The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle by JoAnna Carl Read Free Book Online

Mae! I mean, Maia!”
    Maia tossed her black curls and laughed her merry laugh before she spoke. “Hello, Lee. Hello, Maggie. Is Nettie busy? I thought we ought to coordinate our wardrobes for tonight.”
    Coordinate their wardrobes? Like junior high? “I’ll see if Aunt Nettie can come up front,” I said. “She’s training a new warning. I mean, worker! She’s training a new employee.”
    I slunk back to the workroom. Why does my tongue insist on embarrassing me like that?
    At least, I thought, Maggie and Maia weren’t speaking, so it seemed safe to leave them alone together. But a minute later, when Aunt Nettie and I came back to the shop, they were speaking. And both of them sounded angry.
    “More worthwhile than a stupid romance novel,” Maggie said.
    “Not romance! Mainstream!” Maia countered. “And now a screenplay!”
    “Of all the gullible—” Maggie spit out the words, but in midsentence she stopped talking. Her face became pale. I realized she was looking at the door to the shop, and that it was opening.
    Aubrey put his head inside and spoke. “Are you nearly ready, Maia? I’m sure that Ms. Nettie and her charming niece can’t allow me to bring Monte inside.”
    Maia’s voice fluted. “I’ll be right out. Maggie McNutt was just leaving, going back to her sweet little high school students.”
    Maggie shot Maia a look that would have been lethal to a normal person. Then Aubrey stepped back and held the door open for Maggie. She marched past him without a word.
    Maia laughed. “Now, Nettie . . .” she began. I went into my office and did something I rarely do. I closed the door. It was glass, like the walls, so I could still see Maia posturing and posing in the shop. But at least her voice wasn’t as loud.
    I stared at the computer again, and again practiced seeing Aunt Nettie off on her date. I gave a parody of a smile. “Have a nice evening,” I said.
    I was truly unhappy about Aunt Nettie being involved for even one evening with Aubrey Andrews Armstrong. But it was none of my affair. She would never interfere with my love life, and I had no right to interfere with hers. Butt out, Lee, I told myself firmly. And keep out of Maia’s life, too. She’s another grown woman. It’s none of your business.
    I kept my eyes on the computer screen until Maia left the shop, but when the bell on the door rang again I looked up. That afternoon we had no counter staff, so if anybody wanted to buy chocolates, it was my job to wait on them.
    The person who came rushing in wasn’t a customer. It was Tracy Roderick, our summer employee—Tracy of the stringy hair, who’d been elected president of the drama club and who had been staffing the dessert table at the Rinkydink.
    Tracy rushed over to my office and opened the door. “Can I come in?”
    “Sure, Tracy. What can I do for you?”
    “My hair! I’ve got to do something about it.”
    I stared at her. Yes, Tracy needed a new hairstyle. I knew her mother had been trying to get her do something about it for a year. But now Tracy was acting as if it were an emergency.
    “Why?” I said. “I mean, what brought on this decision?”
    “I might have a chance at a part in a movie, Lee!”
    “What?”
    “You met that movie producer, Mr. Armstrong! I saw you talking to him. Isn’t he divine?”
    “He’s certainly not an ordinary human, so maybe he is divine. What did he say?”
    “He told us he’s going to hire people in Warner Pier for small roles in the film he’s going to shoot. The drama club’s going to have a special meeting about it.” Tracy clutched her hands together and held them to her chin in a semiprayerful attitude. “Oh, Lee! It could be my big chance! Will you help me?”
    I stared at Tracy in utter dismay. I’d just convinced myself that Aunt Nettie and Maia were old enough to take care of themselves, that I should keep quiet about my misgivings about Aubrey Andrews Armstrong.
    But now Aubrey had moved in on the high school