Murder of a Bookstore Babe Read Online Free PDF

two spare rooms for a B and B.”
    “Uh-huh,” Skye encouraged.
    “Well, the construction guy came after the insurance man left. At first he seemed normal, but—”
    “Yeah,” Xenia interrupted. “Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.”
    Kayla snickered, then continued. “Anyway, this creep demanded payment in cash, or he’d make sure the rooms didn’t pass the building inspection.” Kayla chewed her lower lip. “Ms. Vaughn really schooled him. She threatened to call his union, and he got real uptight and harsh. What a loser.”
    “Boy!” Xenia exclaimed. “You sure had an exciting interview.”
    Kayla opened her mouth, but a honking horn interrupted her. They all looked in the direction of a black BMW SUV parked a couple spaces down. A muscular blond guy was waving in their direction. Xenia and Kayla waved back.
    It took Skye a second to place the young man, but then she recognized him as Chase Wren. As a senior, he’d played the prince in Scumble River High’s 2002 production of Sleeping Beauty . Although he’d been a hotshot baseball player, he hadn’t been one of the brightest bulbs on the scoreboard, which made her wonder what kind of job Chase had gotten that paid well enough for him to buy a thirty-five-thousand-dollar car.
    While Skye had been thinking, Kayla had climbed hastily out of the car, saying, “That’s my boyfriend. Gotta go. Bye.”
    “I’ll see you at Tales and Treats tomorrow,” Skye called after her.
    “Definitely.” Kayla waved, then added as she walked away, her ponytail swinging in time with her strides, “I just hope everything’s ready. It would kill Ms. Vaughn if something held up the grand opening.”

CHAPTER 4
    Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
    “A nd then she tried to make me sign a petition against Tales and Treats.” Skye sat on a bench in front of Bates Pharmacy. It was Saturday morning, and she and Trixie were supervising the school newspaper’s bake sale.
    “Is she out of her mind?” Trixie shrieked, jumping up and down in her seat as if she were a baby in a bouncy chair. The two students standing behind the folding table full of goodies glanced her way, and she lowered her voice. “Why would an English teacher want to close down a bookstore?”
    “Because she’s an idiot.” Skye watched her friend fidget. As well as cosponsoring the Scoop with Skye, Trixie was the high school librarian and coached the cheerleading squad. To say Trixie’s energy level made a hyperactive squirrel look sedate was an understatement. “She’s sure it will turn our kids into vampires and porn stars.”
    “Oh, my . . .” Trixie had just taken a drink of Mountain Dew, and it spewed into the air.
    “Yeah.” Skye grabbed a tissue from her purse and handed it to Trixie. “That was my reaction, too.”
    “What are we going to do about it?” Trixie gazed expectantly at Skye. “We won’t let her get away with it, right?”
    “Well, I didn’t sign her petition.”
    “Like that’ll stop Without-a-Clue Pru.” Trixie blotted the electric yellow liquid from her pale pink T-shirt. “You and I need to nip her scheme in the bud.”
    “What makes you think we can stop her?”
    “’Cause we’re smarter?”
    “Maybe,” Skye acknowledged. “But she’s as persistent as a smoker’s cough.”
    “Then we’ll have to find some way to persuade her it’s in her best interest to back off.” Trixie put her right hand over her heart. “As a librarian I’m sworn to oppose censorship of any kind.”
    “Really?” Skye raised a brow. “Did you have to take an oath in library school or something?”
    “Nope.” Trixie got to her feet and walked toward the bake sale table. “It’s implied.” Once she finished cajoling an older gentleman into buying a pie, two plates of cookies, and a tin of fudge, she returned to her seat. “So, what’s the plan?”
    “It’s your pledge. You figure out the plan.” Skye took the last sip of her Diet Coke and tossed the