Pinned for Murder by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

trees, and boarding broken windows. Despite his efforts though, Tori was still worried about her elderly friend.
    “And how is Rose ?” Leona asked, her ornery streak of earlier gone.
    Tori shrugged.
    “How many times must I tell you not to shrug like that, dear? Your forehead has this nasty little habit of wrinkling when you do and wrinkles are most unattractive.”
    Leave it to Leona to bring any topic back to beauty tips. Men would be next . . .
    “In fact, if you keep doing that, your forehead will prematurely wrinkle,” Leona continued as she pulled out a chair from a nearby table and sat down, her ankles crossing in regal style. “And if there’s one thing men don’t like, dear, it’s a face that looks like a wrinkly old elephant.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” she mumbled.
    Margaret Louise looked at the ceiling and shook her head. “Ignore my twin, Victoria. You’re lovely just the way you are. Milo thinks so, too.”
    Just the mere mention of Milo’s name turned the corners of her lips upward.
    “The wrinkles aren’t permanent yet. We’ll see if he still thinks so when they are.”
    “Leona!”
    All eyes turned to Dixie Dunn.
    “Good heavens, did I just hear you defend Victoria?” Margaret Louise teased.
    Dixie blushed but said nothing.
    Tori laughed and mouthed a thank-you in her predecessor’s direction before turning back to Leona. “In a verbal reply to your question, Leona, Rose is having a tough time right now.”
    “Oh?”
    She nodded at Dixie. “She’s heartsick over the notion Kenny”—she shot a look at Beatrice—“ Murdock might be responsible for Martha Jane’s murder.”
    “Have you seen her?”
    She nodded once again. “When Margaret Louise left to pick up Jake Junior from football practice, Milo and I headed over to check on Rose. We were worried about her when we heard what had happened. But she had very little to say to either of us.”
    “What did she say?” Leona asked.
    “Just that she couldn’t believe Martha Jane was gone . . . that she was afraid for Kenny . . . and that she would talk to him first thing this morning to see if he was responsible.”
    Margaret Louise grabbed hold of the counter. “She was goin’ to talk to him?”
    “If he hasn’t been arrested, yes.”
    “We have to stop her.”
    “Why? Kenny wouldn’t hurt Rose,” she protested even as her heart began to pound. “He—he worships her.”
    “That may be true, Victoria. But when backed into a corner, rage can be mighty blindin’ I reckon.”

Chapter 7

    “Are you sure this is okay?” Tori asked as she led the way through the employee entrance and into the back parking lot. “The Johnsons won’t mind you driving the three of us over to Rose’s house?”
    Beatrice reached into her purse, extracted a set of keys, and aimed it at the navy blue minivan closest to the door, a series of lights and sounds responding in kind. “Luke will be just fine during story time with Dixie looking after him.”
    “Did you see Dixie’s face when you asked if she could hold down the fort for a little while, Victoria? She was glowin’ like a firefly on a warm summer night.” Margaret Louise fell in step beside her sister, her mouth moving a mile a minute. “I don’t think it matters no more whether she’s runnin’ the place or not. I think she likes the changes you’ve made even if she’ll no more utter that aloud than Leona will admit she’s old.”
    “I’m not old.”
    Margaret Louise waved her sister’s protest aside. “Dixie just likes feelin’ like she’s still needed once in a while.”
    “And she is. With Nina being off today, there’s no way I could be going to Rose’s right now without Dixie.” Tori slowed as she approached Beatrice’s van. “Leona, why don’t you ride up front? Margaret Louise and I can sit in back.”
    Feeling a hand on her arm, she looked up, Margaret Louise’s smile wide as the woman tugged on the handle of the sliding door and motioned Tori