Read A Fatal Slip for Free Online Page B
Authors: Melissa Glazer
spread through Maple Ridge.
I wanted to crawl back into the shop and lock the door behind me, but I knew that wasn’t the way to deal with the situation. No matter how unpleasant it was, I had to walk to the town hall and file the papers for that permit right now. Otherwise I was going to have to put a Porta Potti in back of the shop, and I knew that wouldn’t exactly entice new customers into the place.
Of course, the building inspection department was closed for the day. I had to wonder if Charlie had planned his visit to throw the maximum amount of chaos our way. There had been bad blood between him and my husband for years, over a softball game, of all things. Fifteen years before, Bill had been a pitcher for the Ridge Runners, and Charlie had been at bat for the Dirt Devils. Bill’s slow pitch had inadvertently beaned Charlie in the head, knocking off his batter’s helmet and sending him to the ground. To my husband’s credit, he’d tried to apologize, but the pitch had nearly cleared both benches. That was my husband’s last foray into sports, but Charlie had never accepted the fact that the pitch had accidentally hit his head. At least, Bill had sworn it was an errant pitch. Now, I knew my husband’s temper better than anyone else in the world, and even I wasn’t sure it had really been an accident.
I stared at the glass door of the inspector’s office, but wishing didn’t open it, so I decided to go home. This problem would have to wait until tomorrow.
Bill wasn’t at the house when I got home, but I found a message for me on our machine. “Carolyn, I’m going to make up some time working on this nightstand, so don’t wait up.”
That was certainly short and to the point. There was one more message on my machine, and I heard my husband’s voice again. “Didn’t mean to lose my cool today. I need to blow off some steam. I’ll grab something later, so go ahead and eat.”
I’d picked up some ground turkey for dinner, but there was no way I was making my famous patties just for me. Then I had a thought.
I picked up the phone and dialed Hannah’s number. “Hey, it’s me.”
“Hey, me, what’s going on?”
“Bill stood me up for dinner, and I was wondering if you’d like to grab a bite with me tonight.”
She chuckled. “What, kind of like a ladies’ night out? It’s pretty short notice.”
“Sorry, I should have known you’d have plans. We’ll do it another time.”
Hannah said, “Wait a second, I didn’t say I was busy. What did you have in mind?”
“Well, we could go to Shelly’s, or I could make something for us here.”
She didn’t even have the grace to hesitate before she said, “I choose Shelly’s.”
“Gee, thanks. I thought you liked my cooking.”
“That’s not it. I’ve been struggling with creating a new test all afternoon, and it might be fun to get out in the world.”
“I thought the students had trouble with tests, not the teachers.”
She sighed. “You’d think so, but can you imagine how hard it is to make up a test that’s fair yet challenging enough to reward those who’ve been paying attention all semester? I wrestle with it every term.”
“You mean you don’t use the same test every time you teach the course?”
Hannah chuckled again. “No, my students are far too industrious for that. I don’t want anyone with access to earlier exams to get a free pass. Do you want me to pick you up, or should we meet at Shelly’s?”
“Let’s meet there. See you in ten minutes.”
After I hung up, I tried calling Bill at Olive’s workroom in town, but there was no answer. I wasn’t surprised. Between the power tools he used and the ear plugs he wore for protection, he wouldn’t have been able to hear a jumbo jet flying overhead let alone the phone ringing. In case he came home without checking his messages, I left him a note, then took off for Shelly’s.
The café’s namesake was working the grill when I walked in. Shelly was a
I wanted to crawl back into the shop and lock the door behind me, but I knew that wasn’t the way to deal with the situation. No matter how unpleasant it was, I had to walk to the town hall and file the papers for that permit right now. Otherwise I was going to have to put a Porta Potti in back of the shop, and I knew that wouldn’t exactly entice new customers into the place.
Of course, the building inspection department was closed for the day. I had to wonder if Charlie had planned his visit to throw the maximum amount of chaos our way. There had been bad blood between him and my husband for years, over a softball game, of all things. Fifteen years before, Bill had been a pitcher for the Ridge Runners, and Charlie had been at bat for the Dirt Devils. Bill’s slow pitch had inadvertently beaned Charlie in the head, knocking off his batter’s helmet and sending him to the ground. To my husband’s credit, he’d tried to apologize, but the pitch had nearly cleared both benches. That was my husband’s last foray into sports, but Charlie had never accepted the fact that the pitch had accidentally hit his head. At least, Bill had sworn it was an errant pitch. Now, I knew my husband’s temper better than anyone else in the world, and even I wasn’t sure it had really been an accident.
I stared at the glass door of the inspector’s office, but wishing didn’t open it, so I decided to go home. This problem would have to wait until tomorrow.
Bill wasn’t at the house when I got home, but I found a message for me on our machine. “Carolyn, I’m going to make up some time working on this nightstand, so don’t wait up.”
That was certainly short and to the point. There was one more message on my machine, and I heard my husband’s voice again. “Didn’t mean to lose my cool today. I need to blow off some steam. I’ll grab something later, so go ahead and eat.”
I’d picked up some ground turkey for dinner, but there was no way I was making my famous patties just for me. Then I had a thought.
I picked up the phone and dialed Hannah’s number. “Hey, it’s me.”
“Hey, me, what’s going on?”
“Bill stood me up for dinner, and I was wondering if you’d like to grab a bite with me tonight.”
She chuckled. “What, kind of like a ladies’ night out? It’s pretty short notice.”
“Sorry, I should have known you’d have plans. We’ll do it another time.”
Hannah said, “Wait a second, I didn’t say I was busy. What did you have in mind?”
“Well, we could go to Shelly’s, or I could make something for us here.”
She didn’t even have the grace to hesitate before she said, “I choose Shelly’s.”
“Gee, thanks. I thought you liked my cooking.”
“That’s not it. I’ve been struggling with creating a new test all afternoon, and it might be fun to get out in the world.”
“I thought the students had trouble with tests, not the teachers.”
She sighed. “You’d think so, but can you imagine how hard it is to make up a test that’s fair yet challenging enough to reward those who’ve been paying attention all semester? I wrestle with it every term.”
“You mean you don’t use the same test every time you teach the course?”
Hannah chuckled again. “No, my students are far too industrious for that. I don’t want anyone with access to earlier exams to get a free pass. Do you want me to pick you up, or should we meet at Shelly’s?”
“Let’s meet there. See you in ten minutes.”
After I hung up, I tried calling Bill at Olive’s workroom in town, but there was no answer. I wasn’t surprised. Between the power tools he used and the ear plugs he wore for protection, he wouldn’t have been able to hear a jumbo jet flying overhead let alone the phone ringing. In case he came home without checking his messages, I left him a note, then took off for Shelly’s.
The café’s namesake was working the grill when I walked in. Shelly was a
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