Death of a Coupon Clipper Read Online Free Page B

predicted, this was one mother of a huge mistake.
    “Hayley, I begged you to get yourself a financial planner, since you are so bad with
     money,” Sheila said.
    “I would, if I could afford one,” Hayley said. She wanted to argue, but she couldn’t.
     Her mother was right. And she always hated it when her mother was right.
    “Hayley, I want to help you. Really, I do. And you know I came through for you the
     last four times you made this exact same call.”
    “Yes, but this time is different, because none of this was my fault. Well, except
     maybe the forgetting to mail the insurance check part, but it’s been such a horrible
     winter, and I never expected—”
    “I just don’t have it, Hayley. You know I renovated my kitchen in the fall, and I
     got laser surgery on my eyes last month. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is for me
     to read menus now in restaurants. Stan says I have X-ray vision like Wonder Woman.”
    “Wonder Woman doesn’t have X-ray vision, Ma.”
    As if arguing over a comic-book character’s superpowers was the best strategy to pursue
     at this moment.
    “Well, you know what I mean!”
    Hayley glared at Randy, whose smile slowly faded as he turned his thumbs-up into a
     thumbs-down.
    Hayley nodded.
    They both gulped down the rest of their Irish coffees.
    “Look, I understand, Ma. Things are tight. No worries.”
    “By the way, Stan and I are taking a Mediterranean cruise. You know it’s been my lifelong
     dream to see the Greek isles. Well, I’m not sure we’ll actually go ashore, but I’m
     sure they will look lovely from the deck.”
    “That’s so nice. Is Stan treating you?”
    “Oh, please. Like he has two cents to his name. No, this one’s on me. I always say,
     spend it while you’ve got it.”
    Hayley bit her tongue.
    “I’d e-mail you the itinerary, but I don’t want Homeland Security all up in my business,”
     Sheila said. “They monitor our computers, you know, so you better make sure Dustin
     isn’t going to any porn sites when you’re not home.”
    “I will, Ma. I promise.”
    There was a click and Hayley noticed another call coming through.
    It was Lex Bansfield, Hayley’s boyfriend.
    Or something.
    She hadn’t really defined it yet.
    “Ma, I better go. Lex is calling.”
    “You should ask him for money,” Sheila offered helpfully. “All those billions from that frozen seafood.
     I can’t go into the supermarket without seeing that laughing lobster on all those
     boxes taking up most of the space in the freezer section. I just want a pint of frozen
     yogurt, for heaven’s sake!”
    “Ma, Lex is the caretaker on the Hollingsworth estate. It’s not like he gets a cut
     from the sales. He just mows the lawn. Or this time of year, he plows the driveway.”
    “Well, he’s closer to a giant fortune than most people.”
    “Bye, Ma.”
    Hayley pressed the flash button on the handset to switch over to the other line. “Lex,
     how did you know I was here?”
    “Your boss, Sal, called and asked me to bring my plow over to his place and dig his
     car out of a snowbank, and he told me you had to move out of your house because your
     furnace is busted. I figured you’d end up bunking with your brother.”
    “You wouldn’t believe the last couple of days I’ve had—”
    “Listen, Hayley, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m calling about our dinner tonight. . .
     .”
    Dinner? Omigod. Hayley suddenly realized she was supposed to have dinner with Lex
     at Jack Russell’s, a steak house just outside of town. She was so caught up in her
     personal drama she had completely forgotten.
    “I’m going to have to cancel,” Lex said, his voice shaky.
    Hayley knew something was wrong. “Lex, what’s going on?”
    “It’s Mr. Hollingsworth,” Lex said.
    Edgar Hollingsworth was Lex’s boss and the billionaire owner of Hollingsworth frozen
     seafood. He was a kind man and treated Lex like a son, especially since his own son
     had died tragically in a car