Phantoms and Phonographs (A Traveling Town Mystery, Book 4) by Ami Diane

Author:Ami Diane [Diane, Ami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-16T16:00:00+00:00

It was nearing 3:00, after an unusually long string of customers, before the diner fell empty, save for a single customer hunkered down at the lunch counter, tearing his teeth into a Gut Buster burger.

Ella, Wink, and Flo huddled in the corner booth, far out of earshot. Aged, yellowed paper lay on the table, the corners furling up. After weighing the perimeter of the paper with salt and pepper shakers, a napkin holder, and a bottle of ketchup, Ella stared at the building schematics for the Community Services Office.

She glanced up.“How did you get these again?”

“Robert Foresythe,” Flo said, studying the two-dimensional representation. “He’s a sucker for a pretty face.”

“Pretty face? Whose picture did you show him?” Grinning, Ella held up her hand for Wink to give her a high five.

Her boss did nothing more than stare at the outstretched palm before returning her attention to the layout on the table. Ella’s hand lingered, but eventually, she dropped it with a sigh, muttering, “One day.”

Beside her, Flo sat against the wall. When they’d sat, Ella had scooted her in before the old woman could protest. The last time Flo had sat on the outside during one of their meetings, she’d gotten up to use the bathroom five times, blaming old age, but Ella had discovered her in the kitchen, filling sugar dispensers with salt.

“Where in the building are the requisition forms?” Ella asked. “Anyone know?”

Wink pointed, her finger landing in a room in the back on the first floor. “Stew says whenever he drops them off, Miss Johnson goes back here, and he hears her open a filing cabinet.”

“And Miss Johnson is the secretary, right?”

Wink nodded.

“She’s an ol’ Nosey Nellie,” Flo said. “And hips out to here.” Her hands rose out from her sides to indicate the woman’s girth, no easy feat considering that the wall was in her way.

“First of all,” Ella said, shoving her friend’s hands down, “that’s not pertinent. And second of all, you’re one to talk. On both accounts of nosiness and… shall we call it ‘fluff’?”

Flo gave her the bird, and they exchanged insults while Wink got up, poured each of them a coffee, then portioned out three generous slices of apple crumb pie. She divvied out the goods which drew a stop to Ella and Flo’s bickering.

“So,” Ella said around a bite, “the forms are on the first floor. How do we get in? I’m assuming the door gets locked at night?”

Wink nodded. “Miss Johnson closes promptly at 5:15 p.m. every weekday.”

“How do you know that?” Ella asked.

“We go to the same art class, and she always shows up fifteen minutes late. I overheard her telling Gerdie why once.”

“Interesting, so—wait. Keystone has art classes? How did I not know about this? I love art. Can I join?”

Flo snorted. “I’d hardly call what they make ‘art’, and I certainly wouldn’t call them classes. Just a bunch of wacky drunks with an excuse to gossip and drink cocktails.”

There was a noise of shuffling as both Ella and Wink swiveled their heads to stare at Flo.

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.