Plotted For Murder by ACF Bookens

Author:ACF Bookens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Andi Cumbo-Floyd

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The parade was a blast. People loved our float, and of course, Taco, Mayhem, and Pig-Pen stole the show. I gave out all my candy in the first ten minutes, but fortunately, Mart had planned ahead and stashed lots of hard candies around us. So we threw candy and waved, and the sign advertising the store at the back flapped in the wind the whole time. I saw a lot of faces I knew in the crowd, but there were far more visitors than residents, so by the time we parked back behind the shop, I was hopeful we’d have a good weekend of sales.

And if the crowd inside was any indication, it was going to be our best weekend yet. It didn’t hurt that we had the toddler-sized “First In Parade” Blue Ribbon now on display in the window.

Marcus was ringing up a huge purchase of what looked to be the Warrior Cats series for a young girl and her mother, and other customers were all around the store. He had things well in hand, but Rocky was swamped. I quickly dropped my tote behind the register and went to help her out by ringing sales. I couldn’t froth up a Snoopy, but I could count change.

As the parade crowd started to wander in, Mart took over at the register for Marcus so that he could help customers find books, and Daniel helped her bag purchases. Henri had to get back to her art studio at the co-op to give tours, but Bear hung around and helped stack books that got left around the shop. A few minutes later, Pickle came in, and soon he and Bear were escorting customers around the store and making them laugh at the same time.

When the crowd finally wound down a bit, I went to inspect the goodie bag tables out front and heard fits of laughter. I peeked around the corner into the parking lot and saw Woody, dust cloud ablazing, with a crowd around him like he was a magician at a child’s birthday party. “Who knew that my piles of lathe dust would be such a hit?” he said.

“Oh, that’s what that is. I wondered if you’d been gathering dust from our neighbors to have such a supply.”

He laughed and tossed another handful. “By the way, Cate has a surprise for you. She’s sending Lucas with it shortly, she said.”

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Do you know what the surprise is, sir?”

“I have delivered my message,” he looked at the crowd of children gathered around him, “but now if you’ll excuse me, my fan club awaits.” Another puff of dust went into the air as I turned to head back to the store.

I didn’t have to wait long to learn about Cate’s surprise. Within a few minutes, Lucas, Stephen, and Walter had appeared in front of the shop with the giant pumpkin behind them on a wagon. From my spot at the

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