"Harriet Burke's waving hand caught her attention. The wave turned into an urgent beckoning. Major Stroud and Mary Burke looked anxiously in her direction. "Refills?" Alex said, hurrying over to them. "A beef and onion pie would go well, too. I understand George's outdid themselves today. We also ordered some brilliant cakes from them just to see if we've got any sweet-tooths in the house." "Has that O'Reilly man been in touch with you?" Mary said, ignoring the question. She gripped her walker with one hand and leaned forward to look at Alex through glasses as thick as a couple of closed portholes. "You'd be the first to hear from him. We all know he's got a soft spot for you." The comment surprised Alex. She and Detective Inspector Dan O'Reilly had liked one another when he'd been working on a murder near the village only months ago--mostly liked--but this was the first suggestion she'd heard that there was anything more than that. "Well?" Major Stroud prodded, his perfectly clipped gray mustache bristling. "Have you?" "No," Alex said shortly. His demand annoyed her. "Can I get you anything?" Harriet Burke, her hair as white as her sister's but short and devoid of the sort of Spanish comb Mary favored wearing in her wiry chignon, held Alex's eyes and gave her a deliberate smile. Whatever that smile was supposed to mean didn't enlighten Alex. The major's face had reddened. "Would you tell us if you had?" "What's the problem?" Alex said. "Why not say what's really on your mind? And for the record, Major, I would have no reason to deny hearing from the Inspector if I had." He snuffled into his mustache. "Where's Harry?" Alex softened her voice and smiled. "That's the problem with being a fixture anywhere. If you aren't there, you're missed." "I suppose you think you're subtle," he snapped back. "There are questions being asked about Harry and that woman. It's obvious. There's nothing between them. Never was anything but a conversation here and there. That's the end of it." "By that woman you mean, Pamela Gibbon, poor girl?" Mary asked innocently. "Where can she be? You'd think someone would know. And she didn't take her car, isn't that what I heard?" "I heard it, too" Alex said rapidly, anxious to divert Major Stroud. "Saw her just the other day," Mary said. "She's not a collector like you, Alex, but she does come into the shop for tea and she looks through any books that have just come in. She bought one or two." "Oh," Alex said in mock horror. "I hope you didn't forget to pull any children's volumes I might be looking for." She collected hard-to-find children's books. "Something about horses--no surprise there," Mary said. "And an old copy of a Kama Sutra book. She was thrilled with them." Her expression never changed from one of pure innocence. Alex swallowed and tried not to look at Major Stroud. "Well," Harriet said. "You should have told me about that. I'm not so old I don't know what Kama Sutra is and neither are you, Mary, so take that silly look off your face." "Could have been a gift for Harry," Mary said. "They say he has broad interests." Excerpted from Out Comes the Evil by Stella Cameron All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
