Tailor made terror, p.1
Tailor-Made Terror, page 1
Tailor-Made Terror
(A Spicetown Spin-Off)
A Carom Seed Cozy
Sheri Richey
Copyright © 2024 Sheri S. Richey. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage or retrieval system now known or hereto after invented—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper—without permission in writing from the publisher.
For further information, contact the publisher: Cagelink
The author assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions that are inadvertent or inaccurate. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to reflect actual events or persons.
ISBN:
Front Cover art by Mariah Sinclair
Spicetown Mysteries
Welcome to Spicetown
A Bell in the Garden
Spilling the Spice
Blue Collar Bluff
A Tough Nut to Crack
Chicory is Trickery
The No Dill Zone
Cons & Quinces
Silent Night Dynamite
Keslar Mansion Mysteries
(A Spicetown Spin-off)
Cat In Cahoots
Cat Incognito
Cat In Control
Carom Seed Cozies
(A Spicetown Spin-off)
Murder All Sewn Up
Tailor Made Terror
____________
Romance by Sheri Richey:
The Eden Hall Series:
Finding Eden
Saving Eden
Healing Eden
Protecting Eden
Completing Eden
∾
Willow Wood
Knight Events
Chapter 1
Cora Mae Bingham struggled to get inside the first set of glass doors to the Caraway Cafe with her umbrella. As helpful as they were, umbrellas became her enemy when she tried to get in or out of anywhere. Fluffing her hair and stomping her feet, she stood the umbrella in the corner declaring victory and exhaled loudly before calmly entering the restaurant.
“Oh, dear. I know I’m late, but it has been a whirlwind of a morning!” Cora pulled out the chair opposite Police Chief Conrad Harris and flopped down hard into the seat.
“Well, my morning has been rather droll.” Conrad chuckled. “What’s going on at city hall?”
“Amanda and I have been in a dither all day.” Cora ordered some hot tea from the waitress and straightened her jacket lapel. “I’ve got good news, which has put a dozen things on my to-do list, and potentially bad news, which is something you have to keep secret. Which do you want to hear first?”
Conrad furrowed his brow as he weighed the options. “Let’s start off on a good note.”
“Okay!” Cora Mae thanked the young girl for the hot water and dropped her tea bag into her cup. “Sonjay Wilson called. He’s going to loan us his Spicetown collection for display. We can only have the paintings for a week because he has another gallery showing scheduled mid-month, but he is sending them to us today. I’m going to put them up in the community center and Amanda is writing a press release so we can let people know about it. After they arrive, she’s going to photograph them for the website, too. I’m so excited to see them!”
“Tabor has seen some of them online.” Officer Eugene Tabor had his nose in his phone constantly, but he kept Conrad informed.
“Amanda has seen the photos he shares with Bryan. She says Sonjay’s working on seasons now, so there will be a Spicetown Autumn series and then winter. They are selling well, so he’s considering doing some with holiday themes, too.”
“I’m glad he’s doing well.” Conrad smiled at the waitress when she approached them to order and they both ordered the special of the day, the Chicken Breast Croissant Sandwich.
“Peggy has the community center booked next week, so I’ve got to talk to her about re-arranging things. I hope she hasn’t already advertised the event. I’m hoping she might want to help. We’ll need to extend the viewing hours and I’ll need someone to oversee things. Gloria can work down there during the day. Amanda said she or Bryan would cover a couple of nights, but the weekend is a challenge.”
“Are you going to need security? I might need to put someone on duty there in the evenings if you are staying open at night.”
“Maybe until eight o’clock. I’ll let you know when I work it all out.” Cora Mae leaned away from the table as the waitress brought the lunch platters to the table. “I haven’t seen Dorothy. Is she here?”
“Yes, she’s in the kitchen helping Mr. Parish. Jason is off today.” The young girl looked a bit harried. Dorothy usually helped on the floor with the lunch rush, so the servers were taxed today. “Can I get you anything else?”
Conrad shook his head and thanked the young woman before draping his napkin in his lap. “Okay, so I’m ready. Hit me with the bad stuff.”
Cora Mae chuckled. “Well, you have to keep it quiet, but I talked to my friend, Julie, at the county clerk’s department today and I asked her about the sale of that land just outside the city limits on the east side. You know, the rumors were that there was a big corporation that bought all that undeveloped land, and we had hoped it was for a retail establishment.”
Conrad nodded as he chewed.
“It was bought by a corporation called BonLark, Incorporated, which I have never heard of, so Amanda started digging online.”
Conrad frowned. “So, what does this BonLark do?”
“Well, that’s really not clear. Amanda says it is two men that just partnered up to create this new corporation, but in the past they both were involved with big companies, just not together.”
“Maybe they’re both going to try something new. Those big money people can have their hands in lots of different things. They like to diversify.”
Cora Mae hummed. “Amanda is worried because they are going to need to clear-cut dozens of acres of forest and the wildlife will be displaced. I’m all for bringing jobs to the community, but not if it means a smelly eyesore on the edge of town.”
