Murder by the Book (Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #1) by Lauren Elliott

Author:Lauren Elliott [Elliott, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781496720221
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-10-30T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was past nine and still no sign of Paige. She’d been asked to arrive fifteen minutes early so she could be shown the opening routine. As the minutes ticked by, Addie resigned herself to the fact that the “Help Wanted” sign would have to be posted in the window again. She hadn’t seen this coming and had thought at least one of her problems had been resolved.

How she could have been so wrong about someone? What if her other instincts were off, too, and none of what was happening was connected, even though her gut told her it was? What would Marc and Serena think of her if she had been completely wrong about everything? Perhaps it was just as the Boston police had told her about David’s murder and these were all crimes of opportunity, not linked to anything else.

Addie retrieved the sign from the storage room and took it back up to the window. When she leaned into the bay window, she caught sight of Paige, who appeared to be having a heated discussion with Martha. Paige’s arms flailed about her, and Martha stabbed her finger into Paige’s chest, sending her tripping backward. Addie dropped the sign and rushed to the door.

It flung open before she could grab the handle, propelling her backward into the end of a bookshelf. The hanging sale rack crashed to the floor, and the books toppled onto her head.

“Oh, no,” cried Paige. “I’m . . . I’m sorry.” She leaned over to help Addie to her feet. “Are you okay?”

Addie took her outstretched hand and managed to stand up. She winced when pain shot through her butt cheek from landing hard on one of the rack’s metal shelf edges, but she stretched her back and dusted off her slacks. She glanced at the undamaged rack behind her and returned her gaze to the sniveling girl hovering in the doorway, her eyes wide with fear.

Addie laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I learned an important risk management lesson for the work site: don’t place sale displays by the front door.”

Paige’s wild eyes darted from Addie’s smiling face to the books strewn over the floor. “You’re okay with this? I’m not fired?”

“Of course not; like I said, it’s taught me an important merchandising lesson. Come on, let’s get you freshened up and ready for your first workday.”

Confusion crossed Paige’s face as she strode toward the back with Addie.

“There’s a lot for you to learn, as I expect I’ll be called away from the store from time to time, and I’ll need you to be able to take charge when I am.”

Paige’s brow furrowed, and she looked back at the shelf on the floor and then, again, at Addie. “I don’t get it. First I’m late. Then I almost kill you. And you’re not upset?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it—unless, of course, it was all intentional?” She raised her brow and glanced at her.

Paige vigorously shook her head.

“Then there’s no problem. Life happens.” She shrugged and pointed her toward the small washroom in the back of the storage area.

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