Sifting Through Clues by Daryl Wood Gerber

Author:Daryl Wood Gerber [Gerber, Daryl Wood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery
Amazon: B07NQNFC45
Goodreads: 44030880
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Published: 2019-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Following a late morning onrush of customers—yes, we sold out of The Book Club Cookbook as well as every copy of Tastefully Small Finger Sandwiches: Easy Party Sandwiches for All Occasions—I needed a breather. Before I took a walk, however, I called Tina at home. She sounded horrible, like she was stuffed up from crying, though she swore she’d contracted a nasty cold. After she assured me that she was drinking tea and would call if she needed anything, even something as minor as one of Katie’s sunshine cookies, I set off.

Many of the customers who had flooded the Cookbook Nook earlier were roaming the boulevard. All appeared to be enjoying the mild weather and festivities. I noticed a few food trucks had situated themselves on side streets. On the road leading to Azure Park, one truck called Sweet Pea’s Tea Time caught my eye. A huge knot of people waited in line. I understood the lure. An entire “high tea” service stood in front of the truck. I imagined our local tea and coffee shops weren’t too happy with the truck’s presence, but it would be temporary.

Moving on, I browsed windows all the way to the north end of town. On the return loop, I neared the Crystal Cove Library tent. Darian, dressed in a cream-colored suit with sunglasses balanced atop her head, was listening to Hank tell a story. Animatedly, he whipped his cowboy hat against his thigh. Darian whinnied full throttle. As I ducked under the awning of the tent, I caught the tail end of the story as Hank promised that, no matter what, they would have a rollicking good time. Was he inviting Darian and her husband to a rodeo? A few local events were coming up in June.

“Hi, Jenna,” Darian said, catching sight of me.

“Hi, you two.”

“Say, which books are on your to-be-read list?” Darian gestured to a stack of what looked like library book rental cards; however, instead of date stamps along the left, each row held a space for the title of a book. On the right was a spot to enter the date the reader finished the book. Darian handed one to me. “I’m giving these to all my patrons. It’s yours to fill out. Consider it a wish list.”

“What a great idea.”

I flipped the card over. The front boasted a beautiful picture of the library with a view of the ocean beyond. In bold yellow letters were the words: Stop in for a New Adventure. I brandished the card. “Free swag is so important for promotion nowadays, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely. The library doesn’t have a large budget, but the mayor vowed that the more readers we lure in, the more she’d find a way to grow the funds.”

At the Cookbook Nook, we gave away bookmarks and kitchen magnets, but I pocketed the card thinking a wish list card would be a nice addition to our giveaways. Our customers could write down which cookbooks they coveted and give the card to a loved one who was on the hunt for a gift.

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