Free Goody Goody Gunshots by SAMMI CARTER Page B

I tried to only touch it on the edges in case somebody left fingerprints.”
    The corners of his mouth lifted again, and before I knew what he was thinking, he leaned across the counter and kissed me soundly. “Well, at least there’s one good thing that came from all of this,” he said with a wink, “if you saw the guy with the limp, at least we know he’s okay.”

Chapter 11
    Jawarski made off with the piece of metal, and Karen came through the door two minutes later. She seemed to be in an unusually good mood, and for some reason that grated up against the irritation I’d been feeling since Jawarski told me about Kerry’s accusation. I didn’t get a chance to ask why she was so happy until much later—after we’d waited on the customers who’d come in while I was talking to Jawarski and then ridden herd on a group of teenagers who stampeded into the shop a few minutes later.
    When the last of the kids finally straggled out of the store, I pulled out the toffee bin so I could replenish the sample tray and checked to make sure Karen was still grinning.
    She was.
    “You’re in an awfully good mood,” I observed casually. “What’s up? You and Sergio have time for a quick roll in the hay this morning?”
    Karen laughed and shook her head. “Are you kidding? It’s Sunday. He was still asleep when I left.”
    Conjuring up an image of Hendrix’s face, I broke a slab of brittle into small pieces. It felt so good, I smashed another, and then rewarded myself by popping a piece into my mouth.
    The buttery toffee filled my senses and made the world seem a little brighter.
    “Well, something’s got you grinning like the Cheshire Cat. What’s going on?”
    Karen bent to pick up a couple of napkins the kids had dropped on the floor and with a shrug, tossed the napkins into the trash. “I’ve found our new clerk. She’ll be starting tomorrow morning.”
    I frowned slightly. “You found someone already? It’s not one of the cousins, is it?”
    Karen shook her head and started toward the small room on the other side of the shop. “No, it’s not one of the cousins.” She fluttered a dismissive hand over one shoulder as she walked, and stopped in the archway to look back at me. “It’s actually someone who used to live here. She’s come back, and she needs a job. She called yesterday after you left, so I had her come in for an interview.”
    “Do I know her?”
    “I don’t know. Her name’s Liberty Parker.”
    The name didn’t ring any bells, but with a name like Liberty, it seemed likely that she’d been born in the mid- seventies, which would make her . . . a few years younger than me. She’d probably been way below my teenage radar screen. “What do you know about her?”
    “Not much,” Karen admitted. “Just, like I said, that she’s back in town, and she needs work.”
    “Did she have references?”
    Karen’s smile faded a bit. “I thought you were leaving the choice up to me.”
    “I did,” I said with a patient smile. “Now I’m just asking for a few details. What made you decide to hire her? Does she have experience in retail?”
    Karen hesitated ever so slightly before admitting, “I don’t know.”
    “You didn’t ask her?”
    “I didn’t think it was necessary,” she said, lifting her chin defiantly. “She’ll be fine. Trust me.”
    “I do trust you,” I said, my patience slipping a bit, “but Divinity’s a small shop. Whoever we hire is going to have a key to the shop and access to all our money. Please tell me you asked at least a few questions when you interviewed her.”
    Karen’s chin jacked up another notch or two. “I asked plenty of questions.” Her voice snapped like taut wire. “Nobody comes with a guarantee, Abby. I’ve talked to Liberty, and I think she’ll work out just great. If my judgment isn’t enough for you, maybe you should just do everything yourself.”
    I pride myself on being relatively smart—at least smart enough not to alienate the