Never Say Pie (A Pie Shop Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

carried away with your own importance.”
    There was a long hostile silence. I was breathing hard, proud and amazed at myself for standing up to him, instead of toadying to him. I could tell by the way Kate was staring at me she was either shocked or stunned with admiration for my nerve.
    “I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said stiffly. “I will come to your shop, unannounced as is my custom and in disguise, and you can try to convince me of the quality of your pies. When I have the time. But I warn you, I am very discerning and I am not easily swayed by a lot of hype or sugar and butter just thrown together. My standards are extremely high. Very rare for a small town like this one, I know. I have an idea for you. Yours for the taking. You don’t owe me a cent. Here’s what I propose. You sponsor a pie contest.”
    “What?” I staggered backward toward my counter. “Why would I do that?” I prided myself on my self-confidence in the face of competition, but I wasn’t ready for a pie contest.
    “For one thing, it would prove to the town you are really interested in raising the level of baking quality pies, not just your own, but amateurs as well. Of course it would be an excellent way of promoting your shop at the same time. Free advertising if you will, since the newspaper would cover the event. But of course if you don’t have enough confidence …”
    “Of course I have confidence.” But did I really? What if there were dozens of secret pie bakers in town who were better than I was?
    “I’ll talk to my editor and set things up. I’m sure the newspaper would be glad to host the contest if you don’t …”
    “No, of course I’ll do it.” No way was I going to let this contest get out of my hands. I had to show that I was open to new recipes and that I wasn’t afraid of a little competition from home bakers.
    “I’ll see that you get the publicity you need. I may not be here, so just drop off the pertinent information at my office. I have a busy schedule.”
    “I’ll do that,” I said. What else could I say? He’d trapped me, tricked me into doing something he thought up.
    “Busy schedule?” I said to Kate after he’d hung up. “How busy could a small-town so-called pundit be?”
    “I heard that part about the disgruntled vendors. How much do you want to bet every one of them has let him have it. Not just you. Before he makes his surprise visit to the shop, you should talk to the others he trashed.”
    “Good idea,” I said. “Who else knows how it feels to be dumped on by a know-nothing. At least we’re all in this together. Maybe we can fight back better as a group than one by one. Even though we’re competitors we’d never come out against another vendor. Besides I actually liked everybody I met at the fair Saturday. Even Nina. We’re not really rivals, unless you count Lurline, but she thinks her rival is the doughnut sellers, not me. I think we could learn something from each other.”
    “I like your attitude,” Kate said. Maybe she thought I’d be falling apart under this barrage of criticism and uninvited sugges tions
by now. If I was, I knew better than to let it show. “Are you really going to have a pie contest?”
    “Do I have a choice?” I asked. “If I don’t have a contest, he will, so the answer is yes. I’ll pick a date, decide on the prizes, and he’ll promote it for me. I can’t lose, can I? Unless someone out there is a better pie baker than I am.” I looked at Kate, hoping she’d reassure me.
    “Even if they are, who would do what you do, get up at five in the morning, make your own crust, get the freshest berries? Live above the store? Work your butt off? No, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Plus think of all that free publicity you’ll get.”
    I nodded. I hoped she was right about the lack of competition in the hard work department. It sure felt better to take action than to simply sit around and mope. I hated to have to thank Heath Barr for