Free Trial by Fury (9780061754715) by Judith A. Jance Page A

could claim that once I’m on a case, I work it one hundred percent of the time. I could say it, but it wouldn’t be true.
    The visit to the store was necessary because I was out of coffee. And MacNaughton’s. And the state liquor store is right across the street from Bailey’s parking lot.
    So much for dedication.
    To my credit, I did have my mind on the case. In fact, I was mentally going back over Bob Payson’s interview, word for word, trying to see if there were any additional bits and pieces that could be pulled from what he had told me. I was so lost in thought, that I almost ran over the poor kid.
    â€œWould you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?”
    The girl standing in front of two cartons of cookies was around eleven or twelve years old. She had a mop of bright red curls that could have come straight from Little Orphan Annie. She also had an award-winning smile. I’m a sucker for a smile. I stopped and reached for my wallet.
    â€œHow much are they?”
    â€œTwo fifty a box.”
    â€œAnd what kinds do you have?”
    She gave me the complete rundown. I took two boxes of Mints and handed her a twenty. She rummaged in a ragged manila envelope for change.
    â€œDo you sell here often?” I asked.
    â€œI’m here every day after school. My mom brings me over. I earn my way to camp by selling cookies.”
    I felt my heartbeat quicken. Adrenaline does that. It’s got nothing to do with heart disease. “Were you here last week?”
    Handing me my change, she nodded. “All last week and all this week. It’s a good place.”
    â€œYou’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
    â€œI’ve signed up to sell one thousand boxes. That way my mom doesn’t have to pay to send me to camp.”
    She finished speaking and turned away from me to ask someone else. I had alreadybought. She couldn’t afford to waste time with me at the expense of other potential paying customers. She homed in on a little old lady coming out of the store, carrying a cloth shopping bag filled with groceries.
    â€œDid you save me some?” the woman asked, handing over the correct change.
    â€œRight here,” the girl replied, picking up an orange box and tucking it inside the woman’s shopping bag. With the transaction complete, she turned back to me.
    I took a wild stab in the dark. “What’s the most you’ve ever sold at one time?”
    She never batted an eyelash. “Fifteen boxes.”
    My heart did another little flip. I don’t believe in coincidences. It’s an occupational hazard. “No kidding. When?”
    â€œLast week. A man and a woman bought fifteen boxes. They wrote a check.”
    Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman emerge from a parked car and walk in our direction. Her total focus was on me, but she spoke to the girl. “Do you need anything, Jenny?” she asked.
    â€œMore Mints and some Carmel Delights,” the girl answered. “And would you take this twenty?” Jenny handed over the twenty I had just given her and the woman returned to her car.
    â€œIs that your mother?” I asked.
    Jenny nodded. “She stays with me every day while I sell cookies.”
    The mother returned with four boxes of cookies cradled in her arms. She eyed me warily as she put them in the cartons at Jenny’s feet.
    â€œWhat are you, the hidden supply line?”
    The woman gave me a half smile and nodded. “It works better if people don’t realize we have a full carload of cookies right here. That way they think they’re buying the last Mint.”
    â€œThis is quite a little entrepreneur you have here,” I said.
    â€œJenny’s a good kid, and she has a lot of spunk. I don’t mind helping her. She’s willing to help herself.”
    Jenny was no lightweight salesperson. She had just finished nailing a woman with a baby in her grocery cart for four packages of