No Hiding Behind the Potted Palms! A Dance with Danger Mystery #7 by Sara M. Barton Read Free Book Online Page B

store.
    “What do you want for
dinner?” he asked, after all the new purchases were ensconced in
the trunk. “We can stop on the way home.
    “What are you in the mood
for tonight?” I thought for a moment. “Does that grill of yours
work?”
    “It sure does,” he grinned.
“Steak, baked potato, and salad?”
    “Just like the old days,” I
sighed. “Remember when we spent our summers under the evening sky
when we were first married?”
    “It was heaven,” Bosco
admitted. “How about something for dessert?”
    We went through the Caulkin
Corners Stop and Shop with a wagon. Our first destination was the
produce department for russet potatoes, baby field greens, an
English cucumber, and grape tomatoes. It was funny to see Bosco
selecting groceries to put into the cart. He read all the labels.
This was the man who rarely had any interest in what I bought
during our marriage, other than to know what I paid for the
food.
    “Anything else?” He was
picking out peaches. “What about juice? Tea?”
    We wandered the aisles,
picking up bread, A-1 steak sauce, strawberries, a small Sara Lee
pound cake, and a quart of vanilla ice cream, before we used the
self-serve checkout counter. I bagged while Bosco scanned. As we
walked to the car, my cell phone rang. It was Ralph.
    “Hey, Dori,” he said,
somewhat breathlessly, “do you have a minute? I was wondering if
there is a way to help you out of your situation. How about I buy
out your shares of Dynamic Productions? I’ll buy Bosco’s, too. That
will give you guys some cash to tide you over while the mess with
the house gets sorted out. What do you say? Are you interested?
”
    “I don’t know, Ralph. I’ll
have to sit down with Bosco and talk about it.”
    “Sure, kid. No rush. I just
want to help you two out of the mess you’re in.”
    “That’s nice of you,” I told
him.
    “I’ll pay you $100 a share.
That gives you $75,000. I can give you a bank check. I just need a
day to get it processed.” An alarm went off in my head. Something
wasn’t right. Ralph had just invested heavily in Dynamic
Productions’ new facility. Bosco and I had put up some of the
money, accepting shares in return. How could he suddenly be so able
to pay us back? If he was so flush with capital, why did he need us
to invest? Why not just get a secured loan from the
bank?
    “Well, I’ll let Bosco
know.”
    “It’s a really good deal,
Dori. I hope you guys take me up on it.”
    “We’ll think about it,
Ralph. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” I could hear
him talking even as I disconnected. Bosco glanced over at
me.
    “What was that all
about?”
    “Ralph wants to buy us out
of Dynamic Productions. He’s offered us $100 a share.”
    “That’s stupid,” Bosco
decided. “He owes us more than that, especially with the money we
just put in.”
    “He seems to think we’re in
need of money,” I pointed out.
    “So?” Bosco turned right on
Waltham Drive. “What’s the problem with that?”
    “How does he know what our
financial situation is?”
    “You didn’t tell
him?”
    “I did not.” I sat there,
thinking. Maybe it wasn’t my imagination about that letter from
Wink-Wink Productions. But how could George and Ralph be involved
in any way? I never told my colleagues about him. After all, it had
only been two months since he moved in, and we were still getting
to know each other. Bosco only met him because we had to file some
financial paperwork for the court on the third Sunday we spent
together. “I saw something disturbing today, but it didn’t make a
lot of sense until just now.”
    By the time I got done
sharing the photos of the Wink-Wink letter, Bosco had already
turned the car around and we were headed back to Caulkings
Corner.
    “We can’t just open that
letter,” I insisted. “It’s a federal offense.”
    “Listen to me,” Bosco
growled. “You just got robbed of how much money? You’re worried
about Ralph? The guy just offered