And a Puzzle to Die on A Puzzle Lady Mystery

1 "Is it a milestone?" Iris Cooper asked. The Bakerhaven First Selectman pulled her sweater around her shoulder with one hand while balancing her coffee and muffin in the other. It was late October, Connecticut foliage season was giving up the ghost, and early winter winds were whipping mini tornadoes of dead leaves along the street. Sherry Carter, ambushed on her way into Cushman's Bake Shop, shrugged evasively. Sherry wore a baby-blue turtleneck and suede jacket, new for fall. "Cora says at her age they're all milestones." "You mean she won't say?" Harvey Beerbaum asked. The expression on the portly cruciverbalist's face indicated that such behavior was inexplicable, if not downright subversive. Sherry smiled. "There are two things my aunt refuses to remember. One is birthdays. The other is wedding anniversaries." "Of course, when you have as many wedding anniversaries as Cora, that's understandable," Iris Cooper said. No one quite knew how many former husbands Cora had. "But she only has one birthday," Harvey persisted peevishly. "How old was she last year?" "What a question!" Iris Cooper exclaimed. "It's not polite to ask a woman's age!" "You asked if it was a milestone," Harvey pointed out. "That's entirely different. Milestones are important. They need to be noted, celebrated, commiserated with over." Iris frowned. "Is that correct usage? I wish Cora were here to tell me." Sherry Carter suppressed a smile. If the truth be known, her aunt Cora wouldn't know a grammatical mistake if it stood up on its hind legs, stuck its thumbs in its ears, waggled its fingers, and said, "Nyah, nyah, you ain't got no culture, does you, Miss Puzzle Penning Person?" Sherry actually wrote the nationally syndicated crossword puzzle column her aunt got credit for. Cora merely supplied the sweet-faced, white-haired, grandmotherly picture that accompanied it. Harvey and Iris didn't know that. "Come on," Harvey insisted. "What are we going to do?" "What do you mean?" Sherry said. "Well, we have to have a party." "Cora doesn't want a party." "Nonsense. Everyone wants a party. Isn't that right, Iris? Cora is our town's most famous citizen. She should certainly be celebrated." "Who should be celebrated?" Aaron Grant said, strolling up. The young reporter had clearly overslept. His shirt was unbuttoned and his tie was untied. He had shaved, but his curly dark hair was dry and uncombed, indicating he hadn't showered. Sherry's face lit up when she saw him. "Ah, just in time. Aaron, will you please help me explain Cora wouldn't want us to make a fuss." "Make a fuss about what?" "It's her birthday," Harvey Beerbaum said. "Really?" Aaron said. "We should do something." Sherry groaned at this unexpected sabotage. "No, we shouldn't. Cora wouldn't want us to do anything. She's a very private person." "Very private people do not do TV commercials," Iris pointed out. "Come on, Sherry. Cora's had a hard time of it lately. I bet her spirits could use a lift." "Cora's just fine," Sherry retorted. "She was going to get married, it didn't work out. If I told you how many times Cora thought she was going to get married and it didn't work out . . ." "Nearly as many as the times it did?" Aaron asked mischievously. Chief Harper came out of the bakery carrying a coffee and a cranberry muffin. He'd already nibbled the top off the muffin, and looked somewhat sheepish about it. "Eating on the run, Chief?" Aaron asked. Harper flushed. "Aaron Grant, if you put thaHall, Parnell is the author of 'And a Puzzle to Die on A Puzzle Lady Mystery', published 2004 under ISBN 9780553802443 and ISBN 0553802445.