by Lynn Cahoon
“The Castle?” Amy tapped her fingers on the table, thinking. “Actually, Craig had an appointment with the mayor last week. I figured he was arguing for more advertising funding from the city. You know he thinks the only reason anyone comes to South Cove is to visit The Castle.”
I knew. All the business owners knew Craig Morgan’s opinion of them. In fact, Craig wasn’t shy about calling us bloodsucking parasites to our faces. Sure, visitors to The Castle brought in shoppers. But sometimes, the traffic happened to flow from the town to The Castle. God knows I’d sent my share of tourists to his door. And still he wanted the entire allotment of the chamber’s marketing money? He even refused to come to the Business Basics meetings because he was busy, running a real company. Like I wasn’t?
Well, I guess with Aunt Jackie and Toby working the floor, I wasn’t quite as busy as I’d been. But the shop was hopping. I’d filled my empty time finishing renovating the house I’d inherited from Miss Emily. Not to mention hours working with the historical commission on certifying the stone wall in the back of the property as the “real” South Cove mission site. If the certification ever came through, South Cove would have a second historic site to promote. Craig wasn’t happy about sharing the marketing money now. His reaction to sharing the budget with the mission site wouldn’t be pretty.
“You don’t think he’s working the historical commission against certifying the site, do you?” Fear gripped my stomach. If the commission even smelled a whiff of community discordance around the project, they’d back off the process.
“I wouldn’t put it past him. Ever since you shut down Eric’s development plans, the mayor hasn’t been too happy with you.” Amy scanned the packed diner. Most tables were still without food.
“I didn’t shut down Eric Ammond’s development. His lying, stealing, murdering girlfriend handled that on her own!” I couldn’t believe Amy was blaming me for the development shutting down. If I hadn’t found her, she’d still be surfing on a reclusive island off the coast of Mexico. Okay, well, she could blame me a little. Surfing would be more calming than trying to manage all the jobs she had going here in town. But still, you’d think she’d be a little grateful.
“Everyone knows the crazy ex-schoolteacher bombed the project. Except, His Honor The Mayor. Marvin still can’t say your name without spitting.” Amy nodded to Carrie on her way over with a tray. “Maybe we’re getting lucky.”
We were. Carrie dropped off food for us and the next table over. She stopped at the booth for a quick second. “Nick finally showed. He claimed his girlfriend needed a ride into the city, and he thought they’d be back long before his shift started.” Carrie leaned down and whispered, “You can bet what she wanted. She’s going to ruin his reputation. Mark my words.”
Amy watched Carrie walk away, then brightened as if she remembered something. “Oh, Esmeralda says to tell you hello. She wants you to come in for a reading.” Amy laughed. “She said she threw your cards or whatever mumbo jumbo.”
Esmeralda was South Cove’s fortune-teller and police dispatcher. If my house won the prize for being the oldest building in town, Esmeralda’s came in a quick second. The mayor loved her. As long as she kept foreseeing a great future for the man, he left her housing code issues alone. She’d done a quick read on me once in the mayor’s lobby. Now, the fortune-teller and I were best friends, not. “What did the cards say this time?”
Amy grinned. She pointed her French fry at me and said in a lowered imitation of Esmeralda’s voice so good, the words gave me goose bumps: “Death surrounds you again.”
eKENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Lynn Cahoon
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
eKensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
First Electronic Edition: April 2014
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3238-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-304-4
ISBN-10: 1-60183-304-0