DOUBLE MINT
Page 25
“You got it, Mrs. Cole.”
The cat mewled at me and swiped the fake grass around the base of the tree. No more crying. I was finally where it wanted me. I inched my hands along the shredded raffia sprayed green to imitate grass, the cat’s eyes on mine the whole time. It wanted me to help it dig in the grass. The cat begged me to help dig in the grass.
I felt my husband’s warmth beside me. “Davis?”
“Bradley. Check the tree. Look in the sock bed the cat built.”
He stayed beside me and said, “Baylor. Get up there and see what’s in the tree.”
“Here.” My fingers were past the grass. I passed Bradley a banded stack of one hundred dollar bills. Then another. Then another. Then four more, then ten more, the cat quietly mewling the whole time. The room grew silent as I continued to pass money to Bradley. I kept my eyes on the cat’s, and each time I pulled my arm away and held it out, my hand emptied a second later. I dug a money hole large enough for the cat to stick its head in, which it did, and cried. It raised its face and swatted at the hole, but it still couldn’t get to what it wanted. I climbed farther into the cast iron tub that surely held millions upon millions of dollars until I found what the cat had been looking for. I cradled it in my hands and brought it out as gently as I could. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The cat latched itself onto my arm and came out from the tree with me. The newborn kitten was solid white, with a dot of a pink nose and tiny pink eyelids. The cat crawled between my arms and cradled hands and began rubbing and warming the kitten with its smashed face.
From the sock bed above I heard, “Kittenths. Thwee kittenths.”
From the open door behind I heard, “Princess Puffle Paws! Princess Puffle Paws! It’s Daddy! It’s your daddy!”
(Princess Puffle Paws? Really?)
I rocked back and my husband’s strong arms caught me and eased me into a sitting position, money all around me, holding a mother cat in my lap and a baby kitten in my cupped hands. The room and everyone in it finally stilled. It was one of the most beautiful and peaceful moments I’ve ever known in my life. Until Bianca opened her mouth.
“David, you’ll be the face of my pregnancy.”
And how am I supposed to pull that off?
About the Author
Gretchen Archer is a Tennessee housewife who began writing when her daughters, seeking higher educations, ran off and left her. She lives on Lookout Mountain with her husband, son, and a Yorkie named Bently. Double Whammy, her first Davis Way Crime Caper, was a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist and hit the USA TODAY Bestsellers List. Double Mint is the fourth Davis Way crime caper. You can visit her at www.gretchenarcher.com.
About Bently
Bently Yarnell is a Lookout Mountain Yorkshire Terrier. He loves barking, sleeping late, and going bye-bye. He’s a graduate of Woof Woof Obedience School and his favorite treat is Beggin’ Littles.
In Case You Missed the 1st Book in the Series
DOUBLE WHAMMY
Gretchen Archer
A Davis Way Crime Caper (#1)
Davis Way thinks she’s hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth and it does not set her free—in fact, it lands her in the pokey.
Buried under a mistaken identity, unable to seek help from her family, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord Bradley Cole steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high stakes game before her luck runs out.
Read all about it and/or grab the book for your Nook
CLICK FOR DOUBLE WHAMMY
Don’t Miss the 2nd Book in the Series
DOUBLE DIP
Gretchen Archer
A Davis Way Crime Caper (#2)
Davis Way’s beginner’s luck may have run out. Her professional life is dicey and she’s on a losing streak at home. She can’t find her gun, her evil twin’s personal assistant has disappeared, Bellissimo’s Master of Ceremonies won’t leave her alone, and her boyfriend Bradley Cole thinks three’s a crowd.
Meanwhile, she’s following a slot tournament trail that leads to Beehive, Alabama, where the So Help Me God Pentecostal Church is swallowing up Bellissimo’s high rollers. The worst? Davis doesn’t feel so hot. It could be the banana pudding, but it might be the pending pitter patter of little feet.
DOUBLE DIP is a reckless ride in the fast lane, and Davis Way can’t find the brakes.
Read all about it and/or grab the book for your Nook
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Don’t Miss the 3rd Book in the Series
DOUBLE STRIKE
Gretchen Archer
A Davis Way Crime Caper (#3)
Bellissimo Resort and Casino Super Spy Davis Way knows three things: Cooking isn’t a prerequisite for a happy marriage, don’t trust men who look like David Hasselhoff, and money doesn’t grow on Christmas trees. None of which help when a storm hits the Gulf a week before the Bellissimo’s Strike It Rich Sweepstakes. Securing the guests, staff, and property might take a stray bullet. Or two.
Bellissimo Resort and Casino Super Spy Davis Way has three problems: She’s desperate to change her marital status, her new boss speaks in hashtags, and Bianca Sanders has confiscated her clothes. All of which bring on a headache hot enough to spark a fire. Solving her problems means stealing a car. From a dingbat lawyer.
Bellissimo Resort and Casino Super Spy Davis Way has three goals: Keep the Sanders family out of prison, regain her footing in her relationship, and find the genius who wrote the software for futureGaming. One of which, the manhunt one, is iffy. Because when Alabama hides someone, they hide them good.
