“No kissing. I did get to see his hairy belly button when he got out of my bed and stood up to raid my kitchen.”
“You’re kiddin’ me.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I bathe old men for a living, and the idea of Ben in my bed curls my toes.”
“Yeah. The best part came when Kaitlyn showed up right after.”
She set her coffee down and covered her mouth with both hands in a display of shock. “So, what was she doing here?”
I threw up my hands and did my best impression of a guest on Jerry Springer. “Protecting her man, I guess.”
“Gross.”
I nodded. Kaitlyn was actually a super-attractive girl–long, velvet brown hair, bright green eyes, and a tall and muscular frame. She reminded me more of her Aunt Lulu than of her mother, Helen. Unfortunately she had the personality of a skunk. And in this case she was ugly by association–association with Ben.
“Kaitlyn’s heart’s broken. She heard whispers of a sidepiece and confronted him. He basically dumped her but didn’t tell her who for. In true stalker fashion, she tracked him down to Olivia’s cabin. Boy, was she surprised to see me.”
“She would have done better to look in Gypsy Caravan Manor. That’s where he’s staying.”
“How’d you hear about that? Work?” Rebel worked at the Bohemian Retirement Community.
“Where else do I go? Ben’s mom, Angie, stopped to visit her Aunt Fran. Angie’s rant knew no volume control and thus I knew Ben’s girlfriend refused to stay at her place.”
I snorted.
“Girlfriend, huh? I wonder if this is the so-called sidepiece Kaitlyn is broken up over.”
“Kaitlyn’s a fool if she thought that boy would settle down. The whole town told her so–her mother was none too pleased. Ben Baboon could be married to the perfect woman, and he’d still shove his stick in a wood chipper if you painted lipstick on it.”
I shuddered at the image.
“I can’t believe Ben crawled into bed with you. Did you kick him in the berries this time?”
Ben had disturbed my sleep once before as a teen–after a bonfire by the lake, and far too much beer from the Keg. I’d blown off his advances and snuck off to my tent, only to be woken by him crawling on top of me. Thankfully Rebel had ousted him. You’d think the daughter of a private detective would have had the guts to knee the guy in the balls, but sadly my spine–unlike Ben–had not stiffened just yet. After that night, I quit ballet and started pumping weights, and running daily. I took up martial arts, and eventually moved onto criminology and police foundations. I determined never to feel helpless again. Part of me wanted to thank him for inspiring me to become the kick-ass woman I was today–the other part of me just wanted to kick his ass.
“I thought about it. He looked sort of pathetic and not worth the assault charge.” I breathed out.
“Yeah, he’s let himself go, hasn’t he?”
I nodded. “Nature’s way of protecting the female population.”
“Ten years too late. By the way, Pike says to come say hello.”
“I miss her,” I mused as I took a sip. “How’s she doing?”
“Really good. This is her coffee. She started catering about five years ago and then opened up a café, and she’s been in her new location since May.”
“I will definitely check the place out. Where is it?”
“Across from the spooky old Doctor’s Mansion. She’s sharing the space with Kaitlyn’s aunt. You remember Lulu McCloskey?”
“Of course. The vintage clothing shop lady? I bet the hipsters love that.”
“Everyone loves it. Anyway, let’s catch up tonight. I’m on my way to take Grams to a pancake breakfast at the town hall. She needs help to get ready these days and she absolutely will not forgo her social life. But I want to hear all the nitty gritty details of your midnight callers when you come over. I’m done work at 6 p.m.”
“I won’t skimp on a single detail–not even the holes in Ben’s underthings.” I smiled. “Although you’ll wish I had.”
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About the Author
Rachael Stapleton lives in a Second-Empire Victorian home with her husband and two children in Canada where she dashes about aged wood, arched dormers and snowy hills, making up holiday themed whodunit stories.
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Authors Note:
Thank you for reading the first book in my new House Flipper series! I started writing this book on a whim three years ago. Just like Juniper, I’d come to a new town to live in a spooky old Victorian. That’s right, Jack and Juniper’s house is based on my own second empire although I have no secret passages—none that I’m willing to share, anyway. My new home is an hour away from the place I’d grown up in and while the change of pace was fun; it was harder than anticipated—being far from family, trapped in a creaky old house and alone with a busy toddler. On the surface, I was smiling, but on a deeper level I wondered if we’d made the right decision moving our children to a new place. Of course, we had, and we all settled in, eventually. In the meantime, in order to adjust I found myself writing about these house-flipping characters who were renovating just as we were and meeting quirky new characters just as I was. I’m happy to have found this house with all its history and this town with all its quirks and I’m so grateful that it inspired this mysterious tale.
As per usual, a big thanks to my family, friends, beta readers, reviewers and fans for their generosity and encouragement. Thanks to my awesome editor, Susan Croft. And of course a big shout-out to Connie, Yvonne, Lora and Susan: our retreats are magical. Once again, thank you for reading my books. If you want more, please be sure to review them on Amazon so I can afford to continue. Come and say hello on my Facebook page, Twitter or my website. I post teasers, new covers and offer up giveaways in my monthly newsletters.
With much gratitude,
Rachael
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Discover your next great series by Rachael!
Time Traveling Bibliophile Series
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Cookies, Corpses and the Deadly Haunt: Haunted House Flippers Inc. (Bohemian Lake Book 2) Page 16
