Read Online Euphoria Lane by Tina Swayzee McCright - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tina Swayzee McCright
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oven and then mixed food coloring into white icing until she created the perfect ghastly black. Meanwhile, the aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies cooling on small wire racks wafted through the small kitchen.
She placed several bat-shaped cookies on a spin plate to decorate. Since receiving her first violation letter from the HOA, she had been more angry than at any other time in her life. Thinking of Harry had prompted her to sort through her box of Halloween cookie cutters even though it was only March.
Spreading black icing over a blood-sucking creature seemed appropriate for her mood. She made a mental note to drip red icing near the bat’s mouth.
The doorbell rang, interrupting her work and her thoughts.
“Coming!” She licked icing off her finger on the way to the door and then peered through the peephole. Not that she expected the murderer to come calling like a salesman in disguise, but you could never be too sure. She spotted a head full of bouncing blonde curls.
“Meg!” Andi said, turning the knob.
“Come on, time’s a-wasting.” Meg pulled her out through the open door. “I just e-mailed Luke the pictures of Valerie and Harry breaking the rules. We need to get to work—before the other members of the board hear we’ve declared war.”
“Where are we going?”
“To take more pictures, of course. Helen’s washing her car.” The perky nurse held up a digital camera, then skirted off, gesturing for her to follow.
Andi rushed to keep up. “How do you know these things?”
“I followed the water trail.” Meg took two steps, then stopped in her tracks. “Down!”
She yanked on Andi’s arm, causing them both to fall on their knees behind a bush.
Meg held an index finger to her lips. “Shh.”
Andi lifted her head to peek through an opening in the fuchsia-colored petals of a bougainvillea. Harry and Valerie stood in front of a condo down the street. Those two together meant trouble. Andi hunkered down. The petals that had fallen to the ground felt like silk touching her hand. Carelessly, she pushed aside a branch to get a better look at the diabolical duo. The thorns from the branch bit into her skin.
“I see he lived through the accident,” Andi stated as she rubbed at the reddish marks on her wrist.
“According to the Water Guppies, he was released from the hospital this morning.” Meg sounded as irritated as she felt.
Harry carried a camera with a telephoto lens, and Valerie followed him with her clipboard.
“Meg, his camera is bigger than yours.”
“He’s compensating for his—”
“Lack of hair.”
“Okay.” Meg giggled. “His hair.”
“Are they documenting violations?”
“That’s what they call it, but I know better,” Meg whispered. “They’re taking advantage of the opportunity to flirt and talk dirty.”
Harry aimed his camera at a sedan parked an inch off a driveway, on a border of gravel. The rules stipulated parking on paved surfaces, not on the grass or gravel in the common areas. While Valerie wrote on her clipboard, he glanced about, as if making sure they were alone. He then looked down at whatever she’d written and rubbed her arm.
“Y-u-ck,” Andi moaned. “I wouldn’t want that man touching me.”
“Even thinking about it creates a nausea no antacid could ever cure.” The nurse shifted her weight onto her other knee. “I wonder if Valerie’s husband would be interested in how dedicated she is to her volunteer work.”
“Volunteer work? You make it sound like she’s saving the planet.”
“She’s saving herself from a middle-class lifestyle,” Meg announced. “They say charity begins at home.”
The two board members strolled casually around the corner.
Andi dashed to the safety of the closest building, keeping them in sight. Her heart pounded with excitement. “I think I’m getting the hang of this spy stuff,” she whispered, then hummed the theme music to Mission: Impossible . “Da, daaa da da . . .”
“Da da
She placed several bat-shaped cookies on a spin plate to decorate. Since receiving her first violation letter from the HOA, she had been more angry than at any other time in her life. Thinking of Harry had prompted her to sort through her box of Halloween cookie cutters even though it was only March.
Spreading black icing over a blood-sucking creature seemed appropriate for her mood. She made a mental note to drip red icing near the bat’s mouth.
The doorbell rang, interrupting her work and her thoughts.
“Coming!” She licked icing off her finger on the way to the door and then peered through the peephole. Not that she expected the murderer to come calling like a salesman in disguise, but you could never be too sure. She spotted a head full of bouncing blonde curls.
“Meg!” Andi said, turning the knob.
“Come on, time’s a-wasting.” Meg pulled her out through the open door. “I just e-mailed Luke the pictures of Valerie and Harry breaking the rules. We need to get to work—before the other members of the board hear we’ve declared war.”
“Where are we going?”
“To take more pictures, of course. Helen’s washing her car.” The perky nurse held up a digital camera, then skirted off, gesturing for her to follow.
Andi rushed to keep up. “How do you know these things?”
“I followed the water trail.” Meg took two steps, then stopped in her tracks. “Down!”
She yanked on Andi’s arm, causing them both to fall on their knees behind a bush.
Meg held an index finger to her lips. “Shh.”
Andi lifted her head to peek through an opening in the fuchsia-colored petals of a bougainvillea. Harry and Valerie stood in front of a condo down the street. Those two together meant trouble. Andi hunkered down. The petals that had fallen to the ground felt like silk touching her hand. Carelessly, she pushed aside a branch to get a better look at the diabolical duo. The thorns from the branch bit into her skin.
“I see he lived through the accident,” Andi stated as she rubbed at the reddish marks on her wrist.
“According to the Water Guppies, he was released from the hospital this morning.” Meg sounded as irritated as she felt.
Harry carried a camera with a telephoto lens, and Valerie followed him with her clipboard.
“Meg, his camera is bigger than yours.”
“He’s compensating for his—”
“Lack of hair.”
“Okay.” Meg giggled. “His hair.”
“Are they documenting violations?”
“That’s what they call it, but I know better,” Meg whispered. “They’re taking advantage of the opportunity to flirt and talk dirty.”
Harry aimed his camera at a sedan parked an inch off a driveway, on a border of gravel. The rules stipulated parking on paved surfaces, not on the grass or gravel in the common areas. While Valerie wrote on her clipboard, he glanced about, as if making sure they were alone. He then looked down at whatever she’d written and rubbed her arm.
“Y-u-ck,” Andi moaned. “I wouldn’t want that man touching me.”
“Even thinking about it creates a nausea no antacid could ever cure.” The nurse shifted her weight onto her other knee. “I wonder if Valerie’s husband would be interested in how dedicated she is to her volunteer work.”
“Volunteer work? You make it sound like she’s saving the planet.”
“She’s saving herself from a middle-class lifestyle,” Meg announced. “They say charity begins at home.”
The two board members strolled casually around the corner.
Andi dashed to the safety of the closest building, keeping them in sight. Her heart pounded with excitement. “I think I’m getting the hang of this spy stuff,” she whispered, then hummed the theme music to Mission: Impossible . “Da, daaa da da . . .”
“Da da
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