The Hayloft: a 1950s Mystery Page 24

  “She’ll be all right,” I said to Tom, trying to reassure him. “She’s worried about Ed.”

  “I see that our hero is back with his beloved.”

  I recognized the voice immediately, but I looked up to make sure. It was Natalie all right, looking more beautiful than usual, if that were possible. I still preferred Sylvia. I was surprised that Natalie had the gall to approach Sylvia.

  “And I’m glad to see that you and Joe are getting along so well,” Sylvia said with a fake smile and fake interest.

  “Well, you know how it is,” Natalie said, answering smile for smile, as if their smiles were dueling swords. “Would you mind terribly if I danced a dance with Gary?”

  That came as another surprise, since Joe was in full view of us, talking to another couple.

  “I know how you like to collect heroes,” Sylvia said. “Sure, you can dance with Gary. Just don’t try to collect him.”

  We went out on the dance floor and oozed around to the strains of “Half as Much,” made famous by Rosemary Clooney. I had read a quote about writing a ballad from somebody who knew the music business: “Keep it simple, keep it sexy, keep it sad.” And have Rosemary sing it.

  “Aren’t you afraid of what Joe will do?” I asked Natalie.

  “Joe and I have reached an understanding,” she said. “We had a very frank discussion. I told him I would stay with him until graduation, and then we will go our separate ways. Meanwhile, I will dance with whom I please and talk to whom I please.”

  “And he didn’t get mad?”

  “He started to utter threats, as he was wont to do, but I stood up to him. I told him that my daddy keeps a shotgun under his bed, and he knows how to use it.”

  “Is that true?”

  “Does it matter whether it’s true, as long as Joe thinks it’s a real possibility? Anyway, he has behaved like a lamb ever since.”

  And apparently to show her independence, she put her head on my shoulder. I glanced apprehensively at Sylvia, but she was talking to Tom and to Kate, who had returned from the “powder” room, and ignoring us.

  “My offer still stands,” Natalie said into my ear. “If you ever want to play ‘hide the salami,’ give me a jingle.”

  This straightened me up real fast, and I danced the rest of the dance with plenty of airspace between us while she gave me her innocent look. As with Kate, I was glad when the dance was over, but for different reasons. I finally got to dance with Sylvia again, to the band’s version of “Autumn Leaves.” Appropriate.

  “Well, did you get Nat out of your system?” Sylvia asked me with an impish grin.

  “I’ve gotten all girls except you out of my system,” I said. And I meant it.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  After spending more than a quarter of a century as a pioneer in the computer industry, Alan Cook is well into his second career as a writer.

  Run into Trouble is about a footrace along the California coast in 1969 during the Cold War. But is the Cold War about to heat up? Drake and Melody, who worked undercover together in former lives, need to find the answer before all hell breaks loose.

  The Hayloft: a 1950s mystery and prize-winning Honeymoon for Three feature Gary Blanchard, first as a high school senior who has to solve the murder of his cousin, and ten years later as a bridegroom who gets more than he bargained for on his honeymoon.

  Hotline to Murder takes place at a crisis hotline in Bonita Beach, California. When a listener is murdered, Tony and Shahla team up to uncover the strange worlds of their callers and find the killer.

  His Lillian Morgan mysteries, Catch a Falling Knife and Thirteen Diamonds, explore the secrets of retirement communities. Lillian, a retired mathematics professor from North Carolina, is smart, opinionated, and loves to solve puzzles, even when they involve murder.

  Alan splits his time between writing and walking, another passion. His inspirational, prize-winning book, Walking the World: Memories and Adventures, has information and adventure in equal parts. He is also the author of Walking to Denver, a light-hearted, fictional account of a walk he did.

  Freedom’s Light: Quotations from History’s Champions of Freedom, contains quotations from some of our favorite historical figures about personal freedom. The Saga of Bill the Hermit is a narrative poem about a hermit who decides that the single life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

  Alan lives with his wife, Bonny, on a hill in Southern California. His website is alancook.50megs.com.