Read Garage Sale Stalker (Garage Sale Mysteries) for Free Online

here and not real sure what’s right for these parts. So if the price doesn’t look right, make us an offer.”
    About fifteen other shoppers milled around now. Spotting Swordsman again, Jennifer watched him peripherally. What set him apart from the other shoppers? Not focused on the sale’s merchandise like everybo dy else, instead he looked around the house and yard as if in the first upscale residence he’d ever seen. Nor did he fit the bored husband stereotype— one dutifully accompanying his shopper wife but with no shred of interest himself. No, Swordsman seemed alert to the surroundings, but if not a shopper or the spouse of one, then why repeatedly visit these sales? An architect looking for new ideas? That seemed farfetched.
    Was she just edgy from her earlier encounter with Wrestler? Once suspicion clouds y our mind your perceptions c hange . Different from the in-her-face prickly danger radiated by Wrestler, Swordsman’s unlikely behavior triggered her curiosity—something odd about him!
    Enough. Didn’t curiosity ki ll the cat? Her smile faded . She was that curious cat!
    As if reading her interest, Swordsman turned to look directly at her and their gazes locked. To break this uncomfortable contact, she consulted her watch—her time was running out!
    Ignoring Swordsman now, she stepped forward for a better overview of the sale. Her glance moved across the merchandise, stopped, then riveted. Could it be true? At the end of the far table sat a collection of Blue Danube china! She could hardly contain her excitement!
    Years ago, she inherited her mother’s Blue Danube place settings for eight and using it brought back warm childhood memories. Adding extra settings to accommodate her large family was easy back when it sold open-stock in department stores. But the now-discontinued pattern was no longer available retail, even though breakage and chips required frequent new additions. A company called Replacements, Inc. charged dearly since the current demand exceeded the existing supply, forcing the price up. Now occasional lucky finds still occurred at antique and thrift shops or estate and garage sales.
    She moved swiftly past the other displays to the table. There they were! Turning the gravy boat upside down, she verified the maker’s mark on the bottom. Calm, be calm! Check each piece for chips, cracks, maker’s mark and price. The gravy boat sticker read $10 , salt and pepper $7, candle sticks $5 each, filigree serving dish $15, cream and sugar $15, cake plate $15, jelly jar $5, pitcher $10, coffee pot $15—and all in mint condition. She felt pricks of adrenalin rush down her arms to her fingertips as she gently eased past another shopper who reached for one of the pieces.
    “ Excuse me,” she smiled politely at the shopper, “but I’m already buying these,” and then a bit louder to Yellow and Red, “Would you please help me collect them and wrap them up for me?”
    Yellow hurried to assist. “Well, they sure are pretty little blue and white dishes, aren’t they? You want them all?”
    “Yes, please. Was this part of a whole set of china?” Jennifer probed.
    “Well now, a lot of it sold about 30 minutes ago but I think another piece is still inside the house unless Reba’s keeping it—a sort of casserole dish with a cover on it. Let me ask her about it.”
    Jennifer wondered at the connection between the upscale items at this handsome house and the folksy heirs unloading t hem. Certainly a story here, but probably not one learned diplomatically. With an important purchase in progress she must not risk alienating them, despite her curiosity.
    A moment later Blue walked over to Jennifer. “You the one interested in more of these dishes?”
    “Well yes, I might be. I... ” Jennifer hoped her voice didn’t reveal her true passion as she made a Herculean effort at casualness. “I sort of like blue and white and think I might be able to find a place for some of them,” she somehow