Read Online Chocolate Dipped Death by SAMMI CARTER - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: SAMMI CARTER
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there’s nothing you can do?”
“Not yet. If she doesn’t show up in a couple of days, give me a call. We’ll pull out all the stops.”
I nodded. “Sure. Thanks. Got any ideas what I can tell her husband? He’s going to wear a hole in my floor, pacing back and forth all day.”
“If he’s that worried, tell him to go out and look for her himself. He could save himself a giant headache and the taxpayers a hefty chunk of change.”
Jawarski was right, I thought when I disconnected, but Miles had already exhausted his resources, and he still didn’t know where his wife was. I turned around to find him watching me, a mixture of hope and wariness on his face. “Well?”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing he can do.”
The hope drained out of his expression right in front of my eyes. “This is ridiculous. A woman is missing!”
“She’s an adult, Miles. She could be off shopping or—”
“Not without money.”
“She doesn’t have any with her?”
He shook his head miserably. “Her wallet with all her credit cards is still in our room. This is going to kill me, but I guess there’s nothing I can do but wait.”
There were a thousand places Savannah could be, I told myself as I tried to focus on work again. But she’d been missing for more than seven hours already. Even if she had been laid up with a twisted ankle, after seven hours in this cold she’d have more than just a sprain to deal with. “What we need,” I said, thinking aloud, “is a search party.”
Disheartened, Miles sank into a chair and propped his chin in his hand. “That would be great, but I don’t know anyone in this town.”
“No, but I do, and Bea knows even more people than I do. I’m sure between the two of us we can round up some help.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Absolutely. And under the circumstances, I think we should postpone tonight’s segment of the contest. If we’re all looking for Savannah, there won’t be time to set up.”
Miles shook his head firmly. “I don’t want you to do that.”
“You can’t postpone,” Bea said. “The contestants have been working all day to get ready.”
“I understand, but it’s already one o’clock, and one of our contestants is missing. I think finding Savannah and making sure she’s all right is a little more important than sticking to our schedule.”
Miles sighed with relief, and his eyes grew suspiciously bright. He turned away, embarrassed. “Thank you, Abby. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
He didn’t need to tell me, I could see it in his expression. I touched his shoulder gently. “Just try not to worry. We’ll find her. I promise.”
It was the second promise I’d made in less than twenty-four hours, and the second time I’d been wrong. One of these days, I was going to have to learn to keep my mouth shut.
Chapter 6
I divided the list of contestants with Bea, and within half an hour, we’d postponed that night’s event and rounded up a handful of volunteers to search for Savannah. I decided not to phone Evie, though. She needed special handling.
Leaving Bea in charge of the store (and of Miles), I loaded Max into the Jetta and headed into the suburbs.
I found Evie’s house in one of Paradise’s oldest residential neighborhoods, a small two-story house painted pale blue with yellow trim. Someone had made an effort to clear the walks, but chunks of ice buried in the snow made the journey from driveway to front door treacherous.
Evie answered the door almost before I could knock. The wide, wild look in her violet eyes and the deep scowl tugging at the corners of her mouth told me I was too late before she even opened her mouth.
“Meena Driggs just called,” she said, her tone ripe with accusation. “You can’t seriously be thinking of canceling the competition tonight just because Savannah has run off.”
“She’s missing, Evie.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?”
“You
“Not yet. If she doesn’t show up in a couple of days, give me a call. We’ll pull out all the stops.”
I nodded. “Sure. Thanks. Got any ideas what I can tell her husband? He’s going to wear a hole in my floor, pacing back and forth all day.”
“If he’s that worried, tell him to go out and look for her himself. He could save himself a giant headache and the taxpayers a hefty chunk of change.”
Jawarski was right, I thought when I disconnected, but Miles had already exhausted his resources, and he still didn’t know where his wife was. I turned around to find him watching me, a mixture of hope and wariness on his face. “Well?”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing he can do.”
The hope drained out of his expression right in front of my eyes. “This is ridiculous. A woman is missing!”
“She’s an adult, Miles. She could be off shopping or—”
“Not without money.”
“She doesn’t have any with her?”
He shook his head miserably. “Her wallet with all her credit cards is still in our room. This is going to kill me, but I guess there’s nothing I can do but wait.”
There were a thousand places Savannah could be, I told myself as I tried to focus on work again. But she’d been missing for more than seven hours already. Even if she had been laid up with a twisted ankle, after seven hours in this cold she’d have more than just a sprain to deal with. “What we need,” I said, thinking aloud, “is a search party.”
Disheartened, Miles sank into a chair and propped his chin in his hand. “That would be great, but I don’t know anyone in this town.”
“No, but I do, and Bea knows even more people than I do. I’m sure between the two of us we can round up some help.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Absolutely. And under the circumstances, I think we should postpone tonight’s segment of the contest. If we’re all looking for Savannah, there won’t be time to set up.”
Miles shook his head firmly. “I don’t want you to do that.”
“You can’t postpone,” Bea said. “The contestants have been working all day to get ready.”
“I understand, but it’s already one o’clock, and one of our contestants is missing. I think finding Savannah and making sure she’s all right is a little more important than sticking to our schedule.”
Miles sighed with relief, and his eyes grew suspiciously bright. He turned away, embarrassed. “Thank you, Abby. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
He didn’t need to tell me, I could see it in his expression. I touched his shoulder gently. “Just try not to worry. We’ll find her. I promise.”
It was the second promise I’d made in less than twenty-four hours, and the second time I’d been wrong. One of these days, I was going to have to learn to keep my mouth shut.
Chapter 6
I divided the list of contestants with Bea, and within half an hour, we’d postponed that night’s event and rounded up a handful of volunteers to search for Savannah. I decided not to phone Evie, though. She needed special handling.
Leaving Bea in charge of the store (and of Miles), I loaded Max into the Jetta and headed into the suburbs.
I found Evie’s house in one of Paradise’s oldest residential neighborhoods, a small two-story house painted pale blue with yellow trim. Someone had made an effort to clear the walks, but chunks of ice buried in the snow made the journey from driveway to front door treacherous.
Evie answered the door almost before I could knock. The wide, wild look in her violet eyes and the deep scowl tugging at the corners of her mouth told me I was too late before she even opened her mouth.
“Meena Driggs just called,” she said, her tone ripe with accusation. “You can’t seriously be thinking of canceling the competition tonight just because Savannah has run off.”
“She’s missing, Evie.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?”
“You
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