With Scream and Sugar: The Vampire Tea Room Magical Mysteries by Erin Johnson

Author:Erin Johnson [Johnson, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-09T16:00:00+00:00

13

Bookshop

I hurried through the dusky streets of Bath towards the By Book or By Crook bookstore. Although I was beginning to suspect that Amanda had been killed by accident, with the killer targeting Madison, I was still perplexed by the connection to the book. What about that Jane Austen book with its green gilded pages had caught Amanda's eye and prompted Julianne to slap her over it? And why had Amanda snuck out during the tea to call the bookstore? Had it just been a coincidence? Or had she been killed over the connection to the book?

The heels of my boots clicked along the cobblestones as I nearly jogged to make it to the bookstore before closing. I wound through the twisty streets, a light rain misting my cheeks and cars swishing down the streets, their headlamps casting golden beams through the fog. I found the little bookstore down a narrow alley, its wooden sign hanging from iron brackets above the door.

I ducked inside, grateful to find the door still unlocked and the interior warm and dry. A bell tinkled as the door swung shut behind me, and I stamped my feet on the welcome mat. Stuffed shelves overflowing with books crowded the tiny bookstore. The place smelled of dust and old pages, and I grinned as I looked around. I'd have to come back when I wasn't here on sleuthing business and do some browsing.

It looked as though they specialized in old and antique books, and I immediately found myself intrigued. The shelves rose high to the second story, with rolling ladders allowing access to the upper shelves. I skirted past a cart piled high with books with tattered covers and broken bindings, and stepped up to the checkout counter.

I drummed my fingers on the polished wood and rose on my toes to glance behind the counter. A middle-aged woman with long blond hair tumbling over her comfy-looking cardigan pushed through the curtain that led to the back. She stopped dead and started as she caught sight of me, fumbling to keep ahold of her armful of books.

“Sorry, I didn't hear you come in.” She shot me an apologetic smile. “Apologies, but we're actually closing.”

I glanced back at the door and the hours printed on it. I knew I'd snuck in just minutes before closing, but I hoped she'd help me out.

“No worries, I actually just wanted to ask you a few questions, if that's alright?”

She bit her lip, and her brows pinched together, and I knew she was about to turn me down.

I plastered on a bright smile. “It'll only take a minute—I promise.”

She sighed and dumped the books onto the counter beside me. “If it'll only take a minute….”

I nodded and laced my fingers together, resting them on the counter in front of me. “I just wanted to ask you about a particular book. I was just gifted it, and the bookmark inside was from your store.”

The woman wrapped her cardigan tighter around her and stepped closer. “What book was that?”

“It was a first edition of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

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