“Is it a done deal already?”
“No, she said the sale was pending some kind of permit approval and that part hasn’t gone through yet. That’s all she knew.”
Conrad brushed crumbs from his fingers. “So, how are you going to find out? I know you won’t be able to stand not knowing.”
“Amanda’s checking on the land. I don’t know who owns it anymore. It used to belong to Marvin Goddard, but I’m pretty sure he sold it when he retired to move to Florida. I don’t know who he sold it to, though. If it’s someone I know, maybe they can tell me what this corporation wants to do there.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
When they finished eating, Cora decided to walk down to the Carom Seed Craft Corner before returning to City Hall. It was just a block down and the rain was only a sprinkle now.
“Afternoon, ladies!” Cora Mae called out to Peggy and Arlene as the bells attached to the front door jangled. When a small yap sounded, Cora stepped back with her hand over her heart.
“Sully apologizes,” Peggy said, frowning down at the puppy at her feet. “We are still working on a proper greeting.”
“Proper or not, it is unique!” Cora Mae smiled. “Hi, Arlene. How are you both?”
“We’re doing great, Cora. What are you up to today?” Arlene picked up Sully and put him back in his crate with a toy.
“I have news!” Cora clapped her hands together and told them both about the art exhibit coming to town.
“I haven’t advertised the craft weekend yet, so there should be no problem delaying it to another time.” Peggy secretly did a happy dance in her head at the thought of having a relaxing weekend without the additional obligations.
“Well, I was hoping you might want to be involved in some way.” Cora tilted her head as Arlene straightened her back and raised her finger in the air.
“We could have a paint class!” Arlene’s excitement was met with bewilderment.
“We don’t have paints, Arlene, and I can’t paint.” Peggy shook her head.
“How do you know? Have you tried it? It’ll be fun. We can learn, too, and there’s plenty of time to buy some paint. I’ll run to Paxton and pick some up.”
“But we don’t have an instructor, unless you can teach people how to paint.”
Cora stepped forward. “Amanda might do it. I could ask her.”
“There you go! Problem solved.” Arlene held her arm out toward Cora. “I’ll call her, and she can tell me what kind of paint to get. I don’t know anything about painting. Do you think we could section the community center floor off, so we are on one side and the real paintings are protected?”
“I don’t exactly know how many we are getting, but I’ll know more tomorrow. I think we should be able to do that. I’ll need someone to keep an eye on things though. I don’t want Sonjay’s paintings to be harmed in any way.”
Peggy wasn’t certain she wanted to be part of this. “Talk to Amanda and see what she thinks first. We’ll wait to hear back from you.”
“Okay, ladies. You have a good day.” Cora waved as she stepped out the door.
Peggy spun around to face Arlene. “We can’t paint. What were you thinking?”
“I’m thinking about ways for you to make money!”
“Buying paints retail and selling them at cost does not make me mo
“I’m sorry! But, if we could find an instructor that’s free, you could make money. People that don’t usually craft would love to try this.”
“Amanda has a business to run. I’m sure Saturdays are busy at the nursery. She won’t want to do this.”
“There are other people we could ask.” Arlene wrinkled her brow in thought.
“Who?” Peggy smirked.
“Doreen! I think she paints with acrylics. Oh, and Miriam. I think she does watercolors.”
“Miriam Landry! Are you kidding me? She doesn’t do anything for free.”
“You’ve got a point.” Arlene lowered her head in defeat. “Wait! I think Francine Dobbs paints landscapes, flowers, and such. I’ll give her a call right now.”
Peggy sighed. “Maybe just one class. Ask her if she’ll do it at one o’clock. That way we aren’t there all day long.”
Arlene nodded and pulled her mobile phone from her pocket while Peggy put her cross stitch project in a plastic bag. She had been working on a small sample for display for the store, but that would have to wait for later.
When the store phone rang, Peggy grabbed it. “Carom Seed Craft Corner.”
“Peggy? It’s Sally McGivens at the Spicetown Star.”
“Hey, Sally. What’s up?”
“I was calling to see if you were planning an ad for the weekend. I’m saving a place for it, but then I wasn’t sure you needed it.”
“I won’t know for sure until tomorrow. Cora Mae might be in with an ad she needs to run so save some space for her, too. We are changing things up at the community center this weekend. She’s expecting Sonjay Wilson’s paintings to arrive, and they’ll be on display at the community center this weekend. There might be a painting class with it, but I haven’t found anyone to do that yet.”
“Wow! I may have to come to that. I’m not crafty, but I’d love to learn to paint.” Peggy hated it when Arlene was right.
“I’ll let you know.”
“Oh, one more thing, and don’t hate me for this, but Ed was asking us to recommend someone who could do alterations.”
“Oh…”
“I gave him your name and the store number, so he might be calling you.”
“Ed Poindexter?”
“Yeah.”
