Murder of a Bookstore Babe Read Online Free PDF Page A

hour ago.” Xenia grinned. “Now I can take my turn driving to school.”
    “Awesome.” The brunette vibrated with energy.
    Since it didn’t look as if Xenia planned to introduce her, Skye stuck out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Skye Denison.”
    “Actually, we’ve met.” The girl shook Skye’s hand. “I’m Kayla Hines. I graduated from Scumble River High in 2004.”
    “Sorry,” Skye apologized. “Which activity did we meet through?” She was pretty sure their encounter hadn’t been in her capacity as a school psychologist. She tended to remember those kids, at least their names if not all their faces.
    “You gave a talk on intelligence to my advanced English class.”
    “Oh.” Skye was glad to know Kayla had been part of a group and she hadn’t forgotten a student with whom she’d worked individually. “I hope I didn’t bore you to tears.”
    “No. It was the first time anyone explained that there are different kinds of intelligence.” Kayla’s smile was radiant. “It totally made me appreciate the artistic side of myself and helped me decide to become a filmmaker. Everyone was telling me I was so smart, I should be a doctor, but I knew when we had to dissect a cat in advanced biology that it wasn’t the career for me.”
    “I’m glad I helped.” Skye settled back in her seat. This was turning out to be a good day after all. “So you and Xenia are attending the same college in Chicago?”
    “It’s not a college,” Kayla corrected. “We’re both going to the Chicago School of Film and Photography.”
    Xenia added, “Kayla’s a second-year student and is studying moviemaking. She’s over-the-top talented.”
    “Xenia’s no slouch either.” Kayla hugged her friend. “This is her first year in the documentary program, and her teachers are already mega-impressed just from her portfolio.”
    “Wow. Maybe you’ll both become famous and put Scumble River on the map,” Skye enthused. “And you’re both living at home?”
    “Xenia is.” Kayla climbed into the backseat as she answered. “I’m sort of between gigs. Sometimes I stay at my mom and stepdad’s, sometimes I crash with my boyfriend, and sometimes I hang at Xenia’s place.”
    “Oh.” Before Skye could question why Kayla didn’t have a place to call home, their ice cream arrived, so instead she asked, “Do you want to order something, Kayla?”
    “No, thanks.” Kayla put her hand to her mouth. “I haven’t been too hungry lately. Nothing sounds good to me.”
    Skye noticed that the girl was a bit pale and hoped she wasn’t not eating because she thought she needed to lose weight. Which certainly was far from the truth.
    After the carhop left, Kayla said, “Oh, I kinda almost forgot. I have good news, too.”
    “What?” Xenia took a huge bite of her banana split.
    “I finally found a part-time job.”
    “Where?” Skye licked a rivulet of melted vanilla dripping down the side of her cone.
    “At Tales and Treats.” Kayla wiggled in her seat. “It works out perfectly since I don’t have to be in class every day.” She explained to Skye, “We do lots of work via computer.”
    “That’s great,” Skye agreed.
    “Ms. Vaughn said I can start tomorrow.” Kayla frowned. “That is, if they get the insurance and stuff straightened out.”
    “Oh?” Skye raised brow. “What’s the problem?”
    “The insurance guy told Ms. Vaughn that her policy was approved, but he stopped by this afternoon while she was interviewing me and told her that it was going to cost more than he originally said.”
    “Why?” Xenia asked.
    “Who knows?” Kayla shrugged. “They stepped into the back room to discuss it.”
    “I’m sure they’ll get that fixed up,” Skye reassured the girl.
    “Yeah.” Kayla nodded. “It’s the other guy I’m more worried about.”
    “What other guy?” Skye asked.
    “The one they hired to remodel the upstairs,” Kayla explained. “They’re going to live up there, you know, and use