The Hinky Velvet Chair by Jennifer Stevenson Read Free Book Online Page B

should send for
some other clothes, however, my dear,” he said, eyeing her polyester. “You look
so federal.” Well, that was a new way
to describe her wardrobe. He clapped his hands. “How thrilling! You must stay
as long as you like. Corner this criminal. He won’t suspect a thing.”
    “Mr. Thompson, you’re being very cooperative.” Jewel shook
his hand again.
    “Oh, call me Virgil. Everyone does. And now you must meet my
sister Griffy, who keeps house for me.” For a hundred-year-old fossil, Virgil
had the sexiest twinkle in his eye.
    Jewel twinkled back at him. She felt like hunting Clay up
and singing Nyah-nyah at him. I’m
undercover! Woohoo!
    o0o
    Griffy was charmed with the new guests. She guessed right
away that they must be Clay’s partners. The man was handsome in a very stiff,
English way, and the woman Jewel was tall and righteous-looking, with an FBI
chin, exactly the sort of person you could trust to chase away scheming
floozies who tried to ruin a good woman’s relationship.
    Virgil introduced them. “Griffy, this is Lord Darner, the
prominent British supernaturalist, and his assistant, Julia Hess.”
    “Call me J-Julia,” Clay’s partner stammered, shaking
Griffy’s hand.
    Oh, good grief. More secrets. Well, she just wouldn’t worry
about it. Who cared what their real names were? “I’ll show you to your rooms.”
    “Room,” Lord Darner said. “One room will suffice.”
    Julia looked grumpy. Griffy wondered if they were getting
along. He thinks they’re together and she
doesn’t.
    “Our bags will be coming later,” Julia said, showing her
teeth at Lord Darner.
    Yup. Trouble. Maybe it was only a tiff.
    “Come with me, Lord Darner,” Virgil said. “The women can put
their heads together while you and I have brandy and a cigar in my collection
room. I can’t wait to show you my latest toy.”
    “This would be the, er, antique machine?” Lord Darner said.
    Julia looked nervous. “You’re not going to b-buy it, are
you, Lord Darner?” she said. She seemed to have a stammer.
    “Not a chance!” Virgil cackled. “ I’m going to buy it. Since I’m appraising it, I’ll offer the owner
double what it’s worth. I can’t let it out of the house, now that I’ve seen it!”
He towed Lord Darner away.
    Julia sighed. “I hope he doesn’t do something stupid.”
    “Men!” Griffy said. “If you saw all the junk he’s got up
there. I’ll show you around. You must be good with people.”
    “Well, I like to see justice done,” said Clay’s investigator
friend.
    Griffy’s eyes widened. “That sounds strict!”
    “I like to think of myself as cruel but fair.” Julia was
looking at the grand staircase in the foyer. “Wow, some house.”
    “The marble kills your knees going up and downstairs. And
it’s awful to clean. Oops, I wasn’t supposed to say that. We have all these
people from Household Temps now. I can’t keep track of the stuff I can say and
can’t say,” she complained. “At least you know I’m not Virgil’s sister. Well,
how could I be? He’s twenty-five years older than me!”
    “Mm-hm,” Julia said.
    “Wait til you see this woman,” Griffy said darkly, thinking
of that female fiend, Sovay Sacheverell. “She looks like his granddaughter. But
I’ll say no more. You’ll make your own professional assessment. It won’t be
easy. Virgil is determined.” She
caught herself on a gasp and covered her mouth. “In eighteen years, I’ve never
seen him like this.”
    Julia came to the top of the stairs and looked down at
Griffy with kind eyes. “You love him.”
    Griffy sniffled and blotted the tears away from her mascara.
“The old buzzard,” she gulped.
    “I was thinking turtle,” Julia said.
    Griffy felt a warm place in her heart. “I won’t worry
anymore. I know we’re in good hands.”
    She tried to smile, and Julia smiled back.
    o0o
    Hm, Jewel thought.
It almost sounded as if Griffy knew she was a cop. But how could Virgil have
told her