Read Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 07 - Two Ghosts Haunt a Grove for Free Online

It was thick, creamy, and made from the best ingredients. No fillers. No preservatives.
    They had the usual chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry; but there was also ginger spice, green tea, and Asian surprise. I have no idea what ingredients made up that last one, but it tasted really good.
    So that is exactly where Jackie headed, her mouth drooling for creamy goodness. We got there just as the doors opened. The owner smiled at us in greeting. Jackie ordered her hot fudge sundae with extra fudge and a glass of water. I decided on the banana spilt with their ginger sauce and extra whipped cream. You can’t go wrong with whipped cream.
    “So,” said Jackie as she dug into her ice cream, “what are you planning to do today since neither of us have to work?”
    “I want to go to that flea market,” I said,
    “I should have known. Though I can’t blame you. That pipe Mrs. Dayton gave us was odd.”
    “An antique shop at a flea market just doesn’t seem right.”
    “All right we’ll go,” said Jackie, “after I’m done enjoying my ice cream.”
    “Whoa—Ho there’s a breakfast,” said Tiny as he and his pals walked in.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked.
    “Oh, we love this place,” said Tiny. “Come here every Friday. I call it Sweet Friday.”
    I chuckled inwardly.
    Tiny and his friends placed their orders and sat with Jackie and me. We talked despite the fact that our mouths had gone numb from the ice cream. In about an hour we had finished and Jackie and I said good-bye to Tiny and everyone.
    The flea market was in another part of town. The crowd that milled around the market area amazed me. I never knew that a flea market could be so popular. I guess people will brave heat just to find a bargain. Jackie parked the car and we entered the marketplace with the line of people. There were the usual quilt shops, books, cookware, knick knacks, a guy selling carved wooden furniture, and even one that sold cake mixes. The aroma of spicy food hit my nostrils. Sure enough, a man with a push cart cooked up a bunch of tamales and sold them at two dollars a piece. They smelled really good.
    I steered Jackie over to the tamale cart. She didn’t argue. I knew her ice cream breakfast had worn off.
    “How many?” asked the man with the cart.
    “Two,” I said, pulling a five out of my wallet.
    He took the money handing us our tamales and change. Oh, they tasted so good. My mouth watered the moment I bit into the mixture of meat and onions. Talk about yummy. Okay, so I was stuffing my face more than investigating.
    We wandered around browsing the different shops and marveling at some of the items. For a flea market, it had some good stuff. I spotted the antique shop with its ornate sign and flood of people. Quickly, I nudged Jackie and pointed it out to her. We finished our tamales and walked over.
    Surprisingly, we found all sorts of tables: coffee tables, end tables, even the kind that goes behind a couch. In another section were a bunch of fancy lamps that either used electricity or oil. They were really pretty and you could tell they had been hand painted. Quilts, blankets, chairs, even ancient looking pots and pans were there.
    The ivory is what caught my attention. An entire section was devoted solely to figurines, pipes, boxes, and even candle holders. I spotted a pipe that looked exactly like the one Mrs. Dayton gave us.
    “Jackie,” I said pointing it out to her.
    Her eyes narrowed as she studied the pipe. “Hey, that looks—”
    “I know.”
    I scanned the rest of the ivory items with others who were intently interested in them. A sign posted read “50% Off”. Odd, I thought. Why would anyone be selling genuine ivory at a flea market and at such bargain prices? It didn’t make sense.
    “May I help you?”
    A man with blond hair had walked up to us. “You own this place?” I asked.
    “Yes, this is my establishment,” answered the man. “My name is Hal.”
    “How did you come by all this