Fiona Silk Mysteries 2-Book Bundle Read Online Free

municipality could take my property.
    I kept my head high and didn’t notice an object on the ground until I stumbled over it. I bent and picked up a leather wallet with a leopard print design. The red-headed woman must have dropped it.
    I opened the wallet and checked for a name. Harriet Crowder would notice the loss of her ID , credit cards and five hundred dollars pretty quickly, I thought. I couldn’t find a telephone number. Maybe the people at CeeCeeCuisine would know how to contact her.
    The sight of all that cash reminded me that I didn’t have a sou. I pulled out my cell phone and called Philip again. This time I didn’t even get Irene.
    Across the road near CeeCeeCuisine, a huge sign said:
Rafaël et Marietta seront ici!!!
What did that mean? Who were they? Some people with a big budget were getting married? I wasn’t the only one who was asking. A small, excited clutch of people were pointing at the sign. Apparently, it was big news.Not big enough to take my mind off the horrible accident I’d seen, the fact that Marc-André was languishing in the rehab centre, while Phil was stonewalling, my bank account sat below zero, and Jean-Claude was scheming to get my property.
    I had hit rock bottom.
    That made me crave food with an equal measure of fat, starch and salt. The kind of stuff that you find in small-town greasy spoons. Stuff like poutine. I had just enough change to manage it. I made my way to Chez Fred, my favourite greasy spoon. The Chez has air conditioning, and air conditioning trumps everything. Plus the greasier the spoon, the better the poutine.
    I glanced down the street and spotted a rickety bicycle hurtling toward me. The bike squealed to a halt, and fifteen-year-old Josey Thring hopped off and propped it against the wall. She angled it carefully so the homemade sign for her handygirl operation, THE THRING TO DO , showed to advantage. Josey’s freckles stood out against her pale skin, and her cowlicks were on full alert.
    â€œHey, Miz Silk, I’ve been hoping to run into you.” Josey likes to get business out of the way early in a conversation. “You must need a lot of stuff done in your garden. I’ll come by and cut your grass. Heat wave like this, you must be up to your neck in weeds. Dust too, I suppose.”
    â€œDon’t worry about it, Josey.”
    â€œIt’s a pretty hot day. You’re looking kind of cooked. I could walk Tolstoy for you.”
    â€œThanks, but it’s too hot for Tolstoy to walk right now. He’s hiding out in the basement, sound asleep. I’ll have to wait until it cools down.”
    â€œOh sure, I can come by later.”
    With Josey, you have to fight fire with fire. “Shouldn’t you be studying tonight? You must have your exams coming up.”
    â€œI had a study day today. I guess I should check your gutters too.”
    â€œAnd what exactly were you studying?”
    Who was I kidding? Josey never studied for a minute, and as far as I could tell, she rarely went to school. On the other hand, she passed with excellent marks every year, and I did need my grass cut. It wasn’t even summer yet, and I’d already given up the war against the weeds. And for all I knew, my gutters did need cleaning. I was a bit unclear on that detail. Josey could provide any kind of house maintenance service you needed. She was clear on details and finer points. Plus she was one of those people who are born knowing how to do things. Too bad I was not one of those people born knowing how to earn enough money to have things done.
    â€œTrouble is, I’m pretty broke, Josey.”
    â€œWhat about your divorce settlement?”
    â€œStill dragging on. That’s one of the problems with divorcing a fast-talking lawyer who doesn’t plan to remarry any time soon.”
    â€œYeah right, who’d marry him anyway?”
    â€œI did.”
    Josey shook her head. “Doesn’t count. You were