Murder of a Bookstore Babe

“Xenia’s no slouch either.” Kayla hugged her friend. “This is her first year in the documentary program, and her teachers are already mega-impressed just from her portfolio.”

“Wow. Maybe you’ll both become famous and put Scumble River on the map,” Skye enthused. “And you’re both living at home?”

“Xenia is.” Kayla climbed into the backseat as she answered. “I’m sort of between gigs. Sometimes I stay at my mom and stepdad’s, sometimes I crash with my boyfriend, and sometimes I hang at Xenia’s place.”

“Oh.” Before Skye could question why Kayla didn’t have a place to call home, their ice cream arrived, so instead she asked, “Do you want to order something, Kayla?”

“No, thanks.” Kayla put her hand to her mouth. “I haven’t been too hungry lately. Nothing sounds good to me.”

Skye noticed that the girl was a bit pale and hoped she wasn’t not eating because she thought she needed to lose weight. Which certainly was far from the truth.

After the carhop left, Kayla said, “Oh, I kinda almost forgot. I have good news, too.”

“What?” Xenia took a huge bite of her banana split.

“I finally found a part-time job.”

“Where?” Skye licked a rivulet of melted vanilla dripping down the side of her cone.

“At Tales and Treats.” Kayla wiggled in her seat. “It works out perfectly since I don’t have to be in class every day.” She explained to Skye, “We do lots of work via computer.”

“That’s great,” Skye agreed.

“Ms. Vaughn said I can start tomorrow.” Kayla frowned. “That is, if they get the insurance and stuff straightened out.”

“Oh?” Skye raised brow. “What’s the problem?”

“The insurance guy told Ms. Vaughn that her policy was approved, but he stopped by this afternoon while she was interviewing me and told her that it was going to cost more than he originally said.”

“Why?” Xenia asked.

“Who knows?” Kayla shrugged. “They stepped into the back room to discuss it.”

“I’m sure they’ll get that fixed up,” Skye reassured the girl.

“Yeah.” Kayla nodded. “It’s the other guy I’m more worried about.”

“What other guy?” Skye asked.

“The one they hired to remodel the upstairs,” Kayla explained. “They’re going to live up there, you know, and use 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

“And 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?”