Reading Online Novel

A Dollhouse to Die For(8)



            Jasper panted and a drop of drool landed on the floor.

            “Have a heart, Daisy, give him some cheese,” Joe said as he uncorked the wine.

            “Do you have any idea what this cheese cost?” I shook my head, but cut a tiny sliver, put it on a cracker, and held it out to him. “Ow. Jeez, Jasper. You nearly took my fingers off.”

            We sat and sipped our wine at the butcher block table under the glow of the schoolhouse light fixtures. Sometimes home really was the best place to be.

            Joe had remodeled the kitchen a few months ago, inspired by an unfortunate incident when Jasper chewed up part of the linoleum. One thing led to another, and now I had new hardwood floors, cherry cabinets, granite countertops, and an island for our cookbook storage.

            “I never get tired of looking at this kitchen, Joe. It’s so beautiful.”

            “Hopefully this is the last and final big project we’ll ever have to do in this house.”

            I crossed my fingers. “Shh. Don’t jinx us.”

            Joe smiled as his gaze traveled over my bare legs. I’d slipped off my stockings and pumps, but was still wearing the Dior. “Nice dress. Too bad I didn’t get to take you out to dinner. I was really looking forward to my lamb and mashed potatoes, too.”

            He piled a lump of Stilton on top of an apricot and grimaced. “Sorry. That sounds rather petty under the circumstances, doesn’t it?”

            “It’s okay. But poor Harriet. Who the heck could have wanted to kill her?”

            He shook his head. “No idea. But whoever it was, they went to a lot of trouble. That’s a fairly elaborate way to do someone in.”

            I shivered. We sat in silence for a moment. For Harriet, there would be no more dinners, no more celebrations, no more birthdays, no more anything.

            After we’d finished our cheese and wine, Joe cleaned up while I quickly got changed. I came back downstairs and grabbed Jasper’s leash off the hook on the kitchen wall. “Come on, boy. Let’s take a trip around the block. It won’t be a long walk tonight. I’m beat.”

            Once outside, I managed to put up the umbrella while the wind whipped along the street. Jasper ran behind me and wrapped the leash around my legs, but once I untangled myself, we were off.

            When I’d first opened my store, the local economy was in bad shape, and most of the buildings along Main Street were vacant. I was lucky enough to get a relatively cheap rent, which was a big help for a start-up business. The lease had expired, and now I was month-to-month. I hadn’t requested a new one yet as I didn’t want to rock the boat.

            Lately several storefronts had been rented, and it was nice to see the street vibrant again. Next door to my place was the new cheese and gourmet pantry shop. Across the street on the corner, a former real estate office had been turned into a garden-themed paradise with planters, fountains, terrariums, and birdbaths. A palm reader occupied the space next to Tony Z’s, the barber. The latest newcomer was a chocolatier on the other side of Eleanor, just before the one-room schoolhouse.

            I didn’t need a psychic to tell me that artisanal cheese and handmade chocolates in close proximity spelled trouble for my waistline.

            On the other side of me, and completing the eclectic collection, was the bicycle shop and Sweet Mabel’s, the ice cream parlor. Jasper and I turned around at the end of the street and headed back.

            Wait a minute. Did I just see a shadow moving inside Sometimes a Great Notion?

            My first crazy thought was that it was Harriet, come back to steal the dollhouse, but then I reminded myself that Harriet was dead.