Killer Fiction: A small-town murder mystery with big secrets by Rosemary Willhide

Author:Rosemary Willhide [Willhide, Rosemary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: murder mystery, Crime Caper, Cozy Detective
Publisher: Small Town Mysteries
Published: 2021-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

A statuesque, curvy, young, blonde woman came bounding out to greet me. Her beaming smile complete with dimples put me at ease. It was as if I’d met her before.

“Hi! Can I help . . .” Her voice trailed off and her bright, blue eyes grew huge. “Oh . . . my . . . Oh, my God! You’re her . . . Hey, Vanessa! Come quick, Vanessa!”

“Hi . . . um yeah. I’m Caroline Carter.”

“Yeah, you are. You’re Caroline Carter in my freaking bookstore! Vanessa!” she yelled again. “Vanessa is going to die. She’s absolutely going to die.”

A drop-dead gorgeous, petite, Black woman emerged. She could seriously give Halle Berry a run for her money.

As she rushed toward us carrying a small stack of books, her glance met with mine.

Her mouth fell open and the books hit the floor. “Sweet Jesus! Am I seeing things? You’re . . . you’re . . .”

“Hi. I’m Caroline Carter. Can I help you pick up those books?”

Flustered, she bent down and gathered them up. “No. I got them. I’m in shock. What? And how?”

The tall, blonde woman grabbed the books from her frazzled friend and set them on a nearby table. “I told you she’s from Hope Ridge.”

“I thought you were making that up?”

“How did you know I’m from Hope Ridge?” I asked.

The blonde’s porcelain cheeks turned crimson. “Oh, uh. We’ve actually met before. I mean, like a million years ago. I’m uh . . . Whitney Brown.”

“You’re Will Brown’s little, baby sister?”

She yanked on her turquoise top, as if she was trying to stretch it. “Yeah. Not exactly so little anymore. And this is my partner in crime, Vanessa Paige.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a smile.

A nervous laugh escaped from Vanessa. “Oh, yeah. Nice to meet. . . You’re my favorite author. You’re like a thriller goddess. I want to be like you when I grow up. I’m not saying you’re like old . . . I just meant . . . Okay, I’ll shut up now.”

“No. It’s fine. Does this mean you’re a writer too?”

“Oh. I’ve written stuff. But I don’t think I’m very good.”

Whitney intervened, “She’s lying. Vanessa is a great writer.”

“Well, I’ll be in town for a while. I could take a look at something you’ve written and give you feedback if you want.”

Vanessa gasped. “For real? That’s so nice. Um, do you want some coffee or anything?”

“No, I was on my way to Mel’s, and I saw you were open, so I thought I’d pop in. I love your store. You two have created a beautiful, happy place. It’s like book heaven.”

Whitney gestured to an end cap in the center of the store. “We even have a Caroline Carter shrine. Look. It’s all your books.”

“We can barely keep them in the store,” Vanessa added. “These last two months it seems like everyone is on a Caroline Carter binge, especially the first three books in your Addison Kline series.”

When I surveyed the end cap, I wondered why the uptick in interest? Then, a queasy sensation filled my gut.

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