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The silent hall was not silent anymore As we left the conference room, the law came in the back door It was represented by a heavy-set man in a plaid jacket as taller and older than Arthur, and two ainst the wall, teotten, Arthur led them down the hall and opened the door to the kitchen They crowded around the door looking in They were all silent for a est ht The other uniformed man shook his head once and then stared in at Mausted him, I wondered? The ? The waste of a life? The fact that so in the town he had to protect had seen fit to do this terrible thing?

I realized the eant of detectives; I&039;d seen his picture in the paper when he&039;d arrested a drug pusher Now he pursed his mouth briefly and said "Das, going swiftly and in a low voice I could tell what point in his narrative he&039;d reached when their heads swung towards me simultaneously I didn&039;t knohether to nod or what I just stared back at them and felt a thousand years old Their faces turned back to Arthur and he continued his briefing

The two eant continued their discussion Arthur seeeant nodded his head in approval and occasionally interjected so in it as they spoke Another eant stirred

His naht his house from my mother He was e Now Jack Burns gave Arthur a sharp nod, as clear as a starting gun Arthur went to the door to the ht, could you come here for a minute, please?" Detective Arthur Smith asked, in a voice so devoid of expression that it was a warning in itself Gerald Wright ca roo was drastically wrong, and I wondered what they&039;d been saying Gerald took a step toward uided Gerald into the little conference room I kneas about to tell Gerald that his as dead, and I foundhow Gerald would take it Then I was ashamed

At moments I understood in decent human terms what had happened to a wo of Mamie&039;s death as one of our club&039;s study cases

"Miss Teagarden," said Jack Burns&039;s good-old-boy drawl, "you arden&039;s child"

Well, I had a father, too: but he&039;d con parts (Texas) to work on our local Georgia paper,and divorcing Lawrenceton&039;s own Aida Brattle Teagarden I said, "Yes"

"I&039; like that," Jack Burns said, shaking his heavy head mournfully

It was alret, it was laid on so heavily; was he being sarcastic? I looked down, and for once said nothing I didn&039;t need this right noas shaken and confused

"It just see woman like you would come to a club like this," Jack Burns went on slowly, his tone expressing stunned bewilderment "Could you just kind of clarify for anization - is ?"

I had to answer a direct question But as he asking ed to the saed h the floor As slightly as I knew Arthur, I wanted hilasses back up ers

"We meet once a month," I said in an uneven voice "And we talk about a faeant apparently gave this deep thought "Talk about it - ?" he inquired gently

"Ah sometimes just learn about it, as killed and how and why and by whom" Our members favored different "W&039;s"

I was most interested in the victi on the case, we decide if the police arrested the right person Or if the uilty Soentle inquiring shake of the head "Like &039;The Thin Blue Line&039; Or a fictionalized movie based on a real case &039;In Cold Blood&039;"

"But not ever," he asked delicately, "what you would call a - snuff movie?" "Oh my God," I said sickly "Oh my God, no" In my naivet¨¦, I said, "How could you think that?"

"Well, Miss Teagarden, this here is a real murder, and we have to ask real questions" And his face was not nice at all