By the Book (A Gracie Andersen Mystery 2) by Laurinda Wallace Page A

didn’t know what else to say. Times were always tough for the small business person.
    “Thanks, Gracie. I appreciate that. The next couple of months will tell us if we can make a go of it.” He finished his coffee and left his money on the counter.
    She contemplated talking to Will to find out what the police were asking, but just then Midge came back from her “fresh air” trip and took Gracie’s empty plate.
    “Look. There’s Will and Iris,” Midge said, leaning her elbows on the counter. Her head turned to watch the couple who’d pushed the restaurant’s door open.
    “Will had a hard day yesterday, trying to deal with the sheriff’s department,” Gracie said, sipping her coffee.
    “Will’s been having a very hard time in general,” Midge huffed. “That Alice Harris got him in some sort of investment with the new subdivision, and it’s going south already. He mentioned it to Howie the other day. I feel bad for him. He just retired last year, and he’s lost a bunch of money.”
    “Not good. I’d heard something about that.”
    “So is that librarian moving over to Maplewood?”
    “Today’s the day. After church, I’m helping Terry take some of her things over.”
    Gracie’s cell phone began buzzing in the depths of her tote. Fishing it out, she saw that the kennel was calling. “Gotta take this, Midge.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Fourteen
     
    Marian had left after calling Gracie on Monday. She’d been feeling achy and a little feverish. Her husband had called to let her know that Marian was sick Tuesday morning. Gracie knew she must be flat on her back with the flu or something equally awful if she wasn’t coming in. The grooming schedule was very light, and the kennel population was steadily lowering, so between Cheryl, Jim, and herself, Gracie decided it shouldn’t be too bad. With Cheryl answering the phone and handling the exercise times, she’d have time between grooming appointments to finish some accounting reports.
    Just as she had begun scanning through the first batch of reports, Cheryl came back to announce the arrival of a grooming appointment. A new customer, Catherine Woodson, had come in with her trio of West Highland Terriers. They needed the full treatment, bathing, trims, and toenails. It seemed a good time to get to know one-half of the Woodson couple.
    “Here are the stooges,” Catherine laughed, handing over three leashes to Gracie. She had shoulder length dark brown hair and looked like she’d stepped out of Vogue dressed in a creamy white leather coat and black wool slacks.
    “That’s right. Larry, Curly, and Moe. How do you tell them apart?” she asked, looking at the identical dingy-colored dogs.
    “Different colored collars are a life saver,” Catherine answered. “Blue is Moe, red is Larry, and black is Curly. Of course, Curly is easier since she’s the only girl. What time should I pick them up?”
    “In about two or three hours. We’ll call you.”
    “That shouldn’t be a problem unless that detective shows up again.”
    “Oh, you mean Investigator Hotchkiss?”
    “I guess that’s her name. We’ve got too many things on our calendars to be questioned again. It’s pretty simple on our part. Alice had Roger’s knife because she was delivering it to a buyer for him.”
    Gracie unclipped her hair and rewound it before securing it again. “The knife that … uh …”
    “Yes. We think it was one of the …” she stopped midsentence “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about this. Roger will be livid if he knows.”
    “Don’t worry. What happens in the kennel stays in the kennel.” She smiled, hoping to put the woman at ease.
    “Thanks. It was absolutely crazy yesterday. But I am glad that you’re so close to the farm. These guys are awfully high maintenance for grooming. They escaped from the house and ran directly to the barn.”
    The manure stained dogs had