Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery) by Rose Pressey Page A

photos of everyone, even when they tell her not to?”
    Doreen glared at me. “She is a good artist.”
    “ If you say so,” I said.
    Doreen slammed the car door. I didn’t waste any time backing out of the parking space.
    “ It’s my son’s car anyway,” I heard Doreen say to one of the women as I pulled away.
    When I looked in the rearview mirror , the women were looking in my direction and shaking their heads. I didn’t want to know what other stories Doreen was telling them about me.
    After a short drive to Belleville, I pulled into the parking lot of the thrift store. Anxiety always popped up when I arrived at the store. Sure, it was therapeutic once I found good items, but until then I felt a little anxious. So when I’d circled every aisle of the first shop and didn’t find anything, I grew a little nervous. I had to try my luck with the next place. It was within walking distance so I didn’t need to drive. I hurried through the door as if it were a race. I never knew when someone else would beat me to the bargains.
    The store had racks of clothing in the middle and shelves of home décor items around the walls. On the left was the small furniture section. I always headed to the décor first. The items weren’t in any order so you really had to look at everything in order to find the hidden gems. I’d spotted a wooden serving tray that was just screaming for a makeover. As I inspected the item I felt as if I was being watched. The store had security cameras, but this was a different feeling. It felt as if someone was nearby and watching me.
    I placed the tray in my cart and pushed around to the next shelf. That was when I spotted the woman watching me. She had her gray hair pulled up into a bun and she wore bright yellow pants and a white shirt with a big of a gray cat on the front. Dark sunglasses covered her eyes. Why did she need sunglasses in the store? There was something vaguely familiar about her. When she noticed that I’d spotted her she turned her attention away. Maybe she was worried that I’d find all the good bargains. I couldn’t help it if I found the items first.
    On the next shelf , I found glass votive candle holders that I thought would look lovely in my dining room. I’d think of some way to give them a fresh new look. Next I found a foam wreath form that would be perfect to make the burlap wreath project I’d been planning.
    As I turned the corner I came face to face with another one wearing sunglasses. This was bizarre. Was there something I had missed about sunglasses? Was the store having a sale on sunglasses or was it National Wear Your Sunglasses in a Store Day? This woman looked a lot like the other one except she wasn’t wearing a cat shirt. Hers was just plain blue. She stepped around me. Of course I couldn’t see her eyes to know if she was watching me, but I just had the feeling that she was. Just like with the other woman.
    I’d placed the candle holders in my cart and maneuvered around a couple of shoppers. As I studied the goodies on the shelf hoping to find another bargain, I felt someone walk up behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see if I needed to move out of the way for someone when I saw yet another woman with sunglasses. She had short gray hair and wore blue pants and a white shirt with a different picture of a cat. I refused to believe that this was a coincidence. There was no way these women were truly shopping.
    That was when I realized who the women were. Doreen friends had followed me to the store. I could play their game. I pushed my cart in the direction of the woman who’d just walked by. Now I would follow them around the store and see how they liked it. The leader rat had to be in the s tore somewhere and I figured I could follow the women right to Doreen. The woman looked over her shoulder at me, then she attempted to walk faster. Her rubber soled shoes squeaked loudly as she rushed across the store.
    The woman shuffled toward the racks of