Foul Play at the Fair Read Online Free PDF

and was gone. But a few moments later, maybe half a minute, a truck started up down the street and took off. It might have been coincidence but…” She shrugged.
    “I didn’t recognize it,” Fred said. “But it was dark—gray, green, maybe blue. Not sure, just that it was dark; these days I don’t see so good at night.”
    “Yeah,” agreed Bill. “We’re all getting that way.”
    “Middle age,” Fred said. “Though Dolly here says we’dhave to live to be over a hundred if this is middle age.” He smiled fondly at his wife. “And I hope we do.”
    “You’re embarrassing Ms. Montgomery.” Bill turned to Liv. “Anything else?”
    “That’s all. We came inside and Fred called you.”
    He clicked off the tape recorder and slipped it back in his pocket. “I’ll talk to the neighbors tomorrow. Maybe someone saw something, or can at least tell me whose truck it was.”
    Fred stood up. “Thanks, Bill. Sorry to call you out when you’re all banged up.”
    “Glad to do it. Ms. Montgomery, are you staying here tonight?”
    “No, I was on my way home. And please call me Liv.”
    “You’re welcome to stay here if you’re nervous about being in that carriage house alone.”
    “Thanks, Fred, but I’m from the city. I can take care of myself.” She could; she had the black belt to prove it, but she welcomed Bill’s offer to drive her home.
    He pulled all the way into the driveway of the old Victorian house and stopped in front of the carriage house Liv rented from the Zimmerman sisters, Edna and Ida, two retired schoolteachers who lived in the main house. Liv had fallen in love with the little cottage the first time she saw it. It had a cozy living room with a small fireplace, a separate bedroom, a tiny kitchen and bath, and was surrounded by trees and silence. It was close enough to the old Victorian for Liv to feel safe but not so close as to become a source of gossip. Not that she had anything to hide. Unfortunately.
    Tonight she was glad of the proximity, and though she declined Bill’s offer to search the premises, she let him walk her to the door.
    “Are you sure you don’t want me to take a look around?”
    “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. Plus I have Whiskey to protect me.”
    Bill twisted his neck to see her better. “Whiskey?”
    Liv smiled. “Yes. Can’t you hear him on the other side of the door?”
    Liv unlocked the door and was met with a bouncing, jumping, barking, white whirlwind.
    “This is Whiskey, my Westie terrier. Whiskey, meet Sheriff Gunnison.”
    Whiskey and Bill cocked their heads at each other. Sizing each other up as only two men could do, regardless of what species they were.
    “I’ll just wait here while you let him out for a minute.”
    Realizing he was being given a carte blanche, Whiskey scampered past them and disappeared into the shrubbery. He returned a few minutes later, looking satisfied and without any small animals to present to his mistress.
    “Good night, Bill. Thanks for seeing me home.”
    “Go inside.”
    She did and locked the door. Then she scooped up Whiskey and stood at the window until Bill drove away.
    “A Peeping Tom,” she said.
    Whiskey cocked his head and licked her face.
    “I know—not something you run into on the fifteenth floor of a Manhattan high-rise.” She pulled the curtain shut with one hand and carried Whiskey back to the bedroom.
    He squirmed out of her arms and headed for his doggie pillow.
    “Okay, but if a Peeping Tom comes to our window, I’ll expect you to protect me.”
    Whiskey yawned and settled down to sleep.
    Liv quickly brushed her teeth and hopped into bed, listening for sounds of footsteps outside her window; all she heard were the contented snores of an unworried pooch.
    “I hope you’re right,” she murmured, and snuggling into the comforter, she fell asleep.
    Saturday morning arrived, cold and crisp. Cars and trucks were juggling for space as people unloaded their wares and set up their booths and tents.