Remember the mysterious little key I found the other day? No one knows what it may have unlocked, more than a hundred years ago, but guess what? It unlocked another cozy mystery. However, as my Cozy Critiquers will tell you, it’s sometimes hard for me to get the beginning of a mystery just right. This beginning was just off the top of my head; it may change several times, but tell me what you think about it, please?
The Key
Rain slid down the windows as I sat at my dining table staring at the small, brown leather purse. The weather was as dismal as I felt. Aunt Kezzie’s death had hit me hard. I had just returned from the reading of her will and this purse was the one item my great-aunt left me. Not that I was expecting anything. She had three children and I was sort of a far-flung relative. However, I had loved that dear lady and our weekly visits.
Aunt Kezzie’s immediate family and I never visited and I barely knew them. My aunt made excuses for their not coming to visit her, but she missed them all. Today, they had been very cool toward me, hardly acknowledging my presence. People react to grief differently, so maybe their attitudes were a reflection of that.
Sighing, I opened the purse. I’d might as well take a look, although just handling it brought a wave of sadness. Aunt Kezzie had always kept the purse with her, right by her side in the narrow bed. I could see her now, lined face wreathed in a smile and the purse tucked partially under her.
I opened the purse and smiled. Empty. Not one thing inside. Even the small pocket in the side was empty. I ran my hand around it. What a pretty lining. Silk, maybe? It was still a good purse, except for one tiny tear in the top of the lining. Maybe Aunt Kezzie had just wanted to give me something to remember her.
All of my cozy mysteries are here: Blanche Day Manos, books, Amazon.
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