Read Online White Colander Crime by Victoria Hamilton - Free Book Online

it,” Jaymie said. “I’ve done it at home before.” She had done the ceilings of her home, but they were twelve foot, not the twenty-foot-high ceilings of the Emporium. She went inside. Valetta didn’t follow right away, so she assumed her friend was finishing her tea.
    Getting the ladder out of the back storage room was trickier than she thought it would be. She was trying to maneuver it when she felt it move on its own and yelped, looking up to find Cody Wainwright on the other end.
    â€œMr. Waterman sent me in to help,” he said, his gaze sliding away from hers.
    â€œI should have known Valetta wouldn’t let it go,” Jaymie grumbled, as Valetta scooted past her into her enclosed pharmacy.
    â€œI don’t want to see you dead, so shoot me,” Valetta said, then closed the door, going back to work as a customer came up to her counter.
    Jaymie explained what she was doing, and she and Cody worked in silence all the way around the Emporium, as Jaymie took a duster on a long handle around the ceiling, sending cobwebs drifting down to the floor. Jaymie was actually glad of the help. Cody was fairly intuitive and didn’t need a lot of direction. He was careful and proactive, too, making sure obstructions were out of her way as they moved the ladder around the store. When she was done, she and Cody folded the ladder and carried it back to the storeroom, the task made easier with another pair of hands.
    After, as they walked together to the front of the store, he lingered and shuffled his feet, picking up candy bars and putting them back, then tidying a plastic tub of child’s hair ornaments. Finally, he looked her in the eyes and said, “Look, I’m sorry about what happened between my mom and me, but it’s not what you think. I didn’t . . . I mean she . . .” He sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t hit her or anything. I would never do that.”
    Jaymie watched him. He was young, a good ten or more years younger than her, his face just beginning to thin out into the planes of manhood. He was good-looking but unkempt, with a shaggy mane of hair that looked like it hadn’t been combed or washed in a few days.
    â€œIt’s not for me to judge,” she finally said. “Your family is your business.”
    He nodded.
    â€œI know that my friend Jakob Müller has hired you. He’s a good guy, and he likes you.”
    â€œI love working with the Christmas trees, and I like helping folks cut them down. I’m going out there to work after I finish with Mr. Waterman.”
    The bells over the door chimed and Shelby Fretter entered and started down the baking aisle. Jaymie felt rather than saw Cody stiffen. She hoped he wouldn’t accost the girl, but he followed her down the aisle and grabbed her coat sleeve as she was reaching for a pound of shortening. Jaymie watched, holding her breath, as he said something and Shelby snatched her arm away.
    â€œLeave me alone, Cody Wainwright,” she said loudly, her voice echoing in the upper reaches of the Emporium.
    He stared at her in puzzlement.
    Her gaze slid over to Jaymie, then away, as she turned to face him. “I told you never to talk to me again, and I meant it. You leave me alone or I’ll have the cops on you so fast you’ll spin like a top.”
    His eyes wide, he stared at her then muttered, “You can’t treat me like this, Shelby! You can’t jerk me around and then expect me just to slink away like some dog you’ve kicked.”
    Jaymie decided she had better intervene. She was coming round the corner of the aisle when Shelby tumbled to the floor and screeched.
    â€œGet away from me!” she cried, hands raised to shield her face.
    â€œShelby, what’s—”
    â€œI said, get away from me!”
    He bent over and grabbed at her as she covered her face with her hands. Jaymie lunged forward and got hold of his arm.