whodunit

Sheriff Fox was running his fingers through his thin hair. In a few short years, he__ look bald as a peeled apple. The Snoop sisters and their sidekick, the town__ bag lady no less, had traipsed into his office without knocking first. His admin (he couldn__ remember their names to save his life) had ushered them in, and they__ just dumped this hot potato into his lap.

When you're writing a whodunit, the dead body is the most important character. It's the pivot point around which the plot spins.

Quote taken from Chapter 1:"Alma idly wondered if he'd blow his nose, too.He did. Twice. He made it honk, the sound reminding Alma of Harpo Marx squeezing his bulb horn.Isabel darted a look at Alma, giving her the don__-you-dare-giggle squint.Alma dug her fingernails into her palm, the inappropriate laugh rising from her throat as she looked up at the ceiling. Blue refolded his handkerchief and returned it to inside his seersucker jacket. Thankfully, Alma__ urge to laugh subsided.

Nozy Cat lifted one sleepy eyelid, and his marble blue eye glared at her for interrupting his sacred nap. He wore a yellow collar with little red stars printed on it. His second eyelid also opened, and he gave them his irritated blue-eyed glare.

She craved a tall glass of the fresh-squeezed lemonade from the pitcher she__ left chilling in the fridge. Two glasses served with a generous slice of pound cake with orange glaze icing sounded twice as nice.

Quote taken from Chapter 1:I know what." Isabel reached under the end table, took out the game board, and rattled the Band-Aid box containing the letter tiles. "It's been a week-and-a-half since our last Scrabble game.

Alma didn__ want Isabel to start singing the praises of their pet, a rescue beagle, or she wouldn__ shush until sundown. ____e found the missing lady,_ Alma said. __ay welcome home, Betsy Sweet.

In fact, until the last moments of his life, until the last seconds as he gasped for breath, he never realised how much he wanted to live. But, at that point, death was inevitable and nothing that had happened could be changed.

Petey Samson gave the ladies an over-the-shoulder glance. He realized no doggie treat was forthcoming, even from Isabel who was usually the soft mark to hit up. He scratched his front claws to re-attack the sand.

The busy snoops like us can leave no stone unturned," Alma said.

Megan stepping back let her glance switch from Alma to Isabel and return to Alma. No doubt about it, thought Megan. Created as much alike as any sisters ever had been, their resemblance started with their matching red-and-white polka dot blouses. Since she was a young girl, she had matched their eye colors to their different personalities.

You__e a nosy sleuth like me because you can__ help it,_ Alma said.

Shouldering the duffel bag with the Marine Corps bulldog, Old Man knocked Jan's photo off the bed table. He turned to stone staring down at the photo. His face then splintered into hurt. Tears seeped into his eyes. He grappled for the nearest bedpost and slumped forward on extended arms. His shoulders jerked and head sagged a little while his heart broke. Old Man cried the mute cry of men of his generation.

Quote is taken from Chapter 1:A decade ago when Isabel__ husband Max had died, they__ moved in together and merged their possessions. Neither sister brought any fussy teapots, canaries, sachets, or doilies, but lots of other stuff had to either stay or go. Looking at the lime green gave Alma the willies. Her suggestion to slipcover it in a more subdued color had garnered Isabel__ frosty stare, and Alma had dropped the matter.