Read Online Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett - Free Book Online Page A

introduce her to the man. Not if it meant the possibility of straining relations with the Chamber of Commerce. Could she entice the Food Shelf’s chairperson, Libby Hirt, to do so? It might be worth trying.
    With that decided, Tricia was finally able to drift off to sleep.
    She never heard the alarm clock ring the next morning, and awoke only half an hour before Haven’t Got a Clue was to open its doors. After a fast shower, she dressed, fed Miss Marple, and dashed down the stairs to the shop. Mr. Everett was already waiting at the store’s entrance.
    “My, we’re late today,” he commented after Tricia had unlocked the door and let him in.
    “I had a rather sleepless night,” she admitted.
    Mr. Everett headed straight for the coffeemaker. “After what happened yesterday, I can well understand that. I’ll get this started if you want to get the register up and running.”
    “Thank you,” Tricia said gratefully.
    By the time she’d taken money from the safe and counted it out for the till, the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee filled the front of the store. Mr. Everett brought her a cup, fixed just the way she liked it.
    “I’m afraid the wastebasket behind the coffee station wasn’t emptied last night,” he said. Something else Ginny was supposed to have done, but hadn’t. “Shall I do it now?”
    “Oh, no,” Tricia said. “I know how those back stairs bother your knees. I’ll do it. Would you watch the register for a few minutes?”
    “I’d be delighted,” the elderly gent said, and gave her a smile. Come to think of it, he’d been smiling a lot lately. He took his place behind the register, and Tricia found a cap for her cup and set it on the counter at the coffee station. She grabbed the wastebasket.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    The wind was brisk on this sunny October morning as she trundled down the steps that led to the Dumpster. On her way back she again noticed two bowls on the concrete steps leading to the Cookery’s back door. She moseyed over to have a look. Sure enough, one contained the remains of dry cat food; the other contained water that had already attracted a few stray locust leaves. She picked them out and tossed them on the ground. The poor kitty shouldn’t have to drink dirty water.
    Poor Frannie if Angelica found out she was still feeding the neighborhood stray.
    Tricia glanced at her watch. By now Angelica would be at her café, getting ready for the lunch crowd that would start filing in within the hour. Frannie was safe from detection—for another few hours, at least.
    Tricia reentered her store and found that they already had a customer—or at least a guest. Grace Harris, Mr. Everett’s special friend, had arrived before the onslaught of tourists. Tricia had met her just a year before, under not very pleasant conditions—at least for Grace, who’d been forced into a nursing home under suspicious circumstances. Tricia had helped extricate her from the home, and since that time, Grace and Mr. Everett had renewed their decades-old friendship.
    As usual, Grace was dressed to the nines. Beautiful name-brand clothes, exquisite jewelry, and expertly coiffed hair, too. With her lovely skin and natural poise, she could have easily made a fortune as a senior citizen model, but her late husband had left her very well off. She liked to read, and she liked Mr. Everett. A lot.
    “Good morning, Grace. You’re here early.”
    “I have so much to do today, and I decided I’d best start early.”
    “Don’t overdo, dear,” Mr. Everett said kindly.
    Grace reached across the counter to clasp his hand. “I won’t.” She gazed back at Tricia, her expression luminous. She looked back at Mr. Everett. “I don’t suppose you’ve told Tricia our good news.”
    Mr. Everett shook his head, a blush coloring his cheeks as his gaze dipped to the counter.
    “Shame on you,” Grace scolded. “Shall I?”
    Again he shook his head. “It’s my duty.”
    Duty? That sounded serious.
    Mr.