All Trussed Up: Every Book and Cranny Mystery

CHAPTER ONE

It was hard to understand how such a perfectly beautiful morning could  turn so bad  by lunchtime. The soft tap of a tiny paw on her nose woke Fay Lynn just before the alarm was due to go off, so her morning didn't begin with that obnoxious, jarring blare. As she snuggled with Libro, her miniature Dachshund, the sunshine filtered through the bedroom shutters, letting her know it was going to be another gorgeous Indian summer day.

Time to get moving, Libs, Fay Lynn said as she slipped out of bed and stretched. Let's get you some breakfast, and then I'll hop in the shower. She started the coffeemaker brewing a pot of brown-sugar= cinnamon coffee. When it finished brewing, she added a dollop of pumpkin spice creamer and carried it back to her bedroom. By the time she finished her shower, t the coffee was the perfect temperature to get her caffeine fix without scorching the roof of her mouth.

There are a lot of things about a dog's life that are worth envying, Libro, she told the little pooch curled up on the bed. "But you really are missing out by not drinking coffee. This stuff tastes so good!"

Fifteen minutes later, the pair walked down the sidewalk, headed for Every Book and Cranny, the bookstore  and coffee shop Fay Lynn and Gayla, her sister, owned in downtown Maherville. The little South Texas town was experiencing unusually cool weather, and Fay Lynn was determined to enjoy as much of it as she could. She knew all too well that the temperatures could climb back into the upper nineties by the next day – or drop into the thirties, just as easily.

I love the look of Maherville, Libro, even if the Texas pollens, humidity, and heat mean I usually have to enjoy it from indoors, Fay Lynn told the little dog trotting beside her. The live oaks and pecan trees create such pretty shade, and all the houses blend together, even if they come in almost every architectural style imaginable. I love our beach cottage; it matches Gayla and I both, but I think Evangline's Second Empire 'wedding cake' house is gorgeous. It fits her over-the-top romanticism, too, not matter how hard she tries to hide that!

Good morning, Gayla! she called out to her sister over the soft tones of the wind chimes hanging on the front door . Sorry I'm a little late; Libro and I decided to walk to work this morning. You sure got an early start today!

Gayla grinned, Libro was in on the decision, huh? Little short legs keeping up with your long strides—I bet he was thrilled! She bent down and scratched behind the dog's perky ears.

Laughing, Fay Lynn answered, There were plenty of squirrels for him to intimidate along the way, so he had plenty of fun. We had a pleasant, albeit one-sided, discussion about the town's architecture, too, so the trip was educational, as well. She tossed the strap of a shop apron over her head and headed to the tiny kitchen to start the day's soups and prep the sandwich contents.

Architecture? Lordy, do you remember those two places we saw when we went out west a few years ago? One of them looked like a NASA rocket ship waiting to take off, and the other one? I could never decide if it looked like a metal-and-glass alien life form or an octopus with a bunch of extra arms. She laughed, shaking her head at the memory. Anyway, I got the breads for today's specials into the oven, Gayla called to her. They should be ready to come out of the oven any minute now. What kind of soup are you making today?

I'm working on a cheeseburger chowder that has mustard, ketchup, and pickle relish in it, just like on a burger; I'll offer crumbled bacon and grated cheese as condiments. For the ladies-who-lunch group, who always want a lighter option, I'm doing a chicken Florentine. That should pair well with the Greek vegetable panini, and the guacamole grilled cheese sandwich will be yummy with the hamburger soup.

Those sound delicious. With the cooler weather making people think of fall, I made maple-spice whoopie pies and chocolate-dipped shortbread as the cookie specials, along with carrot cake and morning glory muffins and apple crisp and pumpkin cheesecake. With those and our regular offerings, we should be able to keep everyone happy.

Let's hope so, Fay Lynn laughed as Gayla headed to the other side of the store to restock the bookshelves before the customers began arriving. Both sisters were passionate about reading, so it felt inevitable that they would end up with a bookstore. They were also both deeply involved in literacy programs. Fay Lynn tutored several children, while Gayla worked through the town's senior center to offer adult basic education and GED preparation classes. They hosted morning story times for preschoolers every week and monthly story and craft times for the older kids on Sunday afternoons. Fay Lynn was especially proud of what she called the children's book nook, furnished with brightly colored floor pillows, plush stuffed animals, and stand-alone cutouts of popular book characters.

A couple of hours later, most of the lunchtime crowd had headed back to work, and the sisters took a break to have lunch with Evangeline, the sisters' best friend.

