Trash & Treasures 09 - Antiques Swap by Allan Barbara

Author:Allan, Barbara [Allan, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Retail
ISBN: 9780758293053
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2015-03-06T05:00:00+00:00

A Trash ‘n’ Treasures Tip

Never buy a pet at a swap meet. In addition to the possibility of the animal carrying a disease, the sellers usually don’t have paperwork on the animal’s origin. A friend learned that the hard way when the puppy she thought was a Welsh Corgi grew into an Irish Wolfhound.

Chapter Eight

Attacking Lead

(Lead that instigates an active defense.)

Vivian here—(everybody sing!) back in the saddle again!

And before you ask, no, I don’t know why Brandy insists on breaking up my chapters by inserting one of her own in between, which completely discombobulates my forward momentum. (Isn’t that a wonderful word, discombobulate? ) Furthermore, it further chips away at my precious word count (editorially enforced) by the need to remind you, dear reader, where we were when last we were together.

As a matter of fact, I can’t remember where that was myself!

Oh, yes. I had just had a most interesting and informative lunch with the Romeos, where I was able to confirm persistent rumors that the Eight of Clubs was, in fact, not a bridge club but a . . . shall we say . . . swing set. (Clever, no?)

(Note from Brandy to Mother: Clever no.)

(Note from Mother to Brandy: Clever yes!)

(Note from Editor: Ladies . . . )

Even though the afternoon stretched out before me in seeming infinity, I had plenty of places to go, things to do, and people to see. Which meant I needed to get cracking and seek transportation.

And with my extensive lists of stops, I could hardly impose on Shawntea for so many trolley route deviations. That meant my only other option was the Cadillac. While I consider my lack of a driver’s license a mere technicality, normally I would have called upon Brandy for chauffeuring services. But since she had removed herself from the investigation, I felt justified in taking this liberty.

And the Caddy.

Unbeknownst to Brandy, I was carrying our extra set of car keys in my purse—she had hidden them from me (top kitchen cupboard—such a lack of imagination!) after catching me coming back from a midnight convenience-store run. What can I say, sometimes a girl has a chocolate-mint ice-cream Jones!

Anyhoo, quicker than Tinker to Evers to Chance (an ancient baseball reference for you really devoted Cubbies fans), I hoofed it over to our shop where the Caddy was parked out front at the curb.

But there I took pause.

What if the excitable girl noticed the vehicle was gone, assumed it stolen, and called the constabulary? The spoilsport authorities did not view my lack of a license as a technicality, and I would be in (as Nero Wolfe would say) a pickle!

I decided to write my ex-sleuthing partner a quick note on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the only thing I had in my purse was my favorite Elizabeth Arden lipstick, in her signature shade Red Door, and consequently in leaving my message, wore the stick down to the nub (thankfully I buy it in bulk).

Did you know that Miss Arden built her entire

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