Read Online One Cuppa Brew: Book 1 in The Thyme for Tea Series by J. Louise Powell - Free Book Online Page A

stop in and check on Bill West, the man who owns the pawn shop. He wanted to know if he was awake and could tell him more about what happened. When he got to the hospital, the same creep who had attacked him was actually in his room, trying to inject him with sodium Pentothal, but William stopped him and accidentally dosed the bad guy instead. The attacker sang after that, telling us all about Alice. She knew he was unemployed and had aspirations of being a fighter in Atlantic City from the time his mother had come to visit someone in Oyster Creek. She promised him a chance to fight at Sam’s casino if he got her the baseball cards. She told him he should kill Lois and Bill, once she found out they were injured, but luckily his conscience didn’t allow him to do so. Lois is already awake; they found out he was slipping something in her IV solution to keep her under. No harm done, except an extended rest. Bill is expected to make a full recovery as well.”
    Pastor looked at her son, “But you, I didn’t even recognize you. I almost doused you with a scalding pot of tea! If it hadn’t been for that nonsense about not wasting tea...”
    He looked at her sheepishly, “I thought you might realize it was me when I said that, or when I asked for that flavor.”
    “How could I? You look like some type of muscle-bound goon! Not my son! I just thought the young man had good manners and it wouldn’t make sense to hurt him unless I had to do so. Plus, it wouldn’t have helped with Alice.”
    “That was a quick assessment, Mom. I’m proud of how you were on your toes. Julie was pretty terrific too, wasn’t she?” he said, gesturing towards the woman across the room.
    “Yes, she was. Where ever did you learn to kick like that?” Pastor asked, standing up to grasp Julie in a tight hug. “You scared me when you came in here! I had just gotten rid of Pam and Joe, and then you were in the middle of the danger!”
    “Karate as a kid. Lois hated sports, but Dad wanted us to be able to fight if we needed to. I haven’t used it in years, but I have stayed in some shape, in yoga and Pilates classes since then.”
    Pastor looked around, “What about Sam Waters? How does he play into this?”
    Andy shrugged, “As far as we can tell, completely innocent. He was brought in by some agents in New Jersey and interviewed. He did recognize the Craigslist ad and say something to Alice about it, but unless she contradicts him, the idea to go for it was all hers. Since his ex also went after the cards, it seems he might just be the kind of man that women do stupid things for to impress him.”
    “Speaking of his ex, how did she know to impersonate my stepmother?” Julie asked.
    He shook his head, “That’s one thing we are hoping to learn from Alice. The best we can conclude is that she found out about the cards and was going to try to get them before Alice did. But it doesn’t connect all the dots. Unless she realized you, or someone who knew Lois, would come here, and she was planning to wait for you, so that she could steal the cards from you. But how she knew what happened to Lois, we don’t know. Nor do we know why exactly she happened to be outside William’s door. Our best guess is she realized he suspected something. Maybe she thought he had the cards.”
    Just then they heard the Kinks, and Pastor wondered with a sigh why she hadn’t locked the door and turned the sign when the police left. Joe came in, carrying a pistol, aiming it at Andy. “Get away from the women!”
    “Joe!” Pastor called out, stepping away from her son as she approached him. “What are you doing?”
    He looked at her, bewildered. “I got your note. Jason wasn’t available, so I’m saving you, aren’t I?”
    Pastor started to laugh as she took the gun from his hands. It was a deep hearty laugh, one she hadn’t been able to let loose for days. “Yes, Joe, you are. But this is my son Andy. I admit he looks a bit rough right now, but he already