Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott

Author:Lauren Elliott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2019-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

“How did your car get here?” Serena pulled into her spot in the alley behind their shops.

“I have no idea.” Addie shrugged. “Last I checked it was still under three feet of snow in the police parking lot.” Addie stared in disbelief at her completely snow-free Mini Cooper.

“A guardian angel, maybe?”

“I guess so. I’d better see what Paige knows about it. Thanks for the lift.”

“Thanks for my morning coffee.” Serena raised her travel mug in a salute.

Addie opened the back door of her store greeted by the sounds of Christmas carols drifting from the front of the shop followed by a round of applause and cheers. “What’s going on?” She flung her coat across the desk and headed into the bookstore in time to see a group dressed in classic Dickens period costumes leaving.

Paige hurried toward her. “You just missed the town carolers. They were awesome.”

“That’s too bad. I could use a bit of Christmas cheer today.”

“But before I forget, Marc told me when he dropped off your car that you’ll have to get the door lock fixed. He said it broke when they opened it to hot-wire it so they could bring it here.”

“He broke into my car?” Her eyes flashed. “Why didn’t he just ask for the key? Better yet, just text and ask me to pick it up if they wanted it off the lot.”

She winced. “He wanted to surprise you.”

“Yeah, nice surprise,” Addie spouted, her voice holding a bite. “I returned your car, but it will cost you three hundred dollars.”

“He said for me to tell you that he’d pay for it.”

Addie’s cheeks warmed. “I guess in that case he’s off the hook, and I’ll appreciate the gesture.” She rounded a bookshelf and stopped, blinked, and blinked again. Were her eyes deceiving her, or was the white-haired, full-figured woman seated at the counter sipping a cup of coffee and reading actually Martha. She looked back at Paige, then back at Martha, and then back at Paige.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Paige whispered. “The furnace in the bakery is on the fritz, and she’s waiting for the repair guy to come.”

“Of course, I don’t mind,” she whispered back. “I just can’t believe that she’s really in my shop.”

Paige grinned. “It is a good start, isn’t it?”

“It sure is.” Addie straightened her shoulders and leisurely walked to the coffeemaker, dropped a pod in, and smiled at her unexpected guest. “Hello, Martha, I see you found something to read.”

Martha harrumphed and shoved the book across the counter.

“The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer.” Addie tapped her finger on the cover. “Now, there’s a real classic.”

Without looking up, Martha drummed the fingers of her left hand on the counter and sipped her coffee in her right.

“You know. A customer brought in a few more of those last week. I haven’t had the time to price them yet or get them on the shelves, but I do remember seeing The Joy of Cooking: Squares & Cookies and The Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies in there.

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