Read Online Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay - Free Book Online
Authors: Jenn McKinlay
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was, the same chubby, brown hamster sporting a monocle as the one Beth had created and dubbed Sherlock Hamster, detective.
“But I don’t understand,” Lindsey said. She flipped the catalog over to scan the cover. It was for the winter, meaning this was a preview of books to come. But how had Beth’s gotten in here? She flipped back to the page that described the book. The name of the author leapt out at her—Rick Eckman.
“I think it’s fairly obvious, don’t you?” Sydney asked as she kept eating. “Your friend plagiarized her book idea from my author Mr. Eckman.”
“Beth would never do that,” Lindsey said. “That’s preposterous.”
Sydney suddenly looked weary. “I don’t want to get into a debate about what is plagiarism. I’m just telling you that he has a book coming out with virtually the exact same story line and characters. I know you want to help your friend, but she can’t steal other people’s work to get ahead. It will get her blackballed from the industry.”
“Beth didn’t steal anything from him,” Lindsey said. She knew she sounded defensive, but she just couldn’t believe what was happening. This was a nightmare.
“He’s a Caldecott-winning book author,” Sydney said with a sigh. “Surely you’re not suggesting he stole his idea from her. Why would he? No one would ever believe it.”
“That may be true,” Lindsey said. “But that’s what happened.”
She snatched up Beth’s portfolio and pushed back her chair. “Thank you for your time.”
“I’m sorry,” Sydney said. It was the first time Lindsey thought she might actually be sincere.
“May I keep this?” Lindsey asked, holding up the catalog.
“Oh, it has all of my notes,” Sydney said with a grimace. “Do you want to just tear out the pertinent page?”
“That will work. Thank you,” Lindsey said. She opened the catalog to the page she wanted and carefully tore it out, making sure not to damage the page or the book.
She glanced up and saw Beth headed their way. “I hope you enjoy your stay with us, Sydney, and thank you for your time.”
“No problem.” Sydney took the remainder of her catalog and stuffed it back into her bag. She returned to her lunch while Lindsey crossed the café to Beth.
She noticed that the tip of Beth’s nose was bright pink, and her eyes looked puffier than usual. She’d been crying. Lindsey really hated that she was about to make a bad day much worse for her friend, and it was all Rick Eckman’s fault. If he were here, she’d give him a swift kick in the pants or possibly a solid punch to the nose.
“Beth, let’s go take a walk,” she said.
“Oh, no, I don’t want to seem like a big baby,” Beth said. “It’s rude to walk out on Ms. Carlisle. We should finish our lunch with her.”
“Oh, I think she’ll be fine,” Lindsey said.
“I guess I can call Rick now and tell him he was right. I was rejected and crushed by it.”
“Not so fast,” Lindsey said. “I’ve got something to show you.”
CHAPTER 7
“W hat is it?” Beth asked as Lindsey hustled her out of the café and across the parking lot to the town park.
A seagull was perched in its usual spot on the back of one of the benches, and seeing that they had no food, it gave them a sideways stare of disapproval before lifting off onto the air currents that swept in from the water. Feeling duly chastised, Lindsey promised herself she would remember to bring some stale bread the next time she came to the park.
An elderly couple was parked on a bench down the way, sharing a newspaper and drinking coffee out of paper cups. A mother with two young ones was sitting under a tree on a blanket while the baby had some tummy time and the toddler collected leaves.
“Sit here,” Lindsey said. She gestured to an empty bench.
“What’s going on?” Beth said. “You look angry, and not just a little angry but more like a swarm of killer bees angry.”
Lindsey took a steadying breath. She was
“But I don’t understand,” Lindsey said. She flipped the catalog over to scan the cover. It was for the winter, meaning this was a preview of books to come. But how had Beth’s gotten in here? She flipped back to the page that described the book. The name of the author leapt out at her—Rick Eckman.
“I think it’s fairly obvious, don’t you?” Sydney asked as she kept eating. “Your friend plagiarized her book idea from my author Mr. Eckman.”
“Beth would never do that,” Lindsey said. “That’s preposterous.”
Sydney suddenly looked weary. “I don’t want to get into a debate about what is plagiarism. I’m just telling you that he has a book coming out with virtually the exact same story line and characters. I know you want to help your friend, but she can’t steal other people’s work to get ahead. It will get her blackballed from the industry.”
“Beth didn’t steal anything from him,” Lindsey said. She knew she sounded defensive, but she just couldn’t believe what was happening. This was a nightmare.
“He’s a Caldecott-winning book author,” Sydney said with a sigh. “Surely you’re not suggesting he stole his idea from her. Why would he? No one would ever believe it.”
“That may be true,” Lindsey said. “But that’s what happened.”
She snatched up Beth’s portfolio and pushed back her chair. “Thank you for your time.”
“I’m sorry,” Sydney said. It was the first time Lindsey thought she might actually be sincere.
“May I keep this?” Lindsey asked, holding up the catalog.
“Oh, it has all of my notes,” Sydney said with a grimace. “Do you want to just tear out the pertinent page?”
“That will work. Thank you,” Lindsey said. She opened the catalog to the page she wanted and carefully tore it out, making sure not to damage the page or the book.
She glanced up and saw Beth headed their way. “I hope you enjoy your stay with us, Sydney, and thank you for your time.”
“No problem.” Sydney took the remainder of her catalog and stuffed it back into her bag. She returned to her lunch while Lindsey crossed the café to Beth.
She noticed that the tip of Beth’s nose was bright pink, and her eyes looked puffier than usual. She’d been crying. Lindsey really hated that she was about to make a bad day much worse for her friend, and it was all Rick Eckman’s fault. If he were here, she’d give him a swift kick in the pants or possibly a solid punch to the nose.
“Beth, let’s go take a walk,” she said.
“Oh, no, I don’t want to seem like a big baby,” Beth said. “It’s rude to walk out on Ms. Carlisle. We should finish our lunch with her.”
“Oh, I think she’ll be fine,” Lindsey said.
“I guess I can call Rick now and tell him he was right. I was rejected and crushed by it.”
“Not so fast,” Lindsey said. “I’ve got something to show you.”
CHAPTER 7
“W hat is it?” Beth asked as Lindsey hustled her out of the café and across the parking lot to the town park.
A seagull was perched in its usual spot on the back of one of the benches, and seeing that they had no food, it gave them a sideways stare of disapproval before lifting off onto the air currents that swept in from the water. Feeling duly chastised, Lindsey promised herself she would remember to bring some stale bread the next time she came to the park.
An elderly couple was parked on a bench down the way, sharing a newspaper and drinking coffee out of paper cups. A mother with two young ones was sitting under a tree on a blanket while the baby had some tummy time and the toddler collected leaves.
“Sit here,” Lindsey said. She gestured to an empty bench.
“What’s going on?” Beth said. “You look angry, and not just a little angry but more like a swarm of killer bees angry.”
Lindsey took a steadying breath. She was
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