Murder on Consignment Read Online Free PDF Page B

Binges . The article suggested posting verbal reminders to help keep unbalanced eating in check. I thought it was a great idea. I posted little reminders everywhere, even in the bathroom where just last week, I downed an entire bag of chocolate chip cookies while soaking in a hot bath.
    I paused and checked my emotions; Damn, I hate that Sarah Maloney ! But, was eating a thousand calories going to help me feel better? I thought about how great she looked in her wedding gown and how horrible I looked in the pumpkin-colored disaster. I drew in a deep breath. No, I didn’t need the extra calories.
    I opened the fridge and, with all the self-control I could muster, moved past the left-over pizza, past the soda and chocolate pudding cups, and extracted a low-fat yogurt. Proud of myself, I took my healthy food choice to the computer and settled in for a couple hours of work. I had been lazy the last couple of weeks and didn’t have my usual amount of items listed on-line. I also noticed several people hadn’t paid their invoices and I was a little behind packaging and mailing. I really needed to ramp up my efforts. Besides, busy-work would help keep my mind off Sean.
    Since school had started, I focused on kid’s clothes. I cleared a large spot in the middle of the room and pulled out a half dozen plastic bins marked “Fall-Kids.” After an hour of sorting by size, I was able to put together fifteen lots of brand name clothes. I carefully arranged and photographed each lot before bagging them into separate, numbered bags. Then, after grabbing another yogurt, I downloaded the photos, typed descriptions and listed them on-line. I was a day behind this week. Usually, I preferred to do seven-day listings ending on Sunday afternoon. That way, the end-of-auction bidding would occur when most people were off work and in front of their computers. However, looking at my on-line bank account balance, I needed to get some things moving now.
    After finishing my listings, I moved to packaging. The living area of my apartment served as shipping and handling. At any one time, there were enough boxes, strapping tape, and sharpies between my sofa and television to supply an entire UPS store.
    I flipped on the television, printed off a couple dozen address labels, double checked my mailing list, and went to work wrapping, stuffing, and taping. A couple of infomercials later, I had a stack of tidy boxes ready to be shipped, not to mention the order number for an Abomizer , a neat little contraption that was guaranteed to whittle my flabby abs into sculpted six pack in just five days. Which would be a good thing to order, since in a little over a week, I was going to be paraded in front of two hundred wedding guests while wearing a veggie-colored bridesmaid dress.
    I checked my cell phone for any new voice mails. None. I dialed Shep’s number and left another message. This time, I let my annoyance come through the phone. I’m sure he was just at home trying to recover from whatever bug he had, or maybe he decided to take an impromptu vacation; but still, I was one of his best friends. What would it take to return my call? I needed to warn him that Sean was looking for him.
    The thought of which made me angry again. How could Sean ever suspect Shep of anything criminal, let alone something to do with murder? Here’s a guy that ran away from an abusive situation as a teen, grew up on the streets with nothing, turned his life around and was now owner of the Retro Metro, one of the hottest consignment shops in the city. Shep also used his success to help wayward kids. He hired dozens of runaways, paid them well and helped them get the counseling they needed to turn their lives around. He was an all-around good guy. There’s no way he would ever hurt anyone. I simple had to figure a way to convince Sean of Shep’s innocence. It was time to find out more about Jane Reynolds.
    If I’d learned anything as a used merchandiser, it was that people’s