Free Black Thursday by Linda Joffe Hull

and confusion, she not only stepped in to calm shoppers, but helped to coordinate efforts to ensure that people could get the items they had waited in line for hours to purchase.”
    I stole a glance at Frank. He needed the good press way more than I needed to feel good about making the best of an awful situation. Instead of any understandable disappointment at the omission, however, he smiled what seemed to be a genuine smile.
    â€œA star is born,” he announced.
    â€œOn behalf of myself, Mrs. Frugalicious, and everyone who was at Bargain Barn last night,” Anastasia continued, “I would like to extend my condolences to the family of Mrs. Katherine Carter.”
    With the surname Carter, I forgot all about anything else Anastasia was or wasn’t saying.
    Kathy Carter.
    A photo flashed on the screen. Despite the makeup, jewelry, off-the-shoulder top, and slightly blurred glamour shot effect, I was looking at the very same heart-shaped face of the woman I’d met last night.
    The Frugarmy member who’d met her fate a few minutes later.
    Underneath the photo, her name written out in cursive was not Katherine Carter or even Kathy Carter but Catherine Carter.
    The concrete in my stomach started to churn.
    Catherine with a C .
    CC.
    _____
    I scuttled across the house to my office and powered up my computer. It couldn’t be anything more than sheer coincidence that Cathy Carter shared her initials with my cyber stalker. Cathy was an enthusiastic member of my Frugarmy who’d met her untimely end by coming to Bargain Barn to enjoy special bargains. CC, AKA Contrary Claire, had made a point of saying she wasn’t coming to Bargain Barn last night. Her exact words were deleted from my website, but they would likely be stored on my brain’s hard drive forever:
    Thanks for offering me fifteen minutes of background fame, but I think I’ll just stay home and cyber shop. Everyone knows the deals are way better online these days, anyway.
    I took a breath of relief and glanced at the comments and condolences now starting to stream in from the Frugarmy:
    Love and blessings to all involved. —Susan H.
    I was there last night and just wanted to say that Mrs. Frugalicious and her family were so terrific in the face of very difficult circumstances. —Randi T.
    I missed the accident (thankfully) but was able to score some terrific deals anyway. —Lisa C.
    Rest in peace, Cathy. —Ann S.
    Absent, so far, was an snarky I told you so , or anything else for that matter, from the other CC. Maybe Contrary Claire went to bed early and was still sleeping in, or maybe she’d taken a last-minute, post-Thanksgiving, off-the-grid getaway, but one thing was for sure—she’d definitely be weighing in with something.
    Then again, maybe she’d already tried to fire off her negative diatribe but was blocked by whatever the boys had done to my website settings.
    All three kids were still sleeping, but I was too curious to wait until teenage-wakeup time. Instead, I went upstairs, knocked on Trent’s bedroom door, and let myself in. For a split second, I wished I’d picked FJ, the tidier of the boys, thereby avoiding the minefield of laundry and sports equipment littering his floor. Either way, there was no missing the general boy funk permeating the air.
    I nudged him awake. “Trent!”
    â€œSleeping,” he finally mumbled.
    â€œI have a question.”
    â€œLater.”
    â€œYou blocked CC from posting, right?”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œSo, any comments she wants to post—”
    â€œHave to be approved by you.”
    â€œAnd how do I know if she tried?”
    â€œYou get an email alert.”
    â€œThat’s it?” I said.
    â€œUh-huh,” he managed.
    â€œThanks,” I said. “And you need to clean your room when you wake up. It’s a disaster.”
    â€œK,” he grunted, rolled over, and was immediately back into his