No Small Caper by Cynthia Hickey

Author:Cynthia Hickey [Hickey, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781947523425
Publisher: Winged Publications
Published: 2019-05-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“I guess I’ll never see that camera again,” Amber said. “Good thing I was diligent about downloading the pictures from my vacation right away.”

“Jewelry is more important.” Mags, recovered from her poisoning, scowled. “All I have will be yours one day, you know.”

Amber patted her arm. “I am grateful, but don’t go dying anytime soon.”

“I have no control over that.” A smile teased at her lips.

“I’m so glad the two of you are getting along,” I said, closing my front door against eavesdroppers.

“Quite boring, actually.” Mags’s smile widened. “Now, what’s our next step?”

“Aren’t we going to wait for Eric?” Amber’s eyes widened. “Didn’t you say he’s with us now?”

“Yes, but he isn’t keen on the idea of laying a trap, and he said he’d be gone all day patrolling the furthest part of the national park.” I set the notepad of suspects on the coffee table and sidled to the sofa. “We’re pretty certain the thief is a resident of Heavenly Acres. The top suspects are Marcy Wilson, Lucy Flower or her daughter, Rose, and Linda Boyles. Any thoughts?”

“We go door-to-door with a petition,” Mags suggested. “Then one of us distracts while the other searches.”

“I like the petition thing, but these houses are too small to search unnoticed.” I tapped the pencil against my teeth. It wasn’t difficult to get the owner to agree to any purchases I needed, so what could we petition for? I asked the others.

“A fountain in the common area,” Mags said.

“Playground equipment,” Amber added.

“A new sign?” I suggested. All good ideas. “What if we ask which of these three the residents would prefer?”

“You’ve a good head on your shoulders, CJ.” Mags nodded. “We can’t all go knocking. Too suspicious.”

“I’ve work, so the two of you go.” Amber gave her grandmother a stern glance. “Don’t eat or drink anything.”

“We’ll go after dinner,” I said. “Everyone works during the day.”

“Good. I’ll take a nap so I’m chipper.” Mags stood. “Put that notebook somewhere safe, like the freezer.”

I gave her a jaunty salute and slid the pad into a baggie, then placed it under some frozen hamburger meat. After they left, I decided to take a slow drive through the community. The wheels of the cart crunched over the gravel path. Birds twittered from trees. The sun sparkled across the lake. Everything seemed as it should be, but evil lurked behind the beauty. Evil I intended to flush out.

No one stirred in any of the suspects’ houses, and I couldn’t see in any of the windows. Drat blinds that fit windows. My snooping would have to wait.

After a simple meal of a frozen microwave dinner, once the working residents had returned, I went to pick up Mags. She stepped out of her house in a pumpkin orange suit that looked like a throwback to the sixties. “I’m underdressed,” I said, glancing at my denim capris and pink tee shirt.

“Yes, you are. We’re on official business. Go change.” Mags pursed her lips together, smearing lipstick that matched her suit.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.