Free Darned if You Do by Monica Ferris

pink cushions on the seats. Betsy took one and indicated with a gesture that Valentina should take another.
    â€œThis is such a nice place,” said Valentina. “Very cozy.”
    â€œThank you.” Betsy looked inquiringly at her.
    Valentina took a deep breath. “Tommy’s my cousin. I’ve been talked into taking responsibility for his house. He’s going to be in the hospital for a long while, probably. He doesn’t think the house needs anything but a new roof. But it does! It’s in such bad shape that it might have to be torn down.”
    â€œI don’t imagine Tom is happy about this.”
    â€œNo, he isn’t. But if I don’t try to take care of things, apparently the county will. And he suspects—so do I, really—that they’ll just send a crew in to throw everything away. Tommy says there are lots of valuable things in his house. And for all I know, that might be true. Those people might throw good stuff away with the bad—or, worse, steal the good stuff.” Valentina winced. “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”
    â€œNo, that’s a perfectly valid concern,” said Betsy. “I have heard garbage collectors find valuable things in trash cans all the time. And not all the things are returned to the people who threw them away.”
    â€œThe main problem is that I’m not rich enough to hire people to help—that house is too much for me alone. I don’t know if you are aware of how awful the place is.”
    Betsy nodded. “Well, there have been some rumors lately . . .”
    Valentina smiled grimly. “Well, it’s probably even worse than you’ve heard. The house itself has something wrong with its foundation. The brick sills are bulging.”
    â€œOh, I didn’t know that! Was the foundation damaged when the tree fell on the roof?”
    â€œI think it’s been that way for a while. But before anyone can tackle that, the inside needs attention, and that’s something I’ve been asked to handle. I talked to James Penberthy—he’s Tommy’s attorney, and he manages Tommy’s trust—and he’s going to help me get an emergency conservatorship. Then he says I should try to line up some volunteers from here in Excelsior to help me sort things out. I stopped for lunch at the Barleywine, and Leona Cunningham said I should talk to you.”
    Valentina looked around the shop, and a frown slowly formed on her face. “You do know her, right?”
    â€œYes, she’s a good customer.”
    â€œBut why did she think you could round up some help for me?”
    â€œProbably because I can.” Betsy smiled. “Her place and mine are two of the biggest carriers of gossip in Excelsior. I have a group that meets here every Monday, and between them and the regulars at the Barleywine, we can get the word out very quickly.”
    â€œWould you be willing to do that?”
    â€œOf course. Why don’t you give me a way to contact you, and I’ll see what I can arrange. Would you be willing to come back here on Monday afternoon to talk to my regulars? You can tell us how many people you’ll need and what you’ll need them to do.”
    â€œOkay.” Valentina nodded, feeling a sudden sting behind her eyes. Betsy’s willingness to get involved was a huge burden off her shoulders. “I hope I’ll have the conservatorship all fixed up by then. Oh, thank you, maybe this isn’t going to be impossible after all!”

Chapter Nine

    S EVEN members of the Monday Bunch sat around the library table in Betsy’s shop: Emily, Doris and Phil, Jill, Bershada, Cherie, and Grace Pickering, who was only there temporarily. This time Grace had brought her sister, Georgine, with her. Georgine was a knitter; she was working on a bright red mitten. She looked like her sister but was a little taller and not quite as slim, and her