A Little Bit of Gossip

 

Chapter 4

Miss Georgia surely did enjoy her Sunday School class of women, all of them being about her and Abigail’s age. If truth be known, she particularly enjoyed the socializing that took place before Priss Butters began to expound the Scriptures. Before Miss Georgia joined the class, Abigail said, things were a lot quieter. But, Miss Georgia saw no reason why she shouldn’t bring extra cookies or cinnamon rolls and share them before the lesson began. After all, something sweet got the ladies in a good mood. Priss Butters said they weren’t there to be in a good mood, they were there to learn, but Miss Georgia didn’t pay any attention to that.

     Thurston Cubbins’ death was the topic of conversation, the Sunday after he had been shot. Miss Georgia didn’t do much talking, but she did a lot of listening. And, she got an earful.

     “Smudge Littleton has been a teller in the bank for decades,” declared Flossie Mae. “He evidently thinks that Monroe Williams just may be the guilty party, because Monroe was still in the back room with Mr. Cubbins when he left work for the day.”

     “Oh, no. That can’t be right,” Betsy James said. “Why, I’ve known the Williams family for years, and there’s not a nicer group of people anywhere.”

     “The war changed people,” Grace Thomas said. “Roe might not be the same as he was when he was young.”

     “I saw a strange car in town last week,” Verna Lou said. “Mighty shifty-looking stranger driving it too.”

     “Any car instead of a horse and buggy would be strange in this town,” muttered Miss Georgia as she munched her cinnamon roll.

     She just knew that Roe Williams could not have shot anybody and if Lathe didn’t agree, why, she’d just have to prove it herself. She’d visit some of the shops this week, see if any of the store owners had an idea of who might be the killer. Maybe somebody needed cash and had resorted to violence, especially if Thurston Cubbins had turned that person down for a loan. Or, maybe there was a homicidal maniac on the loose. If so, the faster he could be found and put away, the better. Miss Georgia felt it was her duty as a concerned citizen to do what she could.

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