Baylin House (Cassandra Crowley Mystery) Read Online Free Page A

Baylin House (Cassandra Crowley Mystery)
Pages:
Go to
Cassie’s instinct said she should be suspicious, but she was
too grateful for the job to look at it that closely.
    “I’ll have a contract drawn up that guarantees your payment.
You did say the offered salary is agreeable?”
    “Yes. Thank you.”
    “Very good, then.” Dorothy Kennelly paused, and then spoke
in a softer tone, “Cassandra, I should tell you that my schedule is only
partially due to publisher requirements. Rosalie has information that I
absolutely need, and I don’t have long to get it. She’s been diagnosed with
brain cancer. The doctor I spoke to was not encouraging about the months ahead.
Right now she is lucid and looking forward to meeting you, so I’d like to
arrange your flight immediately. Can you come on Monday morning?”
    “Monday . . . this Monday?” Cassie quickly calculated where
to leave her car, who to call at Lattimore Agency, what needed to be finished
at the condo before she could leave town, and . . . . She couldn’t get it all
done in two days.
    “Wednesday would be better,” she hedged.
    “All right then,” Dorothy said. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow
evening with your itinerary.”
    Click. She had hung up without another word.
    As promised, Dorothy’s message popped into Cassie’s Yahoo mailbox
on Saturday. It listed a flight number, departure time, and instruction to pick
up the plane ticket at check-in Wednesday morning by six o’clock. Upon arrival,
Dorothy would meet her at the gate; they would have lunch in Austin, and then
drive south to Cordell Bay, arriving just about suppertime. They would stay at
‘The Marlin’, a hotel on the mainland bay with three restaurants and 24-hour
room service, and a nice private beach if Cassandra was inclined to spend some
time there when she wasn’t working.
    Cassie tried calling her mother to let her know she had
accepted the job – actually hoping to pump for some information, but no one was
home. She left it all in a brief message on their answering machine, promising
to call from Texas if she didn’t hear back from them before she left.
    As expected, Cassie’s dad called to wish her good luck. She
asked if he remembered anything about his mother renting out rooms when they
lived in Berkeley. He was surprisingly vague, said he didn’t actually remember
anything, but knew his mother took in laundry and rented rooms while his father
was stationed somewhere in Europe. “I don’t remember paying attention to
anything beyond what time to be home for dinner and what movie was playing at
the Saturday Matinee,” he told her.
    Helen sent word she was busy and would talk to Cassie later.
    Thanks Mom.

Chapter Two
     
     
    The flight from Las Vegas to Austin lasted a little more
than two hours, which jumped to four hours when Cassie adjusted her watch for
the time zone.
    Dorothy’s flight from Orlando had arrived in Austin an hour
ago. She was waiting for Cassie outside the roped path leading from the gate.
    Cassie recognized her immediately; aged somewhat, but still
an elegant senior with her tanned skin and silvery white hair that looked fresh
from the beauty salon. She wore a powder blue silk blouse under a tailored
silver gray pantsuit with coordinated handbag and shoes, everything designer
named.
    It was striking contrast to Cassie’s black stretch jeans and
scoop neck top, pea-green, that she found on sale at Target yesterday, and her cleanest
pair of scuffed Reebok joggers.
    When Dorothy recognized Cassie, her expression changed to
shock. “Good Lord! What have you done to your hair, Cassandra?”
    Cassie shrugged and mumbled something inane about the shagged
pixie cut that replaced her old mid-back ponytail. She had forgotten the
shocking difference it made to someone seeing it for the first time.
    “Well,” Dorothy breathed, adjusting to the new look. “Humidity
does not lend favors, so short is probably better than your long hair would
have been. The young women who come to the island looking like princesses
Go to

Readers choose

Tom Vanderbilt

Kim Amos

James Barrington

Patricia Rice

Ivy Mason

Perri O'Shaughnessy

R. A. MacAvoy

Deborah; Suah; Smith Bae