Read Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery) for Free Online Page A

candy bar in my pocket as a backup. “Call me later, okay?”
    Claire Ann leaned over the counter and I gave her a hug. “Take care.” She couldn’t hide the worry on her face.
    “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” I said over my shoulder as I reached the door.
    I’d told Claire Ann that I had everything under control, but in reality I hadn’t even started the article yet. The fact that I lied to her was getting to me, but I couldn’t have her panic right now. I’d go home and get to work on the project right away. She wouldn’t even know how close I’d cut it.
    First I needed to decide on a subject for the article. Sometimes my favorite little boutique threw out some of the broken items they no longer wanted. It would be worth a try if I went by their Dumpster and took a little peek. The woman who worked there had gotten used to seeing me climbing in their trash. Now if I could only get them to call me before they actually put the stuff in the garbage.
    Instead of turning to my left for home, I headed in the opposite direction toward Coco’s. As I walked down the sidewalk the thought hit me that I would be near the scene of the crime again. I hated to think about what had happened, but I couldn’t avoid the area for long.
    Having a deadline would certainly take my mind off my current problem. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t, but it wou ld be a distraction. That was the thing I needed most.
    It was probably my imagination, but it felt as if people were already looking at me strangely. Had word spread already? How could Ross get the rumor out there from jail? Then it hit me —it wasn’t Ross. His mother had probably gone from store to store or even home to home telling anyone who would listen.
    Unfortunately , I had to walk by Luke’s office. It still had crime scene tape around the outside. Would people look at me strangely if they saw me hanging around the area? They already thought that I was an odd duck anyway, so I supposed I shouldn’t let it bother me. Hurrying down the sidewalk, I crossed to the other side of the street just so I wouldn’t have to walk directly in front of the crime scene. It was the long way around, but it made me feel better.
    Crossing the street again, I arrived at Coco’s. The store was closed, but I didn’t need it to be open for a little Dumpster-shopping. One woman’s junk was another woman’s soon-to-be treasure.
    Even though the store was closed and they knew I rummaged through their trash, I still felt awkward about doing it. That never stopped me though. I sucked it up and got to work. After all, Claire Ann was counting on me to write about a recent project.
    I walked down the alley and to the back of the store. Other businesses shared the trash bin with Coco’s but they never had anything good.
    Just a few doors down was the back entrance to Luke’s office. I would stay as far away as I could from that door. Climbing into the Dumpster could be tricky, but I’d gotten better at it the more I tried.
    I lifted my foot onto the side of the Dumpster and heaved myself to the top. Of course it smelled in there and was completely gross. But with any luck, I’d find something good I could reach without having to climb all the way in. The good thing about Dumpsters like the one at Coco’s was there was minimal food or other things that would stink.
    Right away something caught my attention. Glass reflected the light . I’d have to actually go inside to get a better look. It was something that had to be done, so I climbed over the top.
    Items crunched under the weight of my body, so I had to be extra careful not to step on glass or some other sharp object. The piece I’d spotted was on the other side of the container, so I had to climb over all the trash to reach it. I hoped that this wasn’t all for nothing. I stumbled and then righted myself before finally reaching the thing. This was one heck of a treasure hunt.
    I grabbed the item and pulled it from the pile. The