Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction (Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

and reeled in by this kid. Thankfully, Hank spoke up.
    He whipped off his sunglasses and used them to point at the boy. “Dude, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but Mizz Louetta is sharper than anyone in this town. There’s not a person in it she doesn’t know and nary a Goose Pimple Junction fact she’s forgotten. I’d keep that in mind next time you cross her path. You’re already in a heap of trouble for past lapses in judgment. You need to keep your nose clean. Now you best be getting home.”
    The kid smirked and sauntered away. Louetta turned to go inside with Hank on her heels.
    “Louetta, what was that all about?”
    “Hank, I wish I knew. In all my days—and there have been many—I never saw anything like it. I saw him put the book inside his belt and cover it up with his shirttail. And I saw him seeing me see him put the book in his pants. Lord knows he doesn’t need to steal, what with his daddy being the richest man in town. But I saw him do it. Or at least I thought he was stealing.”
    “His daddy’s Louis P. Howe? The highfalutin lawyer?”
    “Mmm hmm. Maybe I am losing it. Lord knows I feel as old as Moses’s toes.” She shook her head in disgust. “I’ve owned this store probably longer than you’ve been alive, and I know a shoplifter when I see one. I thought for sure he’d taken that book.”
    “You’re not old, Lou; you’re a classic.” That comment elicited a small smile from her. “I meant what I said a minute ago. You could whoop anyone in town in smarts and twice on Sunday.”
    “Lawzee, don’t go getting carried away now. You don’t have to try to make me feel better.” She patted his arm. “But I do ‘preshade it.”
    “It was an honest mistake, Lou. He set a trap. Don’t let that kid get to you. He ain’t through climbing fool’s hill yet.”
    “He ought to be. He’s about to be a senior in high school. It’s time he stop climbing.”
    After Hank left, she asked Pickle Culpepper, her teenage employee, to mind the register, and she sat in her office at the rear of the store. The incident had really rattled her. Why would that boy want her to think he was shoplifting? Just to humiliate her? It certainly felt premeditated with his choice of book. It just didn’t make sense. She closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, trying to rid her head of the thoughts. When she opened them, her eyes fell on the calendar. She sat up straight then grabbed the phone and punched in some numbers. Her daughter, Martha Maye, picked up.
    “We need to have a party.” Lou gripped the phone hard.
    “What for?”
    “For Tess. Are you in?”
    “Well, sure, Mama, but why does Tess need a party?”
    “Her one-year anniversary as a resident of Goose Pimple Junction is coming up, and we’re gonna throw a party. We’ll have it here at the store. Get a pencil. Let’s plan the menu. We can cook all weekend. Number one on the list is lemon squares.”
    “Oh, of course. They’re Tess’s favorite.”
    “And pound cake. Orange-almond or coconut?”
    “How about both? And a chocolate one and a chocolate chip one too. You never can have too much chocolate. Or cake.”
    “I like the way you think.”
    “Chicken salad?”
    “Check.”
    “Yeast rolls?”
    “Check.”
    “Ham?”
    “Uh huh.”
    “Brownies?”
    “Plain, frosted, and Mississippi mud.”
    “Pea salad, corn & Fritos salad, and my famous lime Jell-O mold?”
    “Check, check, and check.”
    Lou could tell her daughter had put her hand over the phone because her voice was muffled when she said, “Butterbean! Step away from the cookies until after dinner.” Then she came back on. “Let’s do squash casserole, green beans, and smushed potatoes too.”
    “Wonderful. Make some little corn muffins, ‘kay? I’ll get Slick to bring some of his barbecue, and it’ll be good as little finger sandwiches with the corn muffins.”
    “All right, Mama. You think we’re gonna have enough food?”
    “I