Ed Lynskey - Isabel and Alma Trumbo 03 - The Ladybug Song Read Online Free Page B

ones would take you weeks.”
    “Then
it’s settled,” said Isabel.
    Strolling
between Isabel and Alma, Phyllis spoke. “Ossie is a nice enough gentleman, but
I cherish my independence too much to give it up for the yoke of marriage.”
    “You
aren’t just whistling ‘Dixie,’” said Alma.
    “Hush before
the gentlemen overhear us,” said Isabel.
    “Willie
and Blue are napping on the bench,” said Alma.
    “But Ossie
is waking them up,” said Isabel.
    Isabel,
Alma, and Phyllis halted in front of the flower shop. This cool morning found the
trio of men dressed in matching bright orange Aloha shirts. Their dog tags on
bead chains and cell phones on strap lanyards dangled around their necks. At
their advanced ages, they felt blessed to lay claim to having all of their original
teeth, hips, and knees. They sat on bleacher seat cushions padding the wooden
bench. While they didn’t outright lie, they also never let the facts get in the
way of their telling a lively story.
    Their
discarded jackets lay piled up on the far end of the wooden bench. During the
winter months, Sheriff Fox had forbidden them from firing up a burn barrel for
warmth, so they moved the wooden bench to inside the flower shop and gawped out
its plate glass storefront.
    Corina, the
proprietress, was Willie’s good-hearted grandniece who tolerated the three old
codgers. Willie helped out behind the counter during the busy seasons while
Blue and Ossie played her door greeters. If either of them saw a lady customer
without a smile, they gave the lady customer a pink carnation.
    The gray charmer
Ossie was the first to hail the ladies. “What’s the good word, Isabel?” he
asked.
    Knowing Ossie
wooing Isabel might throw a monkey wrench into the sisters’ sleuthing fun Alma was brusque. “We are fine, thank you very much, Mr. Conger.”
    Isabel
tried to smooth over Alma’s scrappy response. “How are you doing today,
gentlemen?”
    “Upright
and burning oxygen,” replied Willie. “Therefore it counts as a good day.”
    “Aren’t
you cold sitting outdoors in your shirtsleeves?” asked Isabel.
    “Nary a single
goose bump,” replied Willie. “We fought in the big war, and a brisk day like this
one invigorates the old warriors’ blood to course through our veins.”
    Phyllis
who’d slept through her U.S. History class was confused. “Which big war do you mean,
Willie?”
    “I’ll
have you know I did my military service in the South Pacific,” replied Willie.
“Meantime Ossie and Blue soldiered over there in Western Europe.”
    “Did you fib
about your ages to the draft board?” asked Phyllis.
    “Many of
us did, and the recruiters weren’t picky,” replied Willie. “They needed warm
bodies to fill the ranks, so they took us right on.”
    “What marvelous
tales we GI Joes brought back with us,” said Blue filled with nostalgia. “I can
recall this petite, raven-haired mademoiselle I met on the outskirts of liberated
Paris. She was super nice, and I gave her gifts of chocolates and nylons. We slipped
back to her one-room flat and—”
    “Blue, excuse
me for butting in, but the ladies didn’t stop to hear us tell our war stories,”
said Ossie. “What might be on your minds, Isabel?”
    Isabel wasted
no time getting to the point. “Ladybug Miles is what.”
    Ossie had
a short nod. “I suspected as much when I saw you coming this way.”
    “Ladybug
was a stand-up gal,” said Blue. “We chatted with her every now and then. She
always had a quick smile and a kind word ready for us.”
    “She
won’t anymore,” said Phyllis, her voice quavering with emotion.
    “We are truly
sorry for your loss, Phyllis,” said Blue. “I know of a few other victims who drowned
in the Coronet River. The undertow and sticky quicksand make its seemingly placid
waters treacherous. It isn’t a place to treat lightly if a swimmer dives into
the river.”
    “Ladybug
wasn’t a drowning victim but the victim of foul play,” said Phyllis.