All Sales Fatal

PRAISE FOR
Die Buying

“One hell of a great novel! This novel will crack you up with DiSilverio’s humor and razor’s-edge wit. A great book to curl up with over the weekend. You won’t be able to put it down.”

—
Suspense Magazine

“This is a wonderful start to a new series with likable characters, lots of humor, and a swift-moving story that will grab anyone who has ever stepped foot in a mall… I’m adding
Die Buying
to my cozy favorites for the year—even though I hate to shop.”

—
AnnArbor.com

“Charming, fun, and refreshing.”

—
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Laura DiSilverio has come up with a unique hook whereby she reels in her readers… I’m eager to read the next installment in this offbeat series.”

—
Mystery Scene

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Laura DiSilverio

DIE BUYING

ALL SALES FATAL

All Sales Fatal

Laura DiSilverio

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME, NEW YORK

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL,
England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of
Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community
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(South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over
and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

ALL SALES FATAL

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / May 2012

Copyright © 2012 by Laura DiSilverio.

Cover illustration by Ben Perini.

Cover design by Rita Frangie.

Interior text design by Laura K. Corless.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of
copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

ISBN: 978-1-101-58070-7

BERKLEY
^®
PRIME CRIME

Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

BERKLEY
^®
PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is
stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the
author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON

In gratitude for the friendship of women
who made and make my life richer:
Dawn Taylor, Linda Petrone, Sally Logan,
Cindy Stauffer, Katie Larsh,
and Jill Gaebler

Acknowledgments

As always, I want to thank Michelle Vega and all the Berkley Prime Crime crew for their insight and attention to detail that make my books so much stronger. Thanks also to my agent and friend, Paige Wheeler, and her folks at Folio Literary Management. Finally, thank you to the mystery writing community that encourages me and motivates me by believing that stories are important and by writing excellent books that illuminate my world, move me, and show me what it’s possible to achieve with words. They inspire me to work harder at my craft. They include Elaine Viets, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Reed Farrel Coleman, Marcia Talley, Brad Parks, Sophie Littlefield, Hallie Ephron, Tracy Kiely, Margaret Maron, and many, many others.

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

Twenty-two

Twenty-three

Twenty-four

Twenty-five

Twenty-six

Twenty-seven

One

In my more
profound moments, I think of malls as cathedrals to capitalism, airy sanctuaries filled with sunshine and optimism, embracing all comers with warmth and light, and offering cookies and Orange Julius in place of the wafer and the wine.

This was not one of those moments.

Hands balled on my uniformed hips, I regarded the middle-aged man in front of me gripping the handle of a kid’s red wagon, upon which rested a large leather ottoman. With the complexion and girth of someone who thinks a Quarter Pounder is a light appetizer, he gave me an affronted look when I asked if he had a receipt for his purchases.

“Are you implying I stole this, miss?” he asked, patting the ottoman with a beefy hand. “I have the receipt right here.” He fumbled in his suit pocket and thrust a crumpled slip of paper toward me.

“Not the ottoman, sir, the wagon. The manager at Jen’s Toy Store notified mall security that you had forgotten to
pay for it.” In the year plus that I’d been working as a security officer at Fernglen Galleria, “forgot to pay” had become my favorite euphemism for “shoplifted.”

He snorted. “How else was I supposed to get this to my car?” He thumped the ottoman again. “It’s damn heavy.”

“I’m sure the furniture store could arrange for delivery, or—”

“Yeah, for fifty bucks. I’m not paying—”

“The point is, sir, that if you want to use the wagon as a cargo dolly, you have to pay for it first.”

He goggled at me as though I’d suggested he do the hokey pokey. Nude. In the parking lot. “Fine, just fine!” He bent and wrapped his arms around the ottoman, lifting it off the wagon. His red face grew redder with the effort. “If I get a hernia, I’m going to sue the mall and you personally for every penny you’ve got.” He nodded his head firmly, thunking his chin against the ottoman so hard his teeth snapped together. “Ow!”

“I’ll get the door for you,” I said politely, zipping to the exit on my two-wheeled electric Segway and dismounting to push the heavy glass door wide. A slight breeze riffled my bangs. Without so much as a thank-you, the man stomped past me, breathing hard. Giving him a cheery wave and a “Thanks for shopping at Fernglen!” in my best chipper, flight-attendant-like voice, I let the door close.

The radio clipped at my left shoulder crackled as I returned to the Segway. “EJ, Captain Woskowicz needs to see you on the double.” The southern-accented voice belonged to Joel Rooney, the youngest officer on the mall’s security team. As low man on the totem pole, he frequently got stuck with dispatch duty.