Read Online A Bead in the Hand (Glass Bead Mystery Series Book 2) by Janice Peacock - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Janice Peacock
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covering and had an actual lighting system? I would never know. Tessa arrived a few minutes before five o’clock, when the show was about to close.
“Dinner?” Tessa asked.
“I only had a hot dog for lunch. I could use some real food.”
“I’m going to meet up with Adriana and find out where we’re going for dinner,” Tessa said. Adriana was tall and thin with puffy white hair. She reminded me of a Q-Tip. She was a bead shop owner from San Francisco, who often came to sales to buy inventory for her store. Tessa and Adriana were old friends, although they only saw each other a few times a year at bead bazaars like this one. Adriana always knew the latest beading techniques, and Tessa loved to learn them from her.
Sal shooed the last few customers out of the ballroom. I closed the receipt book for the day, throwing a spare sheet over my table to keep it a little more secure overnight. Miles left with Minnie, only giving me a small wave as they walked out the door, eyes locked on each other, messenger bags strapped across their chests. I didn’t expect to see much of Miles the rest of the weekend, since he had apparently met his dream girl.
NINE
“WHAT DID ADRIANA say about dinner?” I asked, sitting down on my bed and thinking seriously about curling up in it and missing dinner. “I can’t stand the thought of going out with a big group of people. I’m still traumatized from this morning, like I have Saundra’s death cooties on me.”
“We can’t stay in the room for another night of room service,” Tessa said. “Besides, I’m feeling energized. I spent money. That always brightens my mood, at least until the VISA bill arrives. I’m around grownups and not kids who are fighting and—”
“Uh, Tessa? Let’s forget about your home life for a sec,” I said.
“Right. A big group of us are going to the Cheesecake Factory. Want to come?” asked Tessa.
This was not my idea of a good time, except for the dessert. Fifteen people, probably all women, crowded around a table that should only hold ten, everyone talking all at once, utter chaos when the bill arrives, and someone getting stuck paying an extra forty bucks because someone else at the table miscalculated how much they owed on the tab.
“Not going,” I said.
“Suit yourself. No dessert for you then.”
“What, you won’t bring your best friend back a piece of chocolate cheesecake?”
“Jax, I know you’re upset about Saundra, but you need to let it go. You did what you could.”
I said nothing, afraid if I did, I’d start crying.
“You’re just going to sit around here and think about what happened, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” I said. Of course I was going to think about Saundra’s death. I could think of nothing else. In fact, the idea of Saundra, now dead and cold, had haunted me all day. And I had so many questions. What had happened? Had she tripped during the blackout? Had she still been alive after we all left the ballroom, dying slowly and alone in the dark? Had she bled to death from cracking her head open on the shattered mirror?
And was this an accident, or something far worse?
“Tessa, you saw the crime scene tape and those police officers milling around behind the dividers that the hotel put up,” I said.
“Wait—you’re not thinking this was murder, are you?” Tessa asked. “Maybe there was something else going on, like someone stole Saundra’s change fund, or some of her beads.”
“Why would there have been so many police officers around if it was just a theft or an accident?”
“I can’t believe it was murder. But even if it was, what are you going to do—stay here and hope that Saundra’s killer doesn’t come and find you here alone? Or are you going to stay here without an alibi in case someone else gets murdered?” Tessa was laying on the false concern pretty heavily now. She thought she could manipulate me. And, I admit it, she could.
“I’ll go, I’ll go,” I said, relenting.
“Dinner?” Tessa asked.
“I only had a hot dog for lunch. I could use some real food.”
“I’m going to meet up with Adriana and find out where we’re going for dinner,” Tessa said. Adriana was tall and thin with puffy white hair. She reminded me of a Q-Tip. She was a bead shop owner from San Francisco, who often came to sales to buy inventory for her store. Tessa and Adriana were old friends, although they only saw each other a few times a year at bead bazaars like this one. Adriana always knew the latest beading techniques, and Tessa loved to learn them from her.
Sal shooed the last few customers out of the ballroom. I closed the receipt book for the day, throwing a spare sheet over my table to keep it a little more secure overnight. Miles left with Minnie, only giving me a small wave as they walked out the door, eyes locked on each other, messenger bags strapped across their chests. I didn’t expect to see much of Miles the rest of the weekend, since he had apparently met his dream girl.
NINE
“WHAT DID ADRIANA say about dinner?” I asked, sitting down on my bed and thinking seriously about curling up in it and missing dinner. “I can’t stand the thought of going out with a big group of people. I’m still traumatized from this morning, like I have Saundra’s death cooties on me.”
“We can’t stay in the room for another night of room service,” Tessa said. “Besides, I’m feeling energized. I spent money. That always brightens my mood, at least until the VISA bill arrives. I’m around grownups and not kids who are fighting and—”
“Uh, Tessa? Let’s forget about your home life for a sec,” I said.
“Right. A big group of us are going to the Cheesecake Factory. Want to come?” asked Tessa.
This was not my idea of a good time, except for the dessert. Fifteen people, probably all women, crowded around a table that should only hold ten, everyone talking all at once, utter chaos when the bill arrives, and someone getting stuck paying an extra forty bucks because someone else at the table miscalculated how much they owed on the tab.
“Not going,” I said.
“Suit yourself. No dessert for you then.”
“What, you won’t bring your best friend back a piece of chocolate cheesecake?”
“Jax, I know you’re upset about Saundra, but you need to let it go. You did what you could.”
I said nothing, afraid if I did, I’d start crying.
“You’re just going to sit around here and think about what happened, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” I said. Of course I was going to think about Saundra’s death. I could think of nothing else. In fact, the idea of Saundra, now dead and cold, had haunted me all day. And I had so many questions. What had happened? Had she tripped during the blackout? Had she still been alive after we all left the ballroom, dying slowly and alone in the dark? Had she bled to death from cracking her head open on the shattered mirror?
And was this an accident, or something far worse?
“Tessa, you saw the crime scene tape and those police officers milling around behind the dividers that the hotel put up,” I said.
“Wait—you’re not thinking this was murder, are you?” Tessa asked. “Maybe there was something else going on, like someone stole Saundra’s change fund, or some of her beads.”
“Why would there have been so many police officers around if it was just a theft or an accident?”
“I can’t believe it was murder. But even if it was, what are you going to do—stay here and hope that Saundra’s killer doesn’t come and find you here alone? Or are you going to stay here without an alibi in case someone else gets murdered?” Tessa was laying on the false concern pretty heavily now. She thought she could manipulate me. And, I admit it, she could.
“I’ll go, I’ll go,” I said, relenting.
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