"Girl, this chicken Florentine soup may be the best thing you've made yet! I love that the spinach means I don't have to feel guilty about eating it, especially with this veggie panini. What on earth did you do to these vegetables to make them so yummy? You know I don't do vegetables, but Margie came back to the shop raving about the sandwich. She said it was not to be missed, and she was absolutely right!"

The sisters chuckled; they did, indeed, know that Evangeline had a tendency to avoid anything that even hinted at being healthy. She even had a hard time with the lettuce and tomatoes on her beloved tacos! Offer her a sweet pastry, though, and she was in heaven. It was a remarkable event for her to admit she liked something stuffed with vegetables.

I tossed them with a little olive oil, salt and  pepper and then grilled them until they started to brown up. The bread has homemade basil and walnut pesto, and the cheese is Muenster.  It's got less fat than cheddar and the others, and it melts so well! I sprinkled a little feta on there, after it was grilled.

Well, it's delicious, and that's saying a lot, coming from... Evangeline broke off as a loud round of profanity filled the air. What on earth...who is making all that noise? And with that language!

The trio turned to the source of the foul language just as Daniel O'Reilly, the Maherville mayor, stood up and drew back his hand like he was going to hit his wife.

Evangeline jumped up and grabbed his raised fist. Hold it right there, cowboy! Don't you even consider the possibility of thinking about hitting Ellen -—or any other woman, for that matter. You need to burn off some testosterone, you find some good ol' boy your own size. Better yet, go to the gym and lift some weights or slam a punching bag or something.

Mind your own business, the man growled. I'll take care of my woman the way I see fit, and ....

Don't be more of an idiot than you've already shown, Evangeline interrupted. "We have these silly, pesky little things called 'laws,' which make it illegal for you to assault another person. You made it our business when you brought your bullying into a public place. And I have a news flash for you: being the mayor does not exempt you from having to comply with  the laws, no matter how much you argue to the contrary."

...you'll keep your trashy little nose out of my affairs, O'Reilly continued as if Evangeline hadn't spoken.

Affairs? I wouldn't get in your 'affairs' for all the money in the world. I couldn't even keep up with all of them, let alone get into them. You change women almost as often as the weather changes around here. Evangeline smirked. She knew that her words weren't a revelation  to the mayor's wife. Ellen had confided in the three friends that her husband had started cheating on their wedding night, just a couple of hours after the ceremony. They hadn't even left the reception hall before he'd made out with one of the bridesmaids in the bride's dressing room and then made a date with another of the wedding guests for the day they got home from their honeymoon.

Pot, meet kettle, O'Reilly sneered. How many husbands is it that you've lost, now? Seems to me you know all about changing partners. At least, all of my ex-wives are still alive.

Fay Lynn and Gayla exchanged a worried glance. Poking fun at Evangeline's love life was a dangerous endeavor. It's true that she was on her fifth husband, but only one of those marriages had ended in divorce, and that was after she walked in on her third husband and the under-aged intern in his office, engaged in a little extracurricular bonding.

Before they could do anything more, Evangeline erupted, leaning down to shake her finger in the mayor's face. You sorry excuse for a man! You were a mouthy little bully in school, and you still haven't grown up. You have a special talent for picking on folks who can't fight back, but you slink away with your tail between your legs and your head ducked down when you find someone who will stand up to you.  Little man complex, I guess – you and Napoleon. Well, understand this, Mr. Wannabe Macho Man: you lay a finger on that woman—you even say a nasty word to her or look mean in her direction in public – and it will be the last time you ever do. I don't have anything to lose by standing up to you, and I'm plenty woman enough to take you down, if I need to.

O'Reilly's face flushed nearly purple, and he turned his upraised fist toward Evangeline. Fay Lynn stepped between them, shouting, That's enough! Evangeline, go back to Not So Long Ago and sell some antiques. Mr. Mayor, I think now would be a good time for you to head back to your office. Lunch is on the house today, but only if I see your backside going out the door in the next thirty seconds. And don't come back here unless and until you've learned the appropriate language for use when you are in the company of decent people who've been taught how to behave in public. Ellen, I'd like to talk to you about the scholarship tea menu, if you have a few minutes.

The mayor looked like he wanted to argue, but Gayla joined the party. Daniel O'Reilly, either you walk out of that door and go back to City Hall, or you're going to embarrass yourself even more by getting your keister arrested and thrown into jail for disturbing the peace, for menacing, and for making a terroristic threat against your wife. Now, go on; get out of here! Git!

Still snarling, the man spun around and stomped toward the door. Let's go, Ellen; get yourself on over here—we're leaving. He glared at the sisters and Evangeline while he stood there, certain