got to warn you,
though, our copier is just about worn out, so the quality’s not very good.”
I pulled the paper out of the
envelope and saw that she wasn’t exaggerating. The original hadn’t been in great shape based on the creases and
smudges, but the photocopier had taken the image to a whole other level of
graininess.
As I frowned at the copy, Jan
said, “It’s just about worthless, isn’t it?”
“I’d love to see the original,” I
said. “Don’t they usually list the names
of the people in the photos?”
“I doubt that Ray would have
bothered, though I do remember him asking us for our names when the photo was
taken. Maybe he can help you out.”
“Maybe,” I said. It appeared that I was going to have to eat a
little crow. The only way I was going to
see the original and get Ray’s list of names was by apologizing for blowing him
off, something that I was not all that eager to do. “Do you want this back?”
“No, you keep it, for what it’s
worth. There were two copies in the
file.”
“Thanks,” I said as I tucked it
behind the counter. “Are you sure I
can’t get you something? After all, you
went to a lot of trouble for me. This is
the least I can do.”
“It was no trouble at all,” she
said, and then she glanced back at the display case. “What are those?”
I’d hoped that she’d been pointing
to my new nut-shaped donuts, but instead, she was pointing at the blueberry
donut holes. “They’re blueberry.”
“They’re so tiny, I don’t suppose
one would hurt,” she said.
I grabbed a couple and put them in
a bag. “Would you like some coffee to go
with them, too?”
“Thanks, but I’ve already exceeded
my caffeine intake for the day.” She
gently shook the bag and smiled as she added, “Thanks for the treat.”
“You’re most welcome.”
After Jan was gone, I pulled the
copied photo out again. I could make out
a few faces in the murky image, but I doubted that I could swear to anyone’s
identity in a court of law. I folded it
in half and set it aside again.
The rest of the day was quiet
enough. Even though I’d made just a
dozen of the nut-shaped donuts, we still had seven left, so that particular
idea was probably dead. I hated having
leftovers, and any donut that didn’t pull its own weight would soon leave the
rotation until I could come up with a new angle. Surprisingly, the twists I’d made on a lark
had sold out rather quickly, so I decided to make more the next day to see if
it was a trend or just a fluke.
Grace came by just as we were about
to close for the day. “Are you ready to
start sleuthing again?” she asked me.
“Not just yet. I need about ten minutes, but at least we
have some bribes we can use for our suspects,” I said as I pointed to the three
boxes of unsold donuts.
“Not a good day for Donut Hearts?”
she asked. Grace had learned to gauge my
sales based on how many donuts I had left at the end of business hours.
“It was okay. I never seem to sell as many in the warm
months,” I said. “That’s all right,
though. It’s not nearly as upsetting as
the days when I expect to sell a lot and don’t, for no rhyme or reason that I
can determine. How was your morning?”
“Well, nobody got fired, but no
one got a raise, either, so I suppose that overall it was a wash.” She grinned at me as she said it.
“That’s an interesting way to look
at it,” I said as I started counting the money in the till to see if it matched
the report I’d just run. There was no
doubt about it; the numbers were down, but not so much that I’d have to start
cutting back on things like food and clothing, at least not as long as the
trend didn’t continue for long. Emma
took off just as I finished making out the deposit slip, and as I locked up,
Grace asked, “So, after we stop by the bank to deposit that, what are we going
to do?”
“I’ve
though, our copier is just about worn out, so the quality’s not very good.”
I pulled the paper out of the
envelope and saw that she wasn’t exaggerating. The original hadn’t been in great shape based on the creases and
smudges, but the photocopier had taken the image to a whole other level of
graininess.
As I frowned at the copy, Jan
said, “It’s just about worthless, isn’t it?”
“I’d love to see the original,” I
said. “Don’t they usually list the names
of the people in the photos?”
“I doubt that Ray would have
bothered, though I do remember him asking us for our names when the photo was
taken. Maybe he can help you out.”
“Maybe,” I said. It appeared that I was going to have to eat a
little crow. The only way I was going to
see the original and get Ray’s list of names was by apologizing for blowing him
off, something that I was not all that eager to do. “Do you want this back?”
“No, you keep it, for what it’s
worth. There were two copies in the
file.”
“Thanks,” I said as I tucked it
behind the counter. “Are you sure I
can’t get you something? After all, you
went to a lot of trouble for me. This is
the least I can do.”
“It was no trouble at all,” she
said, and then she glanced back at the display case. “What are those?”
I’d hoped that she’d been pointing
to my new nut-shaped donuts, but instead, she was pointing at the blueberry
donut holes. “They’re blueberry.”
“They’re so tiny, I don’t suppose
one would hurt,” she said.
I grabbed a couple and put them in
a bag. “Would you like some coffee to go
with them, too?”
“Thanks, but I’ve already exceeded
my caffeine intake for the day.” She
gently shook the bag and smiled as she added, “Thanks for the treat.”
“You’re most welcome.”
After Jan was gone, I pulled the
copied photo out again. I could make out
a few faces in the murky image, but I doubted that I could swear to anyone’s
identity in a court of law. I folded it
in half and set it aside again.
The rest of the day was quiet
enough. Even though I’d made just a
dozen of the nut-shaped donuts, we still had seven left, so that particular
idea was probably dead. I hated having
leftovers, and any donut that didn’t pull its own weight would soon leave the
rotation until I could come up with a new angle. Surprisingly, the twists I’d made on a lark
had sold out rather quickly, so I decided to make more the next day to see if
it was a trend or just a fluke.
Grace came by just as we were about
to close for the day. “Are you ready to
start sleuthing again?” she asked me.
“Not just yet. I need about ten minutes, but at least we
have some bribes we can use for our suspects,” I said as I pointed to the three
boxes of unsold donuts.
“Not a good day for Donut Hearts?”
she asked. Grace had learned to gauge my
sales based on how many donuts I had left at the end of business hours.
“It was okay. I never seem to sell as many in the warm
months,” I said. “That’s all right,
though. It’s not nearly as upsetting as
the days when I expect to sell a lot and don’t, for no rhyme or reason that I
can determine. How was your morning?”
“Well, nobody got fired, but no
one got a raise, either, so I suppose that overall it was a wash.” She grinned at me as she said it.
“That’s an interesting way to look
at it,” I said as I started counting the money in the till to see if it matched
the report I’d just run. There was no
doubt about it; the numbers were down, but not so much that I’d have to start
cutting back on things like food and clothing, at least not as long as the
trend didn’t continue for long. Emma
took off just as I finished making out the deposit slip, and as I locked up,
Grace asked, “So, after we stop by the bank to deposit that, what are we going
to do?”
“I’ve
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