All That Sparkles by Diane Bator

Author:Diane Bator
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: detective novel, small town mystery, mystery and romance, cozy coastal town mystery, suspense with female sleuth, vintage clothing store mystery
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.

Chapter Thirteen

I sipped from a large cup of English Breakfast tea while I gazed around the room. In my mind’s eye, I visualized where we’d use the paint colors Sammy picked out. Blue on the walls. Greyish-brown on the counters and shelving. A crisp coat of white for the veranda and wicker furniture. A pale yellow similar to the tea house siding for the peeling wood furniture inside.

All we needed was to make a list of supplies Gill would need to freshen up the place.

The man in black strode through the front door and derailed my train of thought. Derailed was a bad choice of words. More like sent my happy plans careening into an overgrown ravine of suspicion. He carried his trench coat draped over one arm and seemed much less menacing wearing a light grey suit with a purple dress shirt and silvery tie. While his hair was lightly salted with grey, his face was smooth and unlined, like he rarely ventured out of doors.

“Hi.” I forced a smile. “What can I get for you, sir?”

“It’s Bryan, actually.” He flinched. “You seem very businesslike today. To what do I owe the brusqueness?”

I rubbed my face with one hand. “Sorry. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I have a puppy that insists on eating clothing and blankets rather than his usual diet.”

“At least he’s getting his fiber.” Bryan chuckled.

“That’s what I keep saying. Anyway, Gill’s not here,” I said before he could ask. In fact, Gill left for the bank only a couple minutes earlier.

“Yeah, I saw him leave.” He sat at a table nearest the counter and narrowed his eyes to study me. “You know, I feel like I know you from somewhere.”

“Probably from the past few days when you’ve come in looking for Gill. I’m sorry. I keep passing along your message, but he’s a busy man.”

Bryan shook his head. “No. From somewhere else. What’s your name again?”

The tabloids most likely. I frowned. “I’m Laken.”

“Have you been to Seattle recently?”

“No.” Although I’d been there dozens of times lately for shopping with Sage and my mom, lying to this man was easy. The less he knew about me, the better. “Not recently. I thought you were from Portland.”

“Technically, I live in Seattle, but I’m on the road a lot for work.” His expression softened. “I guess you’ll have to come visit sometime. I could take you sightseeing. You’d love the view from the Space Needle.”

I’d been there and done that. In fact, Emery and I took a trip to the top of the Space Needle once. Only once. Long enough to capture a single, obligatory photo before he threw up. My ex was deathly afraid of heights and would only open his eyes to ham it up for the camera the instant his bodyguard yelled, “Say cheese.” After that, we shoved him back into the elevator and back to ground level.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You went a bit pale for a second there.”

“I’m fine.” I placed both hands flat on the counter.

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