Fiona Silk Mysteries 2-Book Bundle Read Online Free Page A

young and probably really foolish. Maybe even drunk.”
    â€œI wasn’t drunk! And I wasn’t young enough to fully explain my foolishness. He had a certain attraction, big man on campus, that kind of thing. Good-looking, smart, ambitious. Somehow, over the twenty-five years, it faded.”
    â€œMaybe because he expected you to iron his socks.”
    â€œI never actually ironed his socks, Josey.”
    â€œOf course not, but face facts, Miz Silk, he’s a real jerk. Anyway, you’re free now, so you have to make sure he doesn’t take advantage of you. You need a good lawyer.”
    â€œI have an excellent lawyer. Marie-France Sauvé. Unfortunately for me, she works on her own. No back-up. Right now she’s on her honeymoon, and she’s out of communication range. When Marie-France gets back, she’ll fix Philip’s wagon but good.”
    â€œGet another lawyer and take him to court, Miz Silk.”
    â€œThat’s one of the problems. Philip’s really plugged in to the legal community. He made sure I’d have trouble finding a lawyer in West Quebec. Marie-France came up against him in some case and didn’t like his tactics. I was lucky to get her.”
    I wasn’t so sure I should take legal or relationship advice from Josey, given that she hadn’t quite hit sixteen and her mother had headed out for a pack of smokes some five years earlier and hadn’t been seen since. I knew nothing about her father. So maybe her perspective was skewed. On the other hand, my own strategies had been spectacularly useless.
    â€œHow about your book writing, Miz Silk? That must make you some...”
    I shook my head. “Not going well. I’m hoping something will come up soon, but for now I’m really strapped.” I didn’t have the heart to mention negative royalty statements to Josey.
    â€œDon’t worry about the money, Miz Silk. Your credit’s good. You can run a tab. Wouldn’t be the first time. Things will get better for you soon. I’ll swing by later this afternoon and get started.”
    â€œNo,” I said, firmly. But of course, resistance was futile.
    Josey added, “I’m really glad to get this extra work, because I’m saving for my driver’s licence. I’m turning sixteen in September.”
    Of course, I knew that well enough.
    â€œAnd I need money to take the Drivers Ed,” she continued. “If I take it, I can get my licence in eight months; otherwise, I got to wait for a year. They call it your 365, ‘cause of the number of days. So you get the idea why I don’t want to wait.”
    Absolutely. Josey lives in the back of beyond in a ramshackle cabin with her Uncle Mike, when he’s not in the slammer. It’s a long, rickety bike ride from anywhere, and Uncle Mike is usually too drunk to stand, let alone drive. Still, I knew better than to badmouth him in front of Josey.
    â€œIt’s seven hundred bucks for the course,” she said. “That’s a lot. My dog walking business already goes to pay for my cell phone, and I got other expenses too, you know.”
    â€œUm.”
    â€œI’ll come by later then. You getting poutine, Miz Silk?”
    I mentally calculated the money in my purse to see if I had enough to manage a pair of poutines. I didn’t want to sit there bathed in guilt while Josey chewed through her savings for her beginner’s licence. If I used the parking change in my car, I had just enough for two orders of poutine and a tip. And it would be an early dinner too.
    â€œMy treat,” I said. “But first I have to check in CeeCeeCuisine to see if they know how to reach the woman who dropped this wallet. Hold on.”
    â€œAre you kidding? I love that place. They got such great stuff. I bet they’re making a fortune. I’m coming with you.”
    Josey is never one to miss an opportunity to see someone with a good business model.