Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery)
Read Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery) Online
Authors: Barbara Graham
Tags: #MURDER BY SERPENTS
URDER
B
Y
S
ERPENTS
M
URDER BY
S
ERPENTS
THE MYSTERY QUILT
B
ARBARA
G
RAHAM
FIVE STAR
An imprint of Cengage Gale, a part of The Cengage Corporation
Copyright © 2007 by Barbara Graham.
Five Star, an imprint of The Gale Group.
Cengage and Star Logo and Five Star are trademarks and Gale is a registered
trademark used herein under license.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Set in 11 pt. Plantin.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Graham, Barbara, 1948-
Murder by serpents : the mystery quilt / Barbara Graham. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59414-590-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-59414-590-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
eISBN-10: 1-4328-2489-9
eISBN-13: 978-1-4328-2489-1
1. Police—Tennessee—Fiction. 2. Sheriffs. 3. Clergy—Crimes against—
Fiction. 4. Snake cults (Holiness churches)—Tennessee—Fiction. 5. Tennes
see—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.R336M87 2007
813’.6—dc22 20070
First Edition. First Printing: November 2007.
Published by Five Star in conjunction with the author.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my father
.
Thanks to Ken Fink, who was gracious enough to let a rattlesnake bite him and to describe it for me. Additional thanks go to his wife Sherry, whose talents with shovel, tree pruning tool and bucket prevented the rattler from becoming a repeat offender.
More thanks to Michelle Quick, who tests my patterns, laughs at me and turns her deaf ear to my whining.
Special thanks and love to my husband and sons, who continue to love me in spite of my quirks and obsessions.
All errors and omissions are mine.
SPRINGTIME IN THE SMOKIES
A MYSTERY QUILT BY THEO ABERNATHY
T
HE
F
IRST
B
ODY OF
C
LUES
:
Finished size is a lap or crib size top, approximately 45 1/2" × 35 1/2". All fabric requirements are generous and based on standard widths of approximately 44 inches. The instructions assume familiarity with basic quilt construction and an accurate 1/4” seam throughout.
Fabric (A). This is the main or theme fabric. Select a print—floral or novelty—on a medium background. The print should contain several different colors and motifs should measure in the two to three inch range. Cutting and construction does allow use of directional fabrics.
Fabrics (B), (C), (D), (E). Select “interesting solids” (prints that appear to be a single color) of colors found in the main fabric. (B) and (C) should be very light or very dark. (D) and (E) should be medium.
Yardage
(A)—2 yards of print
(B)—1/3 yard of very light or dark
(C)—1/3 yard of light
(D)—1/3 yard of medium
(E)—5/8 yard of medium
Cutting Instructions
Be sure to label cut pieces with fabric letter and size
(A)—from the 2 yards.
Cut 2 strips 3 1/2" by width of fabric
Cut 4 strips 2 1/2" by width of fabric
Cut 2 strips 3 1/2" by
length
of fabric (approximately 3 1/2” by 55")
From remainder—Cut 2 strips 8 1/2" by width and subcut into 17 strips 8 1/2" by 2 1/2" and
Cut 4 strips 4 1/2" by width of fabric and subcut into 48 rectangles 4 1/2" by 2 1/2"
(B)—from 1/3 yard of very light or very dark. Cut 48 squares 2 1/2"
(C)—from 1/3 yard of light. Cut 54 squares 2 1/2"
(D)—from 1/3 yard of medium. Cut 48 squares 2 1/2"
(E)—from 5/8 yard of medium. Cut 4 strips width of fabric by 1 1/2" and set aside and
Cut 3 strips width of fabric by 4 1/2" and subcut into 48 rectangles 2 1/2" by 4 1/2"
HAPTER
O
NE
“Beware the Ides of March.” The words circled in Theo Abernathy’s brain until she wanted to scream. Events over the past several hours gave Theo a healthy aversion to prophesy. She wondered if Julius Caesar felt the same when he realized his fate.
The day didn’t begin well.
She overslept. Then, her naturally curly hair went haywire on one side, giving her a punk rocker look. The males in her family thought it was funny.
No coffee. That was more serious than the hair but it was still a mere irritant.
She dealt with each problem with reasonably good humor and kept smiling.
When her minivan didn’t start, she stopped smiling. It still wouldn’t start when her husband Tony hooked jumper cables to it. After giving her a kiss and unnecessary instructions to call the mechanic, he loaded their sons into his green and white Blazer.
At least the boys were happy. They loved to ride like prisoners in the official vehicle of Park County’s Sheriff. Separated from the front seats by a wall of steel mesh, they pressed their faces close to it and made desperate moaning sounds.
Theo interrupted their little drama. “Don’t forget to go to your scout meeting after school.”
Jamie’s blue eyes sparkled as he blew her a dozen kisses.
More subdued, as befitted his big brother status, Chris adjusted his new glasses and blew just one. She managed a merry smile for the boys. At least they weren’t too grown up to blow kisses at their mother.
“I’ll drop them at school on my way to work.” Tony kissed her again. “Call me when you know something about the van.”
Theo nodded. Silersville, Tennessee, boasted two mechanics. Brothers. Frank and Joe. She dialed the garage number from memory.
What she really needed was a new car.
Minutes later, she watched Joe, the smarter of the brothers, stare into the engine. The expression on his face was not encouraging. Theo wondered what this would cost. Her anxiety increased. How would they pay for this?
“I don’t rightly know what’s wrong with her.” Joe tried several things but failed to start it. He chatted amiably as he attached the towing cable that swung from the crane on his vintage truck. “But she’s sure dead as a stump, ain’t she?” A flick of a switch tightened the cable and soon the rear end of her boxy van rose into the air.
Joe offered to drive her to work.
Without thinking it through, Theo accepted. But, in order to ride in the cab of the tow truck, she had to squeeze between a greasy toolbox and an even dirtier door. A newspaper served as a makeshift seat cover. After a jolting ride, Joe dropped her in front of Theo’s Quilt Shop. He gave her a jaunty wave as he pulled away.
The relief created by a safe arrival dissipated the moment she walked inside.
Chaos reigned in her quilt shop.
The drawer on the cash register jammed shut and she had to pry it open with a screwdriver. Now it was jammed open. Customers milled around while Jane, Theo’s mother-in-law and usually a levelheaded, dedicated worker, spent the day cooing into the phone like a lovesick dove.
No coffee here either.
Worse, no chocolate.
The computer dedicated to the Internet side of her business caught a virus, threw up and then died, taking several unfilled orders with it. Word trickled in that Theo’s computer wizard was spending his vacation on a tropical beach, drinking fruit drinks with umbrellas and lots of rum in them.