The Avenger by Diana Whitney

Author:Diana Whitney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1995-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The next morning, Erica unlocked the shop at the usual time, which was about 9:45 a.m. As always, she left the blinds down and the Closed sign in place to prevent early birds from entering before the shop opened at eleven.

As she passed through the kitchen, she noticed that the salad pans were gleaming, the counter was shining like a new dime and the floor had been mopped within an inch of its life. Sara, it seemed, had outdone herself.

Smiling, Erica went into the tiny office and tucked her purse in the desk drawer. Everything was as she’d left it, including the open checkbook and pile of invoices waiting to be paid. They’d have to wait a few hours longer. There was a ton of work to be done to prepare the shop for its first customer of the day.

During the next half hour, Erica filled stainless steel containers with fresh sliced vegetables, prepared three batches of special potato salads—mayo, mustard and German—then turned the iced tea machine to brew cycle. She was in the process of tearing lettuce for the green salad when she noticed the time and realized that for the first time, Sara was late.

Initially, Erica chided herself for worrying. After all, it was only 10:15 and the poor woman had worked well beyond her scheduled hours last night.

By 10:30, Erica had convinced herself that Sara had probably missed her bus.

By 10:45, Erica had retrieved Sara’s employment application and was dialing her number, whereupon an automated voice replied that the phone was no longer in service.

It was at that point that the cold chill slid down her spine. Her gaze was drawn to the floor safe. In that instant, she intuitively knew that it would be empty.

And it was.

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