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She tidied the stack of Haven’t Got a Clue shopping bags, and had run out of busywork by the time Gi
“What’s Mr. Everett’s schedule for the rest of the week?” Gi
“Coming and going, I’m afraid. There’s a lot to pull together fast if you’re pla
“Why don’t they just elope?” Gi
“I’m sure they feel this will be the last marriage for each of them. They want their friends to witness it, especially since they have no family.”
“I guess.”
Mr. Everett knew everyone in town. Would he have known Stuart Paige? Paige didn’t have a long history in Stoneham, but he was well known throughout the state. Still, Mr. Everett was the soul of discretion; he wouldn’t speak of Paige’s reckless past if he knew of it… but Fra
As it happened, Fra
“Oh, look, Fra
“I can do it,” Gi
“That’s okay,” Tricia said, hurrying around the register and heading for the exit. “Be right back.”
“Whatever,” Gi
She hurried down the sidewalk to catch up with Fra
Fra
“Think you’ll catch Pe
“I sure hope so. I hate to think of that poor little cat out in the cold at night. The weatherman says a cold snap is coming down from Canada in the next few days. We might even see a little snow.”
“Not until the leaves are past peak, I hope. I’m praying for an onslaught of tourists to arrive any day now.”
“I hope so, too. But then there’s the Milford Pumpkin Festival on the weekend, and Stoneham will be as quiet as a cemetery at midnight.” Fra
“Thank you. I sure hope the first bus is late. Angelica won’t be pleased if I’m not ready to open right on time.” She glanced at the clock. “Which is in three minutes.”
“I can get things ready here at the register if you want to go load the trap and set it up outside.”
“Thanks, Tricia.”
“It’s my pleasure. I want to see little Pe
Fra
Fra
A Granite State bus passed the store’s display window, heading for the municipal lot, where it would disgorge its load. Several customers had entered the store by the time Fra
“I’ll cross my fingers for you.”
Fra
“Fra
Fra
That wasn’t what Tricia wanted to hear.
“Although,” Fra
Now that was more like it. “Oh?” Tricia prompted.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about that accident where he was driving his father’s Alfa Romeo, crashed it into Portsmouth Harbor, and some woman died.”
Why did everyone seem to remember the make of the car more than the name of the victim? “Yes, I did hear that.”
“Apparently she was the love of his life. When she died, he turned over a new leaf. Got religion, so to speak, although I don’t think he joined any official denomination. But he decided to change his ways and do good in the world.”
That sounded like a great plot for a 1950s movie. In fact it was… The Magnificent Obsession, with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. But did that sort of thing happen in the late 1980s? Tricia wasn’t so sure. As her grandmother often said, “A leopard doesn’t change its spots.” There had to be more to the story than that.
If Fra
Rats!
A customer ambled up to the register with several heavy volumes. Tricia wrapped the order while Fra
“And wouldn’t tell me if he did.”
“That’s true. Bob is very loyal to Chamber members.”
“But would Paige be a member? He doesn’t have a business, or even live here in Stoneham.”
“Yet,” Fra
That was a possibility, Tricia supposed. Now, could she get past Paige’s keepers to talk to the man? “What do you know about his entourage?”
“I don’t think he’s got bodyguards, if that’s what you mean. But I know he travels with at least one or two people-one of them is a secretary or something. Keeps the riffraff from bothering him.”
Would Tricia be considered riffraff?
“I wonder if Eleanor could get me in to see him.” Tricia envisioned Eleanor at her reception desk at the Brookview I
“What do you need to see Stuart Paige for?” Fra
Should she tell Fra
“My friend Pammy tried to talk to him the day she died. I was just wondering if he knew her.”
“I heard about that,” Fra
Of course!
Fra
“As it should be,” Tricia reluctantly admitted.
“That said, there’s no reason you can’t ask,” Fra
Tricia noticed the wastebasket under the counter hadn’t been emptied. She signaled to Fra