The Alpine Xanadu Read Online Free Page B

the Parker name except for Durwood’s record as the worst driver in SkyCo. His reputation as the longtime owner of the local pharmacy was unsullied.
    Mitch looked skeptical. “Isn’t Blackwell older than I am?”
    Vida removed her swing coat as if she were a champion boxerabout to take on a contender. “He is. It almost makes me feel sorry for Patti Marsh, but her vices are too numerous.” Her gray eyes turned to me. “You say Amanda knew about this outrage? Why didn’t she tell
me
?”
    “Because,” I said, trying to sound reasonable, “she probably didn’t think it was suitable for your ‘Scene Around Town’ gossip snippets.”
    “It’s not, but Amanda should have mentioned it anyway.”
    “I only found out when I got back from the funeral,” I said.
    “Dot confirms it,” Vida declared. “I wouldn’t blame the Parkers for trying to kill him. Maybe Milo should let Durwood renew his license.”
    Mitch’s phone was ringing. “Excuse me, Vida. I’d better answer that. Detroit was never like this.” His long stride took him to his desk before the call trunked back to Amanda.
    The afternoon passed quickly. I didn’t answer Mavis’s letter, but I had an insight. Vida’s weekly radio program,
Vida’s Cupboard
, was the jewel in KSKY’s crown. The chatty fifteen-minute show featured Alpiners’ hobbies, travels, and other homely subjects. SkyCo listeners stayed glued to the radio. It was all Alpine, all the time. Thus she was Spence’s star performer, with advertisers begging to buy commercials in her time slot.
    “I’ve got a question,” I said, sitting in Vida’s visitor’s chair. “Have you noticed that Spence is getting the jump on us with RestHaven?”
    She frowned. “Not really. But I rarely handle straight news. Perhaps Spencer’s been keeping closer tabs on what’s happening there.”
    Mitch looked up from his keyboard. “Fleetwood couldn’t ferret out any more items than I do unless he checked himself in to the facility.”
    Vida refused to look chastened. “Spencer only covers major storiesfor his news broadcasts. Perhaps he’s able to dig deeper than we can.”
    “Whoa,” Leo said, entering the newsroom. “Are we damning the competition? I just got a co-op deal with KSKY for two more businesses.”
    “Hooray for you,” I said. “It’s the news side we’re discussing. Spence seems to get a lot more out of RestHaven than we do.”
    Leo removed his rumpled raincoat and hung it on his chair. “Maybe that’s because he’s doing a live broadcast at Saturday’s open house. He’s hosting the chief of staff after your show, Duchess. You’re the lead-in. Doesn’t that make you feel grand?”
    “Well …” Vida’s effort to look modest failed. “I’m sure Dr. Woo will keep listeners tuned in. My nephew Ross Blatt says he’s very intelligent.”
    Ross was one of Vida’s many relatives, the son of Wingfield Blatt and his wife whose name was May or June or April. Wingy and Pick-Your-Month had died by the time I arrived in Alpine.
    “Say,” I said to Vida, “Ross has been working at RestHaven. How come he hasn’t given you any tips about what’s going on there?”
    Vida scowled. “Ross’s company, Alpine Service & Repair, is a subcontractor. If Ross heard anything, don’t you think I’d know about it?”
    “Yes.” I stood up. “I guess we’re stuck with Spence beating us.”
    “It’s galling to get scooped,” Mitch said.
    “I do hate not knowing things,” Vida declared.
    Leo chuckled. “It’s not as if RestHaven will make big headlines.”
    “True,” I admitted.
    Before our next deadline, we’d discover I was wrong—dead wrong.

TWO
    I SPENT THE EVENING ALONE, WITHOUT EVEN A PHONE CALL FROM Milo. I was only vaguely miffed, knowing that he was coping with both Tanya and Tricia. But I missed him. We’d had less than three weeks living together in my little log cabin, and half the time we’d been so worn out from our own ordeal that by evening we