C.: Well, d.c. called and said he was delayed at work again. I guess a lot of people are out sick with the flu and Covid. He wanted me to read the inauguration of his book,” The Magruder Mysteries Murder 8; the Inert Ingredient. I thought I had already proofread the introduction to that book, but d.c. said he rewrote it when he renamed the book..
INAUGURATION
Almost everything has an inert ingredient. Even the air we breathe is 78 % nitrogen and 21 % oxygen. That leaves a full 1% of the air as inert ingredients.
The most prevalent inert ingredient in the air is argon gas. Although in minute quantities this gas is harmless, in larger quantities it can be fatal. The same is true of carbon dioxide, the second most prevalent inert ingredient in air. Both can cost someone his or her life if enough of either of these gasses is inhaled. Each gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Consequently, neither is easily detected. Some other inert ingredients are also dangerous enough to cost someone his or her life, even in minute quantities. Many are practically impossible to detect...
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As Jay Magruder walked into the parlor of the funeral home where the body of his first wife , Alice, was displayed for viewing, he found their three eldest children standing together . Striking up a conversation with his eldest was relatively easy. She knew the circumstances that had led to her mother’s death, but she was too young to know the story of how her parents met.
Jay slyly mentioned that the two had met when Alice was a teenager, and he thought it inappropriate to try to have a relationship with someone so young.
“Come on, Dad, you know what I mean. I ’m your oldest child, and I understand my existence has something to do with the two of you getting married. You always say that Mom was your favorite ex-wife. So please tell me the whole story of how the two of you met and fell in love. You often say she was your first real love. So, Dad, if you loved Mom so much, please tell me the story of how y’all met. And don’t skimp on the details. I already know Mom’s version of the story. Now, I want to hear your version of it.”
Magruder shook his head and started to walk away. The memory of his relationship with his first wife was painful, but his first child insisted on knowing the whole story.
“What’s the matter Dad?” Alicia began, “Are you ‘all hat and no cattle’? We all know how Mom died. I want to know how she lived!”
Jay drew in a long breath as he thought about how to begin. The gauntlet had been thrown down, and he didn’t want to disappoint his firstborn child. “Well, your mom was still in nursing school when we started dating. Actually, her being in nursing school is how we began dating. It all started with a mysterious corpse in the Harris County Morgue….”
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