Read Online Sweet Revenge by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page A

can’t believe how hard she made my life the whole time I was going out with him.” She shook her head. “Mothers. I swear, there’s no way to keep them happy.”
    George had been munching on her roast beef sandwich while she listened. Now she asked, “But your mother doesn’t dislike Brock anymore, does she?”
    â€œNo. She wasn’t crazy about having him come for the festival, but at least she didn’t throw a fit about it. I mean, it’s good publicity for the inn and for her new line of chocolates. Or it was. They’re certainly getting bad publicity now,” Samantha added bitterly. Then she glanced ather watch. “I’ve really got to get back to work,” she said regretfully. “We’re setting up a chocolate fondue demonstration, and I have to go track down some chairs. Thanks for keeping me company.”
    The three girls left the office at the same time, but Nancy was careful to head in the opposite direction from Samantha. “Hmm,” she said to George when they were far enough away. “So Mrs. Tagley doesn’t like Brock. It fits, in a way. She seemed happy when he was talking about leaving. Now I just have to find out why.”
    â€œWhy don’t you ask her?” suggested George.
    â€œGood idea,” said Nancy. “She’s going to be giving chocolate classes all afternoon, though—I checked the schedule. So let’s talk to some of the employees first. I remember Jake saying that some of them have been here even longer than Mrs. Tagley has.”
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    â€œI can’t discuss my boss,” the gray-haired gardener explained gruffly. “That would be unprofessional.”
    As the older man turned back to clipping the azalea bushes by the front entrance, Nancy looked at George and shrugged.
    â€œThat’s the fourth person we’ve tried,” George said as they stepped out of the heat and back into the cool lobby. “It doesn’t seem like any of the old-timers want to talk to us.”
    Nancy tucked her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “That’s for sure. ‘In a close-knit place like this,’ ” Nancy went on, mimicking the gravellyvoice of one of the older chefs, “ ‘you never know what’s going to get back to people.’ ”
    George laughed at Nancy’s imitation. Nancy sighed and said, “I’m starting to think we’ve wasted the whole afternoon.”
    â€œWhat about trying the person in charge of room service, or whatever they call it here?” George suggested. “We haven’t been there yet.”
    â€œGood idea.” Nancy smiled as she added, “You know, I think this will be the first time I’ve ever seen anyone who works in room service. I’ve always just thought of those people as voices on the phone before.”
    The woman they met in the small basement service kitchen was a lot more than a voice on the phone. She was a wiry woman named Mrs. Reames, with curly gray hair and glasses. She seemed to be in her seventies and was very happy to get the chance to talk—a lot—to Nancy and George.
    â€œI spend all day listening to people order hamburgers,” she said, once Nancy explained why they were there. “It would be a pleasure to get to talk for once. I’ve seen this place go through a lot of changes. Oh, they’ve tried to retire me a couple of times, but I tell them I’m not leaving until they drag me out. So what if I get the orders mixed up once in a while? It’s not as if—”
    â€œI bet you have some fascinating stories to tell about the old days,” Nancy said quickly. She hated to interrupt, but she didn’t want to spend all afternoon listening to stories about mixed-uporders. “You must have been here for nearly as long as Mrs. Tagley—is that right?”
    â€œLonger! I was here before she and her first