Nevada Barr - A Superior Death

“Scotty was drinking like he does and started opening beer bottles with his teeth.”

“What a jerk. Were trail crew properly impressed?”

“No. Wait.” Tinker looked pained. She had no reason to be a friend to Scotty Butkus. Anna wondered at it and waited.

“He choked to death on a bottle cap,” Tinker said slowly. “No kidding,” she added as Anna began to laugh. “Nobody knew the Heimlich maneuver-or they thought he was just horsing around. By the time they figured it out, he was dead.”

Banal, embarrassing, meaningless: an accidental death. After all the mysteries on the island, Anna had forgotten there was such a thing. “Bummer,” she said.

“Sometimes the wrong people die,” Tinker said philosophically. “But sometimes they don’t.”

“Time,” Damien broke in.

“Meeting of the Survivors of the Harmonic Convergence?” Anna teased.

Tinker shook her head. “Lyle Lovett’s playing at the Guthrie.”

Another perfectly good pigeonhole evaded by the Coggins-Clarkes, Anna thought as they gathered their things and headed for the door.

“Oh, you’ve a message from Ralph,” Tinker remembered. “He said to tell you to get well soon. Now that Scotty is gone, you are to be stuck with organizing the Chrismoose picnic. Scotty ordered the paper plates and all the condiments, but nothing else has been done.”

Anna groaned.

Tinker waved goodbye as Damien swirled her away in the crook of his arm.

“Condiments!” Anna exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. “That’s why Scotty ordered the case of pickle relish!” she hollered after them. But the Coggins-Clarkes were on to other things.