A Bone to Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

: On the morning of September 16, 1922,

in New Brunswick, New Jersey,

a young couple went for a walk down de Russey Lane,

the local Lover's Lane,

and found a man and a woman lying in an embrace

on the ground,

both dead.

Both shot in the head.

Love letters the woman had written to the man

were ripped to pieces and scattered between them...

The man was Edward Hall, a minister in a local church,

but the woman next to him was not his wife, Frances.

It was Eleanor Mills,

a beautiful woman in the choir.

The two had been having an affair for years.

A distraught Frances

pushed the police to find her husband's murderer.

Ultimately, Frances' brother, Willie,

who was known to have a grudge against the minister,

was charged with the murders,

and the trial became the most covered trial

in American history at that time.

The jury, however,

came back with a verdict of not guilty.

The police and the prosecutors made a big mistake.

I believe I know who did kill Edward and Eleanor.

It was Frances Hall,

and I'm going to tell you why.

-Great job. -Thank you.

Well done, indeed.

The way you cut out all the extraneous details,

made her guilt inescapable.

Yes, very effective.

I'd read about the case,

and always thought the wife was innocent,

but the way you presented it,

that's how it should have been done,

and they'd have caught and convicted her.

Better watch out there, John.

Our Miss Teagarden

could give you a run for your money

come the next election.

Is that so?

Oh, don't listen to him.

You're the perfect president for the club.

Yes, but it is an interesting question.

Which of you two

might have the better sleuthing skills?

Well, nobody picks up on those details quite like Roe,

but I don't know.

John's written all those articles

for Lizzie Borden Quarterly.

And how many times have you been on CNN?

Of course, you have to be loyal to John.

He's your uncle.

But Roe is my best friend,

so she gets my vote and my loyalty.

Well, John has my vote.

Well, thank you, Roe.

But for tonight anyway,

you're clearly the master sleuth.

I'd give the edge to you.

What a rabble-rouser you are, Jane.

I hope to see you in church on sunday.

Oh, well, life is full of surprises.

Well, I'm going home to ponder my vote.

Would you like help to your car?

Oh, I don't drive anymore.

I have a taxi waiting,

but you could help me to the door.

Okay.

Tell me, dear,

have you read Oliver Tennant's work

on women who got away with murder?

No, but I've heard of his book,

it's just been out of print for so long.

Oh, I have a copy.

He says exactly what you did in your talk,

that women were less often suspected

and more likely to be acquitted

thanks to the all-male juries back in those days.

Men just cannot bring themselves to believe

that a woman has the constitution to kill.

It mentions Frances Hall.

You're welcome to it.

Oh, I would love to read it.

I can come by this weekend.

Come tomorrow.

3:00?

After I've had my nap.

I can do that.

Oh, good. Thank you.

I don't remember Jane walking with a cane before,

do you?

No.

And she looked a lot thinner.

I hope she's all right.

Yeah.

Did she say it again?

"You remind me of me when I was your age."

No. For once.

Bye! Bye!

Hello, Roe.

Arthur!

You didn't think

I'd Miss your take on Hall-Mills, did you?

How many nights did we let our food get cold

talking about Frances?

I didn't see you in here.

Yes, well, a police detective is trained

to be invisible while skulking.

You don't have to be invisible,

and you didn't have to quit the club.

My mother raised me to be a gentleman.

Well, don't stay away because of me.

I mean, I don't want to bruise your ego,

but I've been over you for a while now.

Ooh, ouch.

Okay, that stings a bit.

But seriously,

it's great to see you.

I mean, especially when you're on your game like that.

Thank you.

It's good to see you, too.

Good.

You know what, maybe you're right,

maybe I will start coming back to meetings.

I hope so.

Yeah, you could use someone to challenge you a bit.

You always have to be here earlier than everyone else.

Good morning to you, too, Lillian.

You think being early

earns you extra points with Mr. Crowley,

but it doesn't.

I just like to look at on the news

before my day starts.

Nothing but murder and mayhem in the news.

Exactly.

Spit it out. What do you want?

Um, can Miss Teagarden help me?

Do you need a book, Jared?

Yeah.

But she's mean.

Meaner than a snake with a sunburn.

Now, Mitch, you tell your clients

when they are sitting on that verandah,

with that cool breeze coming off the stream,

they'll think that extra 20 grand is more than worth it.

Go on, tell them,

All right, then.

Bye-bye, Mitch.

Still have Mitch Marvin wrapped around your finger, I see.

Never mind about him.

I've come to take you to my brokers' dinner.

There's a new agent,

he's very handsome,

and I'd like to introduce you.

Yeah, we can, um...

We can stop and get you a new dress on the way.

Okay, first, I have an appointment,

and second, I can't afford a new dress.

Because you are woefully underpaid.

I can buy it for you.

No. You already pay my rent.

I do no such thing.

You manage my townhouses in exchange for rent.

No, you can let me buy you a dress.

This has no pizzazz.

What? I think it's--

honestly, Aurora,

I don't know how you expect to meet a suitable man

unless you at least try to catch his eye?

I meet men, mother.

Sometimes, I even date them.

I said "suitable."

That scruffy police person doesn't count.

How could you consider Arthur unsuitable?

He belonged to that ghoulish club of yours.

That murderer's club.

It's positively indecent,

digging into other people's deaths.

You only do that because you know I disapprove.

Mother, I adore you.

I don't know what you're saying, but I adore you.

Aw...

I have to go to my friend, Jane's.

Well, if you finish early,

can you at least try to stop at the restaurant

for dessert?

His name is Raymond and he drives a BMW.

Wow, some of these books are impossible to find.

A First-Edition Fall River Tragedy?

John would swoon.

His offer to buy it

goes up by another $50 every week.

I wish I had had access to a collection like this

while I was getting my master's.

My thesis was in true crime literature.

Huh, that wasn't a specialty of library science in my day.

Oh, it's still not, officially.