Who Left that Body in the Rain?

Table of Contents

 

“
Who Left That Body in the Rain?
charms, mystifies, and delights. As Southern as Sunday fried chicken and sweet tea. Patricia Sprinkle’s Hopemore is as captivating—and as filled with big hearts and big heartaches—as Jan Karon’s Mitford. Come for one visit and you’ll always return.”

—Carolyn Hart

 

“Ms. Sprinkle has created an heirloom quilt. Each piece of patchwork is unique and with its own history, yet they are deftly stitched together with threads of family love and loyalty, simmering passion, deception and wickedness, but always with optimism embued with down-home Southern traditions. A novel to be savored while sitting on a creaky swing on the front porch, a pitcher of lemonade nearby, a dog slumbering in the sunlight.”—Joan Hess

 

“Authentic and convincing. This series is a winner.”

—Tamar Myers

 

 

“Light touches of humor and the charming interplay between MacLaren and her magistrate husband make this a fun read for mystery fans.”—
Library Journal

 

“Sparkling . . . witty . . . a real treat and as refreshing as a mint julep, a true Southern pleasure.”—
Romantic Times

 

“Sparkles with verve, charm, wit, and insight. I loved it.”

—Carolyn Hart

 

“Engaging . . . compelling . . . a delightful thriller.”

—
Peachtree Magazine

 

“The sort of light entertainment we could use more of in the hot summer days to come.”—
The Denver Post

 

“[Sprinkle] just keeps getting better.”

—
The Post and Courier
(Charleston, SC)

WHO INVITED THE DEAD MAN?
WHO LEFT THAT BODY IN THE RAIN?

SIGNET
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand,
London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood
Victoria, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road,
Auckland 10, New Zealand

 

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

 

First published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

 

First Printing, December 2002

Copyright © Patricia Sprinkle, 2002

 

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

eISBN : 978-1-101-15728-2

 

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT QUANTITY DISCOUNTS WHEN USED TO PROMOTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. FOR INFORMATION PLEASE WRITE TO PREMIUM MARKETING DIVISION, PENGUIN PUTNAM INC., 375 HUDSON STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10014.

 

THANKS TO . . .

Judge Mildred Ann Palmer, Magistrate, Burke County, Georgia, who inspired the series, hosted me while I did research, and helped with details about MacLaren’s role as a magistrate. Because of Judge Palmer, MacLaren lives.

Curtis St. Germaine, Chief Magistrate of Burke County, and deputy clerks Cynthia Lewis and Nicole Hammock, for their patience with my many questions about details relating to their work.

Our cousins, Mary and Dan McKenzie, who answered numerous questions about owning a motor company in a small Southern town. I assure them and our mutual relatives that neither the motor company nor the characters in this book are based on Dan, Mary, or McKenzie Motors.

Joe Sklandis, who filled me in on the automobile business from a salesman’s point of view, and Chris Potts, who explained how to detail a car.

Composer Betty Carr Pulkingham, who suggested appropriate hymns for the imaginary St. Philip Episcopal carillon in Hopemore.

Lucia Ravelo, who polished up my Spanish.

Ellen Edwards, my editor, who greatly improved the manuscript, and Nancy Yost, my agent, who cheered and encouraged me.

Most of all, Bob, who, as always, provided support, a sounding board, and, this time, the ferret.

Where the book is accurate, these folks deserve the credit. The errors are my own.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

MacLaren Yarbrough:
amateur sleuth, Georgia magistrate, co-owner of Yarbrough Feed, Seed and Nursery

Joe Riddley Yarbrough:
MacLaren’s husband, a former magistrate, co-owner of Yarbrough Feed, Seed and Nursery

Clarinda Williams:
Yarbroughs’ long-time cook

Ridd:
Yarbroughs’ older son, high school math teacher and small farmer

Martha:
Ridd’s wife, emergency room supervisor

Cricket
(4) and
Bethany
(16): their children

Walker:
Yarbroughs’ younger son, insurance salesman

Cindy:
Walker’s largely ornamental wife

Jessica
(11) and
Tad
(9): their children

 

Fergus “Skye” MacDonald:
owner of MacDonald Motors in Hopemore and friend of the Yarbroughs for thirty years

Gwen Ellen MacDonald:
his wife and friend of the Yarbroughs since she was a child

Laura MacDonald:
their daughter, vice president of MacDonald Motors

Skellton (Skell) MacDonald:
their son, would-be playboy and unwilling manager of the family used car business, Sky’s the Limit

 

Jimmy Bratson:
assistant manager at Sky’s the Limit Used Cars

Ben Bradshaw:
service-department manager at MacDonald Motors

Nicole Shandy:
receptionist at MacDonald Motors, claims she is Skye’s secretary

Hubert Spence:
Yarbroughs’ nearest neighbor

Maynard Spence:
Hubert’s son, curator of Hope County Historical Museum

Selena Jones:
his fiancée, later his wife

 

Marilee Muller:
a plain little girl from Hopemore who grew up to be a television celebrity

 

Humberto Garcia:
newcomer to Hopemore who opens the town’s first Mexican restaurant

Emerita Garcia:
Humberto’s wife, co-owner of their restaurant and cook

Rosa Garcia:
their daughter, who teaches the Yarbroughs’ granddaughter Jessica

 

Charlie Muggins:
Hopemore police chief

Isaac James:
assistant police chief

1

Only one of us committed murder that particular Friday, but a lot of folks were out of sorts. Maybe it was the weather. February in Middle Georgia is generally mild, but as we drove home that noon for dinner, heavy gray clouds hovered overhead and the air was uneasy and restless.

Clarinda was banging dishes around, fixing to have a conniption. She’s been keeping house for us for over forty years. I know her moods.

I set my pocketbook on the counter. “Who put ants between
your
sheets?”