Nightmares Can Be Murder (A Dream Club Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

owner of a glass-blowing shop that opened and closed within the same month.
    And now a retro candy shop.
    There was a pattern here—no doubt about it.
    Part of it was the economy, of course, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Ali, with her spontaneity and her devil-may-care attitude, was partly to blame. Maybe she just didn’t have the soul of an entrepreneur—the confidence, the relentless drive, the unstoppable ambition.
    I’d earned a business degree with a combination of scholarships, student loans, and two waitressing jobs. But Ali wasn’t like me; she didn’t have any specific career goals and always seemed to be searching for something just out of reach. The brass ring, maybe.
    If only Ali knew what she wanted, maybe I could help her get it.

4
    Later that evening, Ali and I decided to share a pizza at Luigi’s, a little bistro across the street from the shop. It was barely six thirty, and I wondered if Ali had closed up early in my honor. After all, it was a Saturday night and I figured the tourists would be out in full force, exploring the trendy shops and restaurants in the nearby Historic District
.
    So why are we sitting here instead of working?
I finally broached the subject with my sister.
    “Oh, I never stay open in the evening,” Ali explained, “even on a weekend. Most of the traffic comes during the morning and early afternoon hours.” She swirled her Pinot Grigio in her glass before raising it to her lips. “Plus I like to have the evenings to myself, you know? I’m working on a couple of art projects that might pay off down the road.”
    “What sort of art projects?” My guard was up and little alarm bells were clanging in my brain. Ali always has trouble staying on task, and I worried she was veering off track once again, not focusing her energies on her business.
    “I’ve been thinking about doing graphics and web designs as a sideline. I’m helping a few friends with their websites, just to see if I can get the hang of it. I don’t charge them for my services, because I’m new to this and there’s a pretty steep learning curve.” She gave a breezy wave of her hand. “I like to keep a lot of irons in the fire. That way if something doesn’t go well, I always have a plan B to fall back on.”
    I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling like my head was going to explode. This was just what I was afraid was going to happen. The candy shop would take a backseat to whatever new project had caught Allison’s fancy, and she’d have her head in the clouds once again.
    “Really, Ali, it might be better to work on something that actually increases your revenue right now. You don’t have time for sidelines like web design. I think you should concentrate on the candy store. That should be your one and only goal at the moment.” I gritted my teeth, trying to keep the edge out of
my voice and failing miserably.
    “I suppose so,” she said, flushing. “You know me, I always go off in a dozen directions at once. I’ve always had trouble focusing on just one thing. Maybe that’s part of the problem.”
    She blew out a little breath, and our eyes met across the table. She looked very young and vulnerable in her green and white boho top and skinny jeans. She’d pulled her silky blond hair back from her face with an embroidered headband that gave her an Alice in Wonderland look.
    She looked so crushed, I felt my heart melting. The waiter placed an enormous veggie pizza on the table, but neither of us reached for a slice, and for a long moment, you could hear a pin drop.
    I knew I’d hurt her feelings, and it was time to backpedal. Swiftly.
    “Ali,” I said in a softer tone, “I didn’t mean to criticize you. Let’s put our heads together and come up with some really fun ideas to boost your business. See if we can target customers who are already visiting other merchants in the area. That would be a great place to start.”
    “If you say so.” She heaved a little sigh and