A Dubious Delivery (A Seagrove Cozy Mystery Book 9) by Leona Fox Read Free Book Online Page B

or two that way. It annoys me to no end.”
    “I can see why,” Betty said. “He annoyed me, and I don’t have to see him every day.”
    “Actually,” Mary said, “it bothers the mouse that he badmouths Roger. The truth of the matter is, he tried to copy Roger’s work, but he wasn’t good enough. His work was a poor imitation. So he turned to abstract, where it didn’t matter if things looked like what they were, and began saying he changed because Roger was copying him.”
    “Didn’t Roger defend himself?” Lucy asked.
    “No. He felt sorry for Sam. And if anybody else said anything, Roger would hush them up. At least until Sam started accusing him of forgery and Roger felt he had to leave. That’s one of the reasons I keep selling his work because he really still should be here. And still would be here if he wasn’t being investigated for wrongdoing. He won’t stand up for himself.” Mary threw her hands in the air and walked away from them.
    Out on the street the three women joined each other. Sadie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
    “What a total slime bag,” Lucy said.
    “Trying to get people to buy his work because they feel sorry for him. Ugh. I’m glad you didn’t fall for it, Sadie.”
    “Me, too,” Sadie said. “I did almost feel sorry for him, but there was no way I was going to buy one of those muddy paintings.”
    “Hey look,” Betty said. “Isn’t that old Cyrus dumbbell across the street?”

4
    I t was indeed Cyrus . He was with a woman young enough to be his granddaughter or maybe even great-granddaughter, Sadie thought. She dodged cars to get across the street, Lucy and Betty in her wake, but not before looking to see that she and Mr. Bradshaw weren’t going to get run over. It would be a pity to ruin her new painting, after all.
    “Cyrus. Cyrus Dumville,” she called out.
    The young woman turned around. She was very pretty, in a Snow White kind of way, all pale skin, and dark hair.
    “Hello,” Sadie said. “We just want to talk to your grandfather.”
    “Oh, he’s not my grandfather,” the young woman said. “I’m his caregiver.”
    Cyrus turned around, and his face blossomed into a smile. Mr. Bradshaw trotted right up to him and put his paws on Cy’s knees. The old man reached down to pat the dog’s little head, and Mr. B licked his hand.
    “Hello, again,” he said and turned to the young woman.
    “This is the woman who had my painting,” he said, and the young woman’s face went blank.
    Sadie glanced at the other women to see if they had noticed. The tilt of Betty’s eyebrows and the furrow between Lucy’s told her they had.
    Sadie stuck out her hand. "Sadie Barnett," she said, waiting for the young woman to catch on and take her hand.
    "Marnie MacAdams," she said, taking Sadie's hand slowly and letting it go quickly before turning to shake Lucy and Betty's hands briefly.
    Sadie felt, rather than heard, Mr. Bradshaw’s low growl against her leg, where he had retreated after saying hello to Cyrus.
    "How long have you worked for Mr. Dumville?" Betty asked as Marnie dropped her hand.
    "About a year," Marnie looked at Mr. Dumville.
    "Cy, I think it's time for us to head home, I don't want you to get too tired out."
    "Won't you come back with us?" Cyrus asked Sadie, “we could have tea. Or coffee. Young people these days prefer coffee, don't they?" He looked to Marnie for confirmation.
    "Mostly," she said. "But I think you should probably rest. Entertaining probably will tire you out, and your headache will come back."
    "Don't be obstructionist, Marnie," he said.
    "I'm inviting these young ladies to coffee. Today at 4 p.m. Will you come?" He held his hand out to Sadie, and she couldn't refuse.
    Actually, she was pleased by the invitation. She'd like to spend some time checking out Old Cy's environs. She had a hunch that painting was in his house somewhere. She wouldn't have refused that invitation for good money.
    "Of course," she said.
    "Can you ladies