Death of a Bean Counter by Sandra Balzo

Author:Sandra Balzo
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448303694
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2019-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

And we didn’t even have to wait for morning. When Sarah drove me back to Uncommon Grounds to pick up my car, the lights were still on.

‘You know if we go in there, we’ll have to help her close,’ Sarah said as we stood on the sidewalk watching Amy vacuum through the big plate glass window.

‘I hope she’s already counted the register and balanced,’ I said, starting up the stairs.

‘Me, too. I don’t know how Mary stands working with numbers all day.’

‘She doesn’t.’ I paused at the top of the steps. ‘She works with words all day at the library. Numbers are just on the side.’

‘For fun.’ Sarah made a face.

‘One man’s meat is another man’s poison, I guess.’ I swung open the door.

‘What?’ Sarah, following, raised her voice above the noise of the vacuum cleaner.

‘It’s a saying – Thomas Draxe, I think, or maybe—’

Amy shut off the vacuum. ‘You’re back! Could somebody count the till? I’d love to get out of here early.’

‘Got a date?’ Sarah asked.

‘That’s a little insensitive, even for you—’ I started to say and then saw that Amy had pinked up. ‘Oh, please. Don’t tell me you do have a date. With Jacque, no doubt.’

Full out red now. ‘We’re just having dinner.’

‘Do you think that being seen out with him is such a good idea?’ I asked.

‘Maggy has a point,’ Sarah said. ‘You just dumped the dead guy.’

‘Do you have to call Kip “the dead guy”?’ I scolded. ‘He was a friend of yours.’

‘Was being the operative word,’ Sarah said. ‘Besides, I’m just asking the same question you are: how it will look – two murder suspects together having dinner?’

‘Jacque is going to cook at my place,’ Amy said. ‘Besides, I’m not a suspect anymore and Jacque never was.’

‘Wrong and wrong again, Kemo Sabe.’ Sarah ran a finger over a table. ‘Missed a spot.’

Amy plucked a wet rag from the counter and swiped at the coffee ring. ‘There. And I don’t have the faintest idea who this Sobby is.’

We’d go into the Lone Ranger and Tonto at a later date. Or not. ‘I think Amy is right that she’s no longer a suspect.’ Unless, of course, she’d sneaked back into the house later. ‘But Jacque?’

‘Why? Just because he loves me?’ Amy said. ‘That’s not fair.’

‘It’s also not fair withholding information,’ Sarah said. ‘Tell her, Maggy.’

Amy swiveled back to me. ‘Tell me what?’

I swept my hand toward the now clean table. ‘Maybe we should sit down.’

‘Maybe you should just tell me.’

I was glad the rag in her hand wasn’t a gun. Even as it was, I could tell she wanted to snap it at me. ‘Mary saw Jacque there. Or at least Jacque’s car. Why didn’t you tell us?’

Now Amy did pull out a chair and sink into it. ‘I didn’t know. At least not at first.’

‘He told you?’

She nodded. ‘He’d followed us from the restaurant.’

‘Becky?’ Jacque’s employee from the store.

Amy nodded. ‘She texted and sent him the video, the busybody. She had to know it would cause problems.

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