Read Online All Fudged Up (A Candy-Coated Mystery) by Nancy CoCo - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Nancy CoCo
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rolled into place without so much as a squeak.
Odd, right? Considering the general condition the McMurphy was in.
Mr. Beecher took his cane and looped it around the last rung and gave it a good yank. The ladder slid down with surprising ease. “Joe had a cane.”
“Right.” A shiver ran through me. Could it be as easy as that?
Chapter 9
I overslept.
It was the puppy actually who woke me by kissing me. I wasn’t used to wet tongue on my face or button eyes staring at me expectantly. I sat up like a shot. It was 9 AM. That meant the power company was already open and my vow to be first in line was shot.
I scrambled out of bed so fast the puppy hopped down and piddled on my rug. “Great.” I picked her up and carried her over to the training papers on the floor of my bathroom. “Piddle here, please,” I begged her and splashed water on my face. One glance in the mirror told me I looked like death warmed over.
Oh, well. It would have to do. I dressed in jeans and a pale blue work shirt. Pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed up the dog. I was going to have to name her sooner or later. Maybe when I had a moment to think.
I ran down the stairs. Benny and his crew waited outside the door.
“Good morning, sunshine.” He grinned at me when I let them in. “We still don’t have power.”
“I’m on it,” I called as I grabbed my jacket from the coat tree near the door.
“Hey, is that a puppy?” Benny asked.
“Yes, Frances gave her to me for protection.”
“Kinda small for the job,” Benny teased.
“She’ll grow into it,” I replied and put the puppy in her basket, then picked up the paperwork I’d left on the receptionist’s desk the night before. “Have any of you seen Colin this morning? Do you think he’s coming in to work?”
“I doubt it,” Benny answered. “I heard he was on a bender last night at the Sailor’s Bar and Grill. They had to kick his butt out after two-thirty. He’s probably sleeping it off.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Well, I’m off to the second level of hell that is the power office,” I told him. “My cell phone is on if you need me. Let me know if Colin comes in this morning. Okay? I need to ask him some questions.”
“What do I do if the cops want back in?” Benny asked.
“Call me.” I opened the door. “I want to be here before they look around.”
“Got it, boss.” He gave me a salute with his paintbrush to his painter’s cap.
I stepped out onto the street to find that the ferry had come in with the first group of tourists and locals. The temperature had warmed to sixty degrees. The skies were blue and the lake was smooth as glass. Boxes of goods and merchandise were loaded up on horse-drawn flatbeds. The locals prepped for the season. As soon as it was warmer than fifty-five degrees, the entire island painted. With weather as rough as our winters can get, a fresh coat of paint was warranted nearly every year.
The town prided itself on attention to detail in keeping up with Victorian standards of manicured grounds and fresh paint on the painted lady homes with three colors on the siding, shutters and gingerbread cutouts. The painting started as soon as the ferries began to run and bring in tourists. Before that the unpredicitable weather and expense of flying in workers and supplies kept them from doing much more than sweeping porches. Horses clip-clopped by as taxis ferried the summer homeowners back and forth. When the full season was up, there would be young men on bikes to porter the luggage and supplies as well as the horse-drawn flatbeds. But for now, there was only a fraction of the bustle summer would bring.
I popped into the general store to buy puppy treats and more puppy piddle pads. I placed the basket on the counter and frowned at the display of purple and green ribbons. The purple ones were nearly gone and the green board was half full.
“What’s in the basket?” Mary Emry asked as she rang up the treats.
“Frances
Odd, right? Considering the general condition the McMurphy was in.
Mr. Beecher took his cane and looped it around the last rung and gave it a good yank. The ladder slid down with surprising ease. “Joe had a cane.”
“Right.” A shiver ran through me. Could it be as easy as that?
Chapter 9
I overslept.
It was the puppy actually who woke me by kissing me. I wasn’t used to wet tongue on my face or button eyes staring at me expectantly. I sat up like a shot. It was 9 AM. That meant the power company was already open and my vow to be first in line was shot.
I scrambled out of bed so fast the puppy hopped down and piddled on my rug. “Great.” I picked her up and carried her over to the training papers on the floor of my bathroom. “Piddle here, please,” I begged her and splashed water on my face. One glance in the mirror told me I looked like death warmed over.
Oh, well. It would have to do. I dressed in jeans and a pale blue work shirt. Pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed up the dog. I was going to have to name her sooner or later. Maybe when I had a moment to think.
I ran down the stairs. Benny and his crew waited outside the door.
“Good morning, sunshine.” He grinned at me when I let them in. “We still don’t have power.”
“I’m on it,” I called as I grabbed my jacket from the coat tree near the door.
“Hey, is that a puppy?” Benny asked.
“Yes, Frances gave her to me for protection.”
“Kinda small for the job,” Benny teased.
“She’ll grow into it,” I replied and put the puppy in her basket, then picked up the paperwork I’d left on the receptionist’s desk the night before. “Have any of you seen Colin this morning? Do you think he’s coming in to work?”
“I doubt it,” Benny answered. “I heard he was on a bender last night at the Sailor’s Bar and Grill. They had to kick his butt out after two-thirty. He’s probably sleeping it off.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Well, I’m off to the second level of hell that is the power office,” I told him. “My cell phone is on if you need me. Let me know if Colin comes in this morning. Okay? I need to ask him some questions.”
“What do I do if the cops want back in?” Benny asked.
“Call me.” I opened the door. “I want to be here before they look around.”
“Got it, boss.” He gave me a salute with his paintbrush to his painter’s cap.
I stepped out onto the street to find that the ferry had come in with the first group of tourists and locals. The temperature had warmed to sixty degrees. The skies were blue and the lake was smooth as glass. Boxes of goods and merchandise were loaded up on horse-drawn flatbeds. The locals prepped for the season. As soon as it was warmer than fifty-five degrees, the entire island painted. With weather as rough as our winters can get, a fresh coat of paint was warranted nearly every year.
The town prided itself on attention to detail in keeping up with Victorian standards of manicured grounds and fresh paint on the painted lady homes with three colors on the siding, shutters and gingerbread cutouts. The painting started as soon as the ferries began to run and bring in tourists. Before that the unpredicitable weather and expense of flying in workers and supplies kept them from doing much more than sweeping porches. Horses clip-clopped by as taxis ferried the summer homeowners back and forth. When the full season was up, there would be young men on bikes to porter the luggage and supplies as well as the horse-drawn flatbeds. But for now, there was only a fraction of the bustle summer would bring.
I popped into the general store to buy puppy treats and more puppy piddle pads. I placed the basket on the counter and frowned at the display of purple and green ribbons. The purple ones were nearly gone and the green board was half full.
“What’s in the basket?” Mary Emry asked as she rang up the treats.
“Frances
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