“You gave Ed Poindexter my phone number?” Ed was the editor of the Spicetown Star, and Peggy always hid from him when she went over to the newspaper office to set up her ads.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Peggy. You can always tell him you’re booked if you don’t want to do it, but he’s lost a ton of weight, and he wears very expensive clothes. He needs them all taken in and I’m sure he’ll pay you well for your work.”
“But he’s such a…”
“I know. I know. No one knows that more than me. It’s just, well, he asked, and you’re the first person I thought of. Like I said, I think he’ll pay you well.”
Peggy chewed her lip. She could really use the extra money. “Okay. I understand, and thanks for thinking about me. I don’t think he likes me very much, so I may never hear from him, anyway.”
“He doesn’t like anyone, Peggy.” Sally laughed.
Chapter 2
Ed Poindexter pulled his car into his driveway and stopped near the sidewalk to his front door. Leaving the car idling, he popped his trunk and ran up the steps to unlock the front door before returning to his trunk. Looking over both shoulders first, he lifted a cardboard box from the trunk and slammed the lid shut.
After checking his back again, he carried the box to his front door and sat it inside, absentmindedly looking for his dog, Sadie. She had passed away only two weeks ago, but old habits were difficult to break. The house was too quiet now. Locking the front door again before returning to his car, he pulled the car further up the driveway until he could pull into his detached garage in the back of the house.
Settling into the spare bedroom that he used as an office, Ed cleared the desk of bills and mail before unpacking the box. Turning on his laptop, he made a mental list of things to do next as his ringing phone disrupted his thoughts. He had put Norman Peavy in charge of the newspaper when he left, and he hoped he wasn’t calling for help already.
Seeing the name of his new love interest, Carol Martin, shown on the display, he answered with a smile. “Hi sweetie! How are you?”
“Aw, Ed. The flowers are beautiful! Thank you so much. I love them.”
“Not as beautiful as you, my dear.”
“What are you up to today? Working hard?”
“I was going to call you later and see if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow night. I can drive over to Paxton, and we can try the new Italian place that opened downtown. Would you like that?”
“Oh, Ed. I can’t. One of my new friends at work invited me to go out to drinks and dinner. It’s a birthday celebration and a group of us are going.”
“It’s good that you’re making friends. You were worried about that. I told you they would love you once they got to know you.”
Carol giggled. “I really want to fit in. They are a tight group of friends here and have worked together for years. I feel like such an outsider. I’m excited to be included, though, and I don’t want to back out now.”
“I understand completely. You go out and enjoy yourself! We’ll go out another time, maybe over the weekend.”
“Okay, honey. Thank you.”
“Anything exciting happening at work today?” Ed chuckled. “Did you meet any millionaires or celebrities?” Carol had told him about the corporate attorneys from Knoxville coming to her office last week. She had been dazzled by their intimidating presence, even more so than when she met the judges after being hired.
“Nothing too exciting. Judge Graves was mad this morning about something someone did, but as far as I know, it wasn’t me. I heard him yelling in the supervisor’s office. He’s a little scary.”
“Floyd Graves? He’s always been a blow hard. Don’t you worry about him. Those robes give people a big ego, but he better not yell at you!”
Carol lowered her voice. “I gotta go, honey. My break is over. Talk to you soon.”
Disconnecting the call, Ed saw a text from Norm at the newspaper relaying a phone message he had taken for Ed. Dr. Eli Hurst had returned his call and left his phone number. Ed texted back to acknowledge the message and sat down to write up his interview questions for Dr. Hurst.
“Good morning, Sully.” Arlene scratched Peggy’s pup under the chin when he ran to her feet for attention. “Where’s your momma?”
“Good morning.” Peggy was not comfortable with the title of dog mom, so she ignored Arlene’s comment. “You’re supposed to be taking today off.”
“I know and I am, but I’m going over to Paxton. They’re having a big shoe sale and I wanted to check with you about the painting supplies. Doreen said she would do a class for us, and she sent me a list of what we need. There are only four paint colors because she’s going to have them mix the colors to make the rest. We need special paper and brushes, but we can use paper plates for the paint palettes.”
Peggy’s forehead creased. She loved the fact that Arlene was so enthusiastic about these exhibits, but this one just seemed like more expense for no return. She didn’t sell painting supplies and didn’t have the room or the money to expand her stock.
Arlene held her hands up. “Before you say no, Doreen said she would cover the cost of the supplies if I would pick them up for her and help her with the event. She just wants to contribute and seems excited to do this.”
Peggy relaxed. “So, you don’t need me at all. You’re going to handle everything?”
“Yes, I’ve got it all under control. Amanda offered to do a class for kids if we wanted, but I decided against that. I’m worried about them making a mess around the expensive art and maybe this isn’t such a great activity for kids. Cora would just die if something happened to Sonjay’s paintings.”
“It would make the event more peaceful, too.” Peggy chuckled. “I don’t know how Cora is going to keep the paintings safe. I hope they are covered by glass or something because people always want to touch everything.”
