospital bills.”
    “That’s probably why doctors cost so much,” Gail said. “I mean, even with insurance we’re robbed blind. Look at all I paid when I was there the other day.”
    “I spent years paying off my three children,” my mother said, eyeing me as if I were responsible for me and my brothers.
    “Nowadays, people like the Perrys don’t have to pay for nothin’.” Gail slapped a coffee-filter basket against the edge of a trash can, and the used filter slid into its depths. “The government pays for everything out of our pockets. Bunch of thieves.”
    “Well, some people just don’t have good insurance,” April said, the voice of reason.
    “Then they should get jobs,” Gail pontificated. “I mean, even Shopper’s Super Saver has good insurance. I overheard what Daryl’s co-pay was that day I went. And he had stitches and a smashed thumb.”
    Before the conversation digressed further, I decided to leave. I waved at my mother, but before I stepped out the door, I heard Dudley Do-It-All-Right’s name and halted midstep.
    “And what’s going to happen to Shopper’s Super Saver now after all that stuff about Frank is out in the open?” Gail clucked her tongue.
    I turned back around to listen.
    “You can’t be too careful these days. The best people can be living double lives,” April May intoned.
    “Isn’t that the truth?” Gail looked up at me as if I were hiding the very worst of secrets, which I was.
    Ma nodded. “Just look at Frank. He’s always been perfect. His wife, kids, and house are perfect. Those two youngest of his are cute as bugs. They go to Sammie and Charlie’s school, you know.”
    “That just goes to show you,” Gail said.
    I waited to find out what it goes to show, but no one said anything.
    “What do you think he did with the money?” Ma asked.
    Gail put on a new pot of coffee. “Gold. I’m sure he bought gold.” She’s convinced that the world is headed for a financial collapse and gold is the only safe investment.
    They busied themselves behind the counter. I waited. My mother finally looked at me, hands on her hips.
    “You need something else? You should sit down if you don’t feel well. You certainly look like it. Something about your face. Pasty and a little swollen, like you’re holding water maybe? Is your blood pressure okay?”
    I reached up to feel my face, expecting it to feel spongy, like a balloon. If I hadn’t felt bad before, I did now. “I should go,” I said.
    “Well, don’t let me stop you. At least I’ll see you again on Sunday.”
    My mind was whirling, but not because of Sunday dinner. “Before I go, I want to know about Frank.”
    Gail almost dropped the mug she held. “You mean you don’t know?”
    April stared at me openmouthed. “I would have thought you’d know everything, seeing as how you’re in the loop and so close to the