Death at a Discount (Susan Henshaw Book 13) by Valerie Wolzien

Author:Valerie Wolzien [Wolzien, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2020-02-01T22:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

Susan would have liked to kill the person who chose that moment to call and remind Brooke that she was going to be late for a hospital board meeting if she didn’t hurry. Susan worried that Brooke would regret her openness and it would be difficult—if not impossible—to regain that mood. But Brooke had offered one hint. If the Worths’ next-door neighbors knew things no one else did, well, then Susan should speak to whoever lived on the other side of them.

But who lived on the other side? Susan wondered, staring at the name on the mailbox before the other house. Newman. She knew a Newman family down at the Club, but she wasn’t sure where they lived.

She was still puzzling over how to knock on the door of this house and ask whoever was inside about their next-door neighbors when the problem solved itself. The front door opened and a young woman smiled and waved at her.

“Hi! Can I help you?”

“I … I hope so.” Susan started up the sidewalk toward the extraordinary creature standing in the open doorway. She was young and had short hair dyed a bright, unnatural red. The bright pink glasses perched on her freckled nose clashed with the fluorescent orange sweat suit she wore. She looked about fifteen years old, but upon closer examination, Susan decided that she should add at least ten years to her estimate.

“Do you want to come in?”

“Do you always open the house to complete strangers?”

“You’re not a stranger. You’re Mrs. Henshaw. You don’t recognize me, do you?” A huge grin told Susan that she found this fact more than a little amusing.

“I’m sorry, but …”

“Don’t worry about it. When you knew me I was a mousy brunette. Maybe you need a little hint: ‘Now run along home and jump into bed.’ ”

Susan wondered what sleeping had to do with anything.

“ ‘Say your prayers and cover your head.…’ ”

And then the words rang a bell. Susan had spent two long, long years as assistant scout leader for her daughter Chrissy’s troop many years ago. This woman was reciting the rhyme she had taught the girls to say at the end of each and every tedious meeting. “You were a Brownie?”

“I was the worst Brownie you ever saw. That’s what you said about me!” she added happily.

“I said that to a young girl …” Susan suddenly remembered. “Pixie?”

“You got it!”

“You’re Pixie Singer?”

“I was. I’m Pixie Newman now. I got married a couple of years ago—and moved back to Hancock. Come on in!”

Susan followed her through the arched double doors of the large clapboard Victorian home. But the well-decorated foyer she was expecting wasn’t there. Nor was the stairway with mahogany newel posts, or the polished wood floors, or the shiny chandelier hanging from a high ceiling. In fact, there wasn’t a foyer at all. The entire first floor of the house had been gutted, creating a space even more unusual than Pixie herself. The walls were curved, wood floors bleached, colored lights hidden in alcoves illuminated various architectural details.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.