Orange Thyme Death by Leena Clover

Author:Leena Clover [Clover, Leena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Anna was feeling upbeat the next morning. The dinner with Bobby had gone better than she expected. Cassie had behaved herself. Meg had been polite as usual. Anna had sensed a thaw in Cassie’s demeanor and wondered if she had Bobby to thank for it.

Cassie had left early to drop Bobby off at the airport in San Francisco. Planning to open the bookstore at 9 AM, Anna rushed through her coffee and breakfast. It had been a while since she spent time at the store and she was looking forward to it. She made avocado toast and set some aside for Cassie. She debated taking some of it to the store for Meg, then decided against it. Mary would make sure Meg had a hearty breakfast.

Meg was standing on the sidewalk under the magnolia tree when Anna cycled up. The pink and white blossoms scented the air with their lemony fragrance.

“You are here early.”

“It’s a minute past 9. I try to be punctual.”

Anna unlocked the door and went in with Meg. She went into the small pantry and started a pot of coffee.

“I always put the coffee on when I come in,” she told Meg. “I guess that will change once the café is up and running.”

“Do you have any chores for me?” Meg asked. “There’s not much to do. I have just been sitting behind the desk for the past couple of days.”

“I dust the shelves when I come in and tidy up. Set the newspapers out on that reading table over there. Then I tidy up every few hours. That’s pretty much it, other than ringing up people who make purchases.”

“That sounds easy. I think I can do all this and help you at the café.”

“We’ll see,” Anna said, fixing their coffee. “Do you take cream or sugar?”

“Lots of cream and four sugars, please.”

“I’m going next door for a while,” Anna said after she finished her coffee. “Will you be alright here?”

“Don’t worry about me, Anna. This is not my first job.”

Anna reminded herself to ask Meg about that sometime.

She went out and stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the sign on the store next to hers. Records Old and New had been there much before she opened Bayside Books. The owner Otto was an eccentric old man who hated Anna. It had started when Anna began to stock music CDs in her store. Otto felt she was encroaching on his territory. Anna argued that wasn’t true because he only sold vinyl. John had suggested a truce. Anna agreed not to sell any music in her store. Otto never forgave her though. He barely said hello to her when they ran into each other on the street.

“What are you doing here?” Otto growled when Anna entered his store.

Shoulder length hair, a flowing beard and moon shaped glasses sat on a tanned face with leathery skin. Otto was a diehard surfer who liked to ride the waves in his spare time.

“I’m good, thanks, Otto.”

“People are talking about you.

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