Another Man's Treasure (a romantic thriller) (Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series Book 1) (33 page)

“Oh, thank God you’re still here!”

It’s Martha, Mr. Wainwright’s daughter, the one who hired me to organize the sale. Blonde hair disheveled, chest heaving, she brushes past me and flings open the pantry door.

She shrieks as if I’d just tossed her baby off a bridge. Eyes blazing, she turns on me. “Where are they?”

“Wha—?”

“The cans. Where are they?”

“Ty just took them to the soup kitchen. You said you wanted to donate—”

“Not any more. Call him! Get them back!”

I’m really not in the mood for this. Martha Wainwright had seemed like such a nice, reasonable client. Of course she wanted to donate anything useful that didn’t sell. No, she didn’t need to approve the donations. Now here she is going batshit on me.

“What’s the problem?”

She reaches inside her large purse and pulls out a can of Progresso Minestrone. The pop top has been pulled. She thrusts it toward me.

Inside is a tightly coiled wad of cash.

Buy
Treasure of Darkness
:
http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Darkness-romantic-thriller-Palmyrton-ebook/dp/B00QXWYUF0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1420909925&sr=1-1&keywords=treasure+of+darkness

S.W. Hubbard’s most recent novel is
Treasure of Darkness
, the sequel to
Another Man’s Treasure
. She is also is the author of three mystery novels and a collection of short stories set in the Adirondack Mountains:
Take the Bait, Swallow the Hook
Blood Knot, and Dead Drift
.  Her short stories have appeared in
Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
and the anthologies
Crimes by Moonlight
,
Adirondack Mysteries,
and the upcoming
Mystery Box
. She lives in Morristown, NJ, where she teaches creative writing to enthusiastic teens and adults, and expository writing to reluctant college freshmen. Visit her at http://www.swhubbard.net.

No good book is written alone.  The following people have earned my deepest gratitude: my fellow authors, Mike Cooper, Hallie Ephron, Pamela Hegarty, and Roberta Isleib for all their love and criticism; Pamela Ahearn for her support and feedback; and Ann Hubbard for her eagle-eyed copy-editing.

Double thanks to Roberta for her boundless cheerleading. Ultimate thanks to Kevin, my husband and personal patron of the arts, without whose love and support no writing would be possible.