Death Before Diamonds (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 10) Read Online Free PDF Page B

one hand and a can of spray
glitter in the other.
    “I found it!” Pearl cheered,
emerging through the black velvet curtains that covered the doorway to the back
of her store. “I thought we—”
    She stopped and smiled when she noticed
me walking toward Blanche. Despite the unexpected blackout and subsequent
scramble to find the fuse box, Pearl looked as flawless and elegant as always. Her
shoulder-length reddish-blonde hair was tied back and she was wearing a
lavender blouse over slim-cut black slacks. The Dublin-born beauty was around
fifty, with a vivacious personality, a zest for fashion and green eyes that
sparked with vigor.
    “Hey, Katie! You’ve got great
timing. Blanche and I just spent the last hour in the dark.”
    Blanche gave me a wink. “Twenty
minutes,” she whispered. “But who’s counting?”
    Pearl hurried over, both hands quivering
in the air and a look of deep concern on her face.
    “Are you okay, Mrs. Speltzer? Did
you burn yourself?”
    Blanche grinned. “I’m fine, doll.
That wasn’t my first blown fuse!” She paused and winked again. “The glue gun
didn’t even start to warm up, so we’re all good.”
    Pearl was visibly relieved. She
closed the space between them with a few final shuffle steps. Then she wrapped
her arms around the fragile, gray-haired local treasure and gave her a big kiss
on the cheek.
    “Whoa, whoa!” Blanche exclaimed.
“No PDA without mama’s permission!”
    Pearl giggled and stepped back.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said. “I had these terrible visions of
third-degree burns and ambulance sirens and law suits.”
    “Not this time, sweetheart,” Blanche
said, getting down from the stool. “Why don’t I go back there and give it
another try? I’ll let you know when I’m ready for the demonstration, okay?”
    Pearl walked over to the velvet
curtains and parted them for Blanche.
    “I’ll see you soon, Katie,” Blanche
called. “Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do!”
    As soon as she was through the
doorway, Pearl let the curtains close. Then she came over and gave me a welcoming
hug.
    “That was scary,” she said quietly.
“I had no idea that a glue gun could make the lights go out.”
    I nodded. “I’ve never used one, so
I wouldn’t know. The last craft project I did was in sixth grade.”
    Pearl smiled. “Oh, that’s cute.
What was it?”
    “I put plastic wrap over the toilet
seat in the teacher’s restroom,” I said, grinning with embarrassment. “It was
back when I was a wild child and the concept of law and order hadn’t quite
clicked in yet.”
    We shared a laugh and Pearl went
behind the counter.
    “It’s good to see you,” she said.
“Are you looking for anything special?”
    “I actually wanted to ask you about
some tights,” I said, reaching for my phone. “I heard that you received an
order recently, and I wanted to see if maybe you remembered selling a particular
pair.”
    I quickly found the email from Rex
Greer, opened the picture of his brother and showed the image to Pearl.
    “In the background there,” I said. “The
fuchsia tights. Do you know who bought them?”
    “Those aren’t simply tights, Katie,”
she said. “They’re Wunder Under Pants.”
    I grinned, repeated the name and
asked why the tights deserved such a fanciful moniker. “Oh, because they’re so wonderful !”
Pearl gushed. “They fit like a dream. They’re perfect for every body type.
And there’s a little hidden pocket in the waistband for your key.” She pointed
at a rack against the far wall. “They’re right over there. But if you had your
heart set on fuchsia, we only had two pairs and they’re both gone.”
    “Oh, drat the luck!” I joked,
lowering the phone. “Who beat me to them?”
    Pearl’s smile went flat. “What was
that?”
    “I was wondering if you remembered
who bought the fuchsia tights,” I said. “Er, I mean, the wonderful underwear pants
or whatever.”
    “Well, I think…” She