Sudden Vacancies Read Online Free Page B

thought about it, was “Think before you act,” and in his line of work, a sensible one that had brought him control of sticky situations many times.
    “Sandra, I think we need to focus on the future. We could sit here till next year, come up with all of the various scenarios in an attempt to explain how Mr. Brandon died, but without hard evidence, how would it benefit us? I say, let’s move on and deal with today’s problems.”
    Sandra sighed, “You’re probably right. I just hope we aren’t overlooking something important. I guess I should get back to work. Tommy wanted me to stop by the florist shop for a few minutes before I headed home.”
    “Well, I think I’ll check on Bruce before I head home. See ya’ tomorrow?”
    Sandra nodded her head and gave Andrew a little wave as she exited her office and turned towards the florist shop. “Yeah, see ya’ tomorrow.”

Chapter 6
     
    Tommy Williams had been working as the florist for the Paradise since 1998. His work was a continuation of the work he had done as a teenager in his parent’s shop. His parents were the second-generation owners of a florist shop in Akron and were very proud of their work.
    However, Tommy was interested in branching out a little. His two sisters were currently managing the family shop, allowing Tommy the opportunity to take his own route. When asked why he had left the family business to work in a hotel, Tommy always replied the same way, “It’s nothing personal. I’m very proud of my sisters’ work and I even use some of the same vendors they use. However, I just felt that the hard work we’ve done over the years should be expanded to more markets.”
    Entering the flower shop, Sandra was assailed with the fragrance of fresh flowers and smiled at the pleasant scent. “Tommy? You still around?” Looking around she didn’t see any sign of him, so she headed back to the coolers.
    Tommy finished transferring the recent shipment of lupines into the display buckets, and then turned as he heard someone enter the shop and make their way to the back. “Miss Jones, hey, thanks for stopping by.” Wiping his hands on the rag at his waist, he approached and offered his hand.
    Giving his hand a firm shake, Sandra looked around and was amazed at some of the arrangements that Tommy had created. He was a genius! “Tommy, those arrangements are spectacular. I got your message that you wanted to see me?”
    Tommy nodded, leading the way out of the cooler and back to the front of the shop, “I was just wondering if any decisions had been made on how to clean up the riff-raff in this part of town.”
    Taken aback at his question, “Well, I’ve never given a lot of thought to what goes on outside the walls of the hotel, to be honest,” she said. “In all candor, I’m sure some of the stuff that happens outside this place also happens around Akron, and every other city in the US. The only difference is that the stuff around here is a little more visible and we know where to look to find it. That small-town sensibility that Columbus has necessitates covering up the bad stuff. I bet you could find bad things going on just about anywhere there are people living.”
    “But wouldn’t the world be better off if it didn’t have all that stuff?” Bruce added, having spotted them in the florist shop and only catching the tail end of the conversation as he entered. “I mean, there’s so much trash these days that it all gets in the way.”
    “Yes, I do wish this place was cleaner, but what can we do? If anyone tried to clean up the streets, it would only draw attention to the problems and that usually makes more bad stuff show up. You know, misery likes company?” Sandra queried.
    “But what about areas like New York? That place was a dark stain on polite society before they got it cleaned up.”
    “Sure, New York is clean now, from what everyone can see. Rudy Giuliani, wasn’t it? But underneath the surface, I’m sure there’s still