DOUBLE STRIKE. A VIP invitation to an extraordinary high-stakes gaming event, as thieves, feds, dance instructors, shady bankers, kidnappers, and gold waiters go all in. #Don’tMissIt.
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Henery Press Mystery Books
And finally, before you go...
Here are a few other mysteries
you might enjoy:
PILLOW STALK
Diane Vallere
A Madison Night Mystery (#1)
Interior Decorator Madison Night might look like a throwback to the sixties, but as business owner and landlord, she proves that independent women can have it all. But when a killer targets women dressed in her signature style—estate sale vintage to play up her resemblance to fave actress Doris Day—what makes her unique might make her dead.
The local detective connects the new crime to a twenty-year old cold case, and Madison’s long-trusted contractor emerges as the leading suspect. As the body count piles up, Madison uncovers a Soviet spy, a campaign to destroy all Doris Day movies, and six minutes of film that will change her life forever.
Read all about it and/or grab the book for your Nook
CLICK FOR PILLOW STALK
THE DEEP END
Julie Mulhern
A Country Club Murders Mystery
Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.
It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating
husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.
As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?
Read all about it and/or grab the book for your Nook
CLICK FOR THE DEEP END
DINERS, DIVES & DEAD ENDS
Terri L. Austin
A Rose Strickland Mystery (#1)
As a struggling waitress and part-time college student, Rose Strickland’s life is stalled in the slow lane. But when her close friend, Axton, disappears, Rose suddenly finds herself serving up more than hot coffee and flapjacks. Now she’s hashing it out with sexy bad guys and scrambling to find clues in a race to save Axton before his time runs out.
With her anime-loving bestie, her septuagenarian boss, and a pair of IT wise men along for the ride, Rose discovers political corruption, illegal gambling, and shady corporations. She’s gone from zero to sixty and quickly learns when you’re speeding down the fast lane, it’s easy to crash and burn.
Read all about it and/or grab the book for your Nook
CLICK FOR DINERS, DIVES & DEAD ENDS
GIRL MEETS CLASS
Karin Gillespie
(from the Henery Press Chick Lit Collection)
The unspooling of Toni Lee Wells’ Tiffany and Wild Turkey lifestyle begins with a trip to the Luckett County Jail drunk tank. An earlier wrist injury sidelined her pro tennis career, and now she’s trading her tennis whites for wild nights roaming the streets of Rose Hill, Georgia.
Her wealthy family finally gets fed up with her shenanigans. They cut off her monthly allowance but also make her a sweetheart deal: Get a job, keep it for a year, and you’ll receive an early inheritance. Act the fool or get fired, and you’ll lose it for good.
Toni Lee signs up for a fast-track Teacher Corps program. She hopes for an easy teaching gig, but ends up assigned to Harriet Hall, a high school that churns out more thugs than scholars.
What’s a spoiled Southern belle to do when confronted with a bunch of street smart students who are determined to make her life as difficult as possible? Luckily, Carl, a handsome colleague, is willing to help her negotiate the rough teaching waters and keep her bed warm at night. But when Toni Lee gets involved with some dark dealings in the school system, she fears she might lose her new beau as well as her inheritance.
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CLICK FOR GIRL MEETS CLASS
FINDING SKY
Susan O’Brien
A Nicki Valentine Mystery
Suburban widow and P.I. in training Nicki Valentine can barely keep track of her two kids, never mind anyone else. But when her best friend’s adoption plan is jeopardized by the young birth mother’s disappearance, Nicki is persuaded to help. Nearly everyone else believes the teenager ran away, but Nicki trusts her BFF’s judgment, and the feeling is mutual.
The case leads where few moms go (teen parties, gang shootings) and places they can’t avoid (preschool parties, OB-GYNs’ offices). Nicki has everything to lose and much to gain — including the attention of her unnervingly hot P.I. instructor. Thankfully, Nicki is armed with her pesky conscience, occasional babysitters, a fully stocked minivan, and nature’s best defense system: women’s intuition.
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CLICK FOR FINDING SKY
ON THE ROAD WITH DEL & LOUISE
Art Taylor
A Novel in Short Stories
Del’s a small time crook with a moral conscience—robbing convenience stores only for tuition and academic expenses. Brash and sassy Louise goes from being a holdup victim to Del’s lover and accomplice. All they want is a fresh start, an honest life, and a chance to build a family together, but fate conspires to put ever-steeper challenges in their path—and escalating temptations, too.
A real estate scam in recession-blighted Southern California. A wine heist in Napa Valley. A Vegas wedding chapel holdup. A kidnapping in an oil-rich North Dakota boomtown. Can Del and Louise stay on the right side of the law? On one another’s good side? And when they head back to Louise’s hometown in North Carolina, what new trouble will prove the biggest: Louise’s nagging mama or a hidden adversary seemingly intent on tearing the couple apart? Or could those be one and the same?
From screwball comedy to domestic drama, and from caper tale to traditional whodunit, these six stories offer suspense with a side of romance—and a little something for all tastes.
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CLICK FOR ON THE ROAD WITH DEL & LOUISE