Death and a Dog. Fiona Grace

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      “I’m afraid Wilfordshire is a very small town,” she said. “You’ll run into the same people—and dogs—all the time.”

      “It’s you,” Daisy asked, evidently recognizing Lacey from their two earlier run-ins. “This is your store?” She had a ditzy voice, like your average Valley Girl airhead.

      “It is,” Lacey confirmed, feeling increasingly wary. Daisy’s question had felt loaded, like an accusation.

      “When I heard your accent in the patisserie, I figured you were a customer,” Daisy continued. “But you actually live here?” She pulled a face. “What made you want to leave America for this?”

      Lacey felt every single muscle in her body tense. Her blood started to boil.

      “Probably for the same reasons you chose to vacation here,” Lacey replied in the calmest voice she could muster. “The beach. The ocean. The countryside. The charming architecture.”

      “Daisy,” Buck barked. “Can you hurry up and find that thing you dragged me in here to buy?”

      Daisy glanced over at the counter. “It’s gone.” She looked at Lacey. “Where’s the brass thing that was over there before?”

      Brass thing? Lacey thought back to the items she’d been working on before Gina’s arrival.

      Daisy continued. “It’s like a sort of compass, with a telescope attached. For boats. I saw it through the window when the store was closed over lunch. Did you sell it already?”

      “Do you mean the sextant?” she asked, frowning with confusion over what a ditzy blond like Daisy would want with an antique sextant.

      “That’s it!” Daisy exclaimed. “A sextant.”

      Buck guffawed. Obviously the name amused him.

      “Don’t you get enough sextant at home?” he quipped.

      Daisy giggled, but it sounded forced to Lacey, less like she was actually amused and more like she was just being accommodating.

      Lacey herself was not amused. She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows.

      “I’m afraid the sextant is not for sale,” she explained, keeping her focus on Daisy rather than Buck, who was making it very hard for her to stay personable. “All my naval items are going to be auctioned tomorrow, so it’s not for general sale.”

      Daisy stuck out her bottom lip. “But I want it. Buck will pay double what it’s worth. Won’t you, Bucky?” She tugged on his arm.

      Before Buck had a chance to respond, Lacey interjected. “No, I'm sorry, that’s not possible. I don’t know how much I’ll fetch for it. That’s the whole point of the auction. It’s a rare piece, and there are specialists coming from all over the country just to bid on it. The price could be anything. If I sold it to you now, I may lose out, and since the proceeds are going to charity, I want to secure the best deal.”

      A deep furrow appeared across Buck’s forehead. In that moment, Lacey felt even more aware of just how big and wide the man really was. He was well over six feet, and thicker than two of her put together, like a large oak tree. He was intimidating, in both size and mannerism.

      “Did you not just hear what my wife said?” he barked. “She wants to buy your thingamajig so name your price.”

      “I heard her,” Lacey replied, standing her ground. “It’s me who’s not being listened to. The sextant is not for sale.”

      She sounded far more confident than she felt. A small alarm bell in the back of her mind started ringing, telling her she was plowing headfirst into a dangerous situation.

      Buck took a step forward, his looming shadow stretching over her. Chester leapt up and growled in response, but Buck clearly wasn’t fazed and just ignored him.

      “You’re refusing me sale?” he said. “Isn’t that illegal? Isn’t our money good enough for you?” He pulled a pile of cash from his pocket and waved it under Lacey’s nose in a decidedly threatening manner. “It’s got the Queen’s face on it and everything. Isn’t that enough for you?”

      Chester began to bark furiously. Lacey gave him a hand signal to stop, and he did, obediently, but he still held his position as if he were ready to attack the second she gave him the go ahead.

      Lacey folded her arms and squared off to Buck, aware of every inch he loomed over her but determined to hold her ground. She wasn’t going to be bullied into selling the sextant. She wasn’t going to let this mean, hulking man intimidate her and ruin the auction she’d worked so hard for and was so looking forward to.

      “If you want to buy the sextant, then you’ll have to come to the auction and bid on it,” she said.

      “Oh, I will,” Buck said through narrowed eyes. He pointed right in Lacey’s face. “You bet I will. Mark my words. Buckland Stringer will win.”

      With that, the couple left, swirling out the store so fast they practically left turbulence in their wake. Chester ran to the window, put his front paws up against the glass, and growled at their retreating backs. Lacey watched them go, too, until they were out of sight. It was only then she noticed how much her heart was racing, and how much her legs were trembling. She gripped the countertop to steady herself.

      Tom had been right. She’d jinxed herself by saying the pair had no reason to come to her store. But she could be forgiven for assuming there was nothing of interest for them in here. No one would have been able to guess by looking at her that Daisy had any desire to own an antique navy sextant!

      “Oh, Chester,” Lacey said, sinking her head into her fist. “Why did I tell them about the auction?”

      The dog whined, picking up on the note of mournful regret in her tone.

      “Now I have to put up with them tomorrow as well!” she exclaimed. “And what’s the likelihood they know anything of auction etiquette? It’s going to be a disaster.”

      And just like that, her excitement for her auction tomorrow was dowsed like a flame between fingertips. In its place, Lacey felt only dread.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      After her encounter with Buck and Daisy, Lacey was more than ready to lock up for the day and head home. Tom was coming over tonight to cook for her, and she was really looking forward to curling up on the couch with a glass of wine and a movie. But there was still the till to balance, and stock to tidy, the floors to sweep and the coffee machine to clean… Not that Lacey was complaining. She loved her store and everything that went along with owning it.

      When she was finally finished, she headed for the exit, Chester in tow, noticing that the hands on the wrought iron clock had reached 7 p.m., and outside it was dark. Though spring had brought longer days with it, Lacey had yet to enjoy any of them. But she could feel the change in the atmosphere; the town seemed more vibrant, with many of the cafes and pubs staying open longer, and people sitting on the tables outside drinking coffee and beer. It gave the place a festive vibe.

      Lacey locked up her store. She’d become extra diligent since the break-in, but even if that had never happened, she’d have gotten this way, because the store felt like her child now. It was something that needed to be nurtured and protected and СКАЧАТЬ