Read Shift Burn (Imogene Museum Mystery #6) for Free Online Page B

renting a carpet steam cleaner,” he murmured.
    I giggled into his shoulder. “You know what I want? To go out on the Surely . Anchor her somewhere and float for a few days — just you and me.”
    Pete pulled back to look in my eyes, his brows arched. “That can be arranged.” A smile slowly spread across his face, and he leaned in for a lingering kiss.
    Someone coughed in a pointed manner. We glanced up.
    Doc Corn in a tattered sweater vest, short-sleeved shirt, dirt-streaked jeans and rubber boots, beaming like a benevolent grandfather. “Hate to interrupt, but I understand Tuppence is next on the list. Rhonda said it’s an emergency, and I can see why.” He peered through the plate glass window at the lineup outside, people and animals shifting wearily from foot to foot. “Bring her on back. First exam room on the left.”
    Tuppence adores Doc Corn, mainly because he leaves a stripe of Cheez Whiz on the table to distract her while he pokes and prods. But today Cheez Whiz was no temptation.
    “Case of gluttony?” Doc Corn tipped his head and frowned, concentrating on what he was hearing through his stethoscope.
    “Mae Brock’s pork sausage and stuffing casserole,” I replied.
    “Ahhhh.” Doc Corn’s merry green eyes widened behind his spectacles. “I saw that at the potluck yesterday. Avoided it myself. Hmmm.” He slid the stethoscope to a new location on Tuppence’s belly and listened again. “I’ve never known of anyone to actually die from Mae’s cooking. Well, except maybe Sherman, but that was a long time ago.”
    “I thought it was colon cancer,” I blurted.
    “Stuff builds up over time.” Doc Corn made a circular, rolling motion with his hand. “Toxins and such. Who really knows what causes cancer?” He shrugged. “Not that it was intentional, mind you. Mae and Sherman were quite the pair. Pity.”
    He eased around the table and lifted Tuppence’s head, examined her eyes, mouth and nose. “Well, my dear,” he sighed — and he was talking to Tuppence, not to me, “good news is you’ll live. Bad news is you’ll be uncomfortable for another six to twelve hours.” He turned to Pete and me. “I’d like to keep her overnight. She’s showing signs of dehydration. I’ll put in an IV if she needs it.”
    “Poor dog.” I patted Tuppence good-bye. She gave me one tail thump — definitely an improvement. “Tomorrow, old girl.”
    We stepped out of the exam room, and Doc Corn hesitated. He quickly scanned the still empty waiting area and touched my arm. “Say, have you talked to Bob Cummins or Sheriff Marge this morning?”
    I didn’t think that by ‘talk’ he meant holding Harriet up while Sheriff Marge and I watched the Tinsleys’ barn burn, so I shook my head.
    Doc Corn heaved a deep sigh. “You know how speculation flies around here. I was hoping to get a more authoritative source.”
    “About what?” Pete’s voice was sharp.
    “That the fire at the Tinsleys’ place might not have been accidental. There’s been a spate of fires, and people are starting to talk. I’m not liking what I’m starting to hear.”
    “Kids?” I asked, remembering Sheriff Marge’s line of inquiry a few days ago.
    Doc Corn winced. “If it’s kids, they’re smarter than average. I’m not talking about the porta-potty fire or the grass fires along Highway 14, of course, but about the storage shed behind the hardware store, the empty mobile home over on Ferry Road, and now the Tinsleys’ barn.” He pursed his lips and scowled. “It’s making folks nervous, which fuels the rumor mill.” He patted my shoulder. “You two take care, now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
    Pete and I performed the necessary chores with a zombie-like lack of animation. All things considered, we ’d gotten very little sleep in the past twenty-four hours. While we removed the physical evidence of Tuppence’s distress, the odor remained. We