Free Better Read Than Dead by Victoria Laurie

longer than their appointment time, I closed up shop and headed home.
    I drove through my neighborhood in a stupor, replaying the scene at the restaurant over and over. I had been under the impression that Dutch had come to respect my occupation. After all, only a few months ago it had helped him nab a serial killer. How was it possible that now he was embarrassed by what I did?
    As I drove I tried to take my mind off things by making an effort to absorb the beauty of the crisp fall day. Autumn in Michigan is a breathtaking event.
    Sometime toward the end of September, summer abruptly ends and there is a rather sudden natural reversal of color, sight and smell. Overnight the sky turns gray, the clouds turn blue, the flowers turn brown and the leaves turn orange, red, yellow and pink. The sweet smell of summer flowers gives way to the hickory scent of burning leaves, crisp mornings and a flurry of activity as the cold entices people out of their hammocks and into chores of leaf raking, garage cleaning, and preparing for winter.
    By the time we get to Halloween, most of the leaves have fallen and the chill has settled in for the duration. While I combed my way through my subdivision, I smiled a little as I took in the lavish display of Halloween decorations: plastic spiders dangling from trees, white ghosts poking out of windows, witches’ brooms leaning in doorways, and headstones on nearly every lawn.
    As I pulled into my driveway, I sighed as I realized time had gotten away from me this year, and the grocery bag full of decorations I’d planned on hanging up would have to remain in their packaging for one more year.
    The only thing I’d managed to do to promote the spirit of Halloween was carve two pumpkins, and I’d done that only to get to the seeds.
    I loved pumpkin seeds, and as it happened so did Dutch. I pouted as I thought about how I’d made a special batch for him with extra salt, just like he’d told me he liked them. They were sitting on the counter in my kitchen in a large Tupperware container with his name on it, and as I got out of my car I was already having second thoughts about ending our relationship so abruptly.
    The problem was that even though I adored him, I couldn’t possibly date someone who didn’t completely accept me for who I was. Still, the man was beautiful. My mind drifted back to my office that afternoon, when we’d been this close to public indecency.
    So in essence, my libido was having a huge quarrel with my ethics. I sighed heavily once more and got out of the car, walking toward my house. As I got close my front door opened unexpectedly, causing me to jump, which was a good thing because I was almost knocked over by several large two-by-fours making their way out of the doorway on Dave’s shoulder.
    “Hey, Abby,” Dave said, grinning under the strain of the wood.
    “Hi, Dave. Those the old rafters?”
    “Some of ’em. There’s still more to take down, but I got ya a great deal on the replacement lumber. Oh, and I broke that window in your attic with one of the rafters, but I’ll take care of it when I’m through with the job.”
    I moved aside as Dave hefted the wood in the direction of his truck. “So how much damage to my bank account are we talking?” I asked.
    “I’m doing my best to keep it under a grand, honey.”
    My mouth fell open. At the moment I was a little short on cash. I’d done some very grown-up things recently, like opening up an IRA where I’d sunk in the maximum for the year, as well as buying up a bunch of stock my sister had recommended to me. The grand was going to hurt, but I refused to flinch, remembering I was working a party this evening that would, in essence, pay for the repairs. “No sweat,” I said. “I can swing it.”
    Dave had thrown the old lumber into his truck and was now walking back by me to get another load from inside. As he passed me he said, “Fifteen hundred at the very most.”
    I gulped, feeling a tightening