The Miss Fortune Series: Overdue (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Shari Hearn

Author:Shari Hearn [Hearn, Shari]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2016-01-11T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

I shared what I’d learned with Ida Belle and Gertie over a cup of coffee and slice of blackberry pie at Francine’s. We chose our favorite spot in the back. Private - no other diners around our table to overhear our planning. And we had a good view of the entrance. I always liked to know who was coming and going, something I doubt I’ll ever shake.

“Andy the mailman?” Ida Belle asked. “Is she sure that’s who Waddell was talking to?”

I sliced a forkful of pie. “That’s what she said. She wrote it all down when she got back from her dog walking.” The blackberry pie woke up my mouth. Why Ally hadn’t been snapped up by some fancy restaurant in New Orleans was beyond me.

“You realize Lila Rose is a little ‘off,’ don’t you?” Ida Belle said.

I nodded and recited what Gertie had told me. “She was one of Louisiana’s best-selling authors, but she lost her confidence after her last book was torn apart by reviewers and went a little nuts.”

“Torn apart is an understatement,” Ida Belle said. “Lila Rose put one of her main characters on life support. The reviewers hated it.”

Gertie nodded. “Up until that last installment, the PB&J Mysteries was one of my favorite book series.”

“She titled a book series after a sandwich?”

“No,” Ida Belle said. “It was about a crusty lady private eye, Poppy Boone, and her young protégé, Jelly.”

“Jelly was a little girl of three when she was dumped on Poppy’s porch with a note stuck to her sweater that said she liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.” Were Gertie’s eyes tearing up? “So Poppy took her in and called her Jelly.” She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Sorry, that part of the story always got to me. Anyway, in the last book, Jelly, who’s now an adult woman, is shot by the evil Flynn Binder, who accused her of killing his brother. She winds up in the hospital, under the care of crazy Nurse Vickie—she’s one of those angel-of-death kinda nurses. She injects poor Jelly with something to end her suffering.”

“So then the reviewers tore Lila Rose apart and she went crazy?”

Ida Belle nodded. “Apparently her publishing company was going through some kind of management change and the new gal in charge wanted to replace Jelly, who was kind of a tomboy, with a dumb blonde sexpot character. Lila Rose was under contract for one more book, so she had to go along with it. But her fans loved Jelly, and were furious she would kill her off. Her other book series still remain popular, but Lila Rose is no longer the darling of Louisiana. In fact, I heard she doesn’t even read books by Louisiana authors anymore because she can’t stand it that she’s not on top.”

Gertie sliced off a sliver of pie. “According to my hairdresser, who’s also Lila Rose’s hairdresser, she felt so guilty killing Jelly that she vowed never to write again.”

“Except she does,” I said.

The looks on their faces told me this came as a surprise.

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