Let There Be Suspects Read Online Free Page A

marvelous.” Junie put an arm around Vel and another around Sid and pulled them to her. Then she released them and grabbed me.
    It’s hard not to love my mother. She’s Glinda the Good, Joan of Arc, and Georgia O’Keefe all rolled into one. Attila the Hun would fall captive under Junie’s spell. She has never drawn a breath, uttered a word, taken a step that was not 100 percent from her heart. She may look flighty. Like many creative people her mind is a delicate butterfly that won’t light for more than a moment. But Junie’s affections are deep and genuine. Although she found she couldn’t live with any of the five men she married, she adored them all and probably does to this day.
    I hugged her hard, then let her go. “You’ll be in Deena’s room. But I don’t know where . . .” I glanced up at Ginger and Cliff.
    “Don’t worry about us,” Ginger purred. “Cliff and I are staying at the Emerald Springs Hotel.” She took his arm, the first time she had touched him since their arrival. “We don’t want to intrude.”
    Nor did I want them to, but I’ll admit I felt a twinge. Had Ginger been my real sister I would gladly have found room for her somewhere.
    Let the guilt begin.
    “Cliff and I will bring in our little delicacy,” Ginger said. “You scoot now and change your clothes.”
    I glanced at Sid, noted again the fury in her eyes, and knew what the immediate problem was. “Junie,” I said too loudly, “let Sid show you her incredible fruitcake before you go upstairs. I don’t know if there’ll be a bite left once everybody arrives.”
    “My little Sid? A gourmet cook? Just like Ginger.” Junie looked thrilled. I was afraid to look at Sid. Junie left for the dining room with Vel and Sid in tow, and Ed and I scrambled up the stairs to don our party clothes.
    Once we were in our bedroom Ed tried hard not to smile. I punched him once in the arm, just because he was there and enjoying himself.
    He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, I was a disadvantaged only child. Nobody ever wanted to kill anybody in my house.”
    “Disadvantaged my eyebrow! You’re fifth-generation Harvard.” I stripped off my jeans and sweatshirt and grabbed the black dress I planned to wear, picking Moonpie fur off the hem as I struggled to pull the dress over my head. Immersed in a thundercloud of velour I could barely hear Ed’s reply.
    “But I only got to imagine these kind of family dynamics. Think what I’m learning.”
    It was lucky for him that I had forgotten to untie the belt. By the time I found it, and saw daylight again, Ed was on his way downstairs properly clothed.
    I couldn’t believe Junie had been foolish enough to think any of us wanted Ginger present at our family reunion.
    Pause.
    Okay, I could believe it. I’m sure that if and when the subject comes up Junie will say she can’t even imagine her daughters are hanging onto childhood squabbles. And if they are, then this visit is exactly what’s needed to clear the air.
    Junie never gave enough credence to Sid’s problems with Ginger. To this day I don’t think she understands how badly Sid needed her help and support. But Ginger was far too clever to misbehave in front of Junie. I’m sure Junie saw Sid’s complaints in the same light I see Teddy’s. The natural whining of a child who doesn’t want to share.
    Although we had fifteen minutes to go, the doorbell rang downstairs and I experienced a moment of pure panic. I had carefully planned this open house, choosing the first day of the children’s holiday break, selecting a time when people who are still going in to work could stop by on the way home, debating what to serve and exactly how much of the congregation to invite. In the end I had decided in favor of extending the invitation to everyone, assuming that people will move in and out over the two-hour span of the party. It’s nearly Christmas, after all, and surely there are trees to decorate, presents to wrap, and carols to