The Withdrawing Room (26 page)
Read The Withdrawing Room Online
Authors: Charlotte MacLeod
“Ugh!” Miss LaValliere turned an unbecoming shade of green. “Well,” she added after some thought, “maybe at least that will be a lesson to brothers who go around sawing the high heels off their sisters’ brand-new shoes.”
“The saddest stories yield the profoundest morals,” observed Mrs. Sorpende with a perfectly straight face. “And then Miss Hartler went back to the motel and enjoyed a sound night’s sleep, no doubt. Do you know, Mr. Bittersohn, what puzzles me most is how the Feeleys were located so quickly. There must be scads of those little unlicensed private nursing homes in the greater Boston area.”
“Just routine police work,” Bittersohn replied with a jaw-cracking yawn he was unable to stifle.
“No doubt,” said Sarah. “And while this routine police work went on all last night, all this morning, and most of the afternoon without a break, Miss Hartler beguiled the time mourning dear Wumps. Iris Pendragon told me Joanna had always been surprisingly good at amateur theatricals. Charles, we’ll have our coffee here at the table tonight. And you’d better take away Mr. Bittersohn’s ice cream. He’s about to fall asleep in his plate.”
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 1980 by Charlotte MacLeod
cover design by Mauricio Diaz
978-1-4532-8896-2
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CHARLOTTE M
AC
LEOD
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