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Someone is breaking into the houses Jolie appraises. When she realizes a new face in town is leading high school kids into trouble in those houses, Jolie's mad and lets him know it. Hayden offers to help her mind her own business, and a lot of people at the Talk Like a Pirate Day fundraiser for the food pantry hear her give him what for.
A hurricane's on the way to disrupt Talk Like a Pirate Day. When a corpse turns up under the pirate ship the next day, Jolie's looking like a suspect.
Soon she has less work. Who wants a possible murder suspect appraising their house? Scoobie's pirate limericks can't solve a crime, so Jolie and her sometimes buddy local reporter George Winters look for the murderer and try to figure out who's trying to frame Jolie. They need to stay ahead of whoever's mad at her and off the radar of the local police who tell Jolie -- for the hundredth time -- to butt out. All this and Jolie has to deal with Aunt Madge's blossoming love life. And what about her own?
For a cozy mystery with a dose of humor and a touch of romance, join Jolie and friends in Ocean Alley.
Excerpt:
In this excerpt for Any Port in a Storm.
Jolie is about to learn that a helpful receptionist is not who she
thinks she is.
"I'm
so rude. I didn't tell you my name. It's Ruth. I've been with Mr.
Hardin for almost ten years." She handed me a glass with ice and
what looked like pinkish water. "I put some of that new
flavoring in it." She gave me a big smile and returned to her
desk.
I
had really wanted plain water, but it was a pleasant taste,
strawberry, I thought. I glanced at my phone again. The Grossos were
ten minutes late. They lived very close to the office, so I was
mildly irritated. And very sleepy.
It
was another two or three minutes before I realized that I was more
than tired. My eyes were out of focus. "I think, I think I
better…" I stood and then quickly sat back down.
Ruth
got up and walked toward me. Her friendly smile was replaced by a
very menacing look. Or maybe two looks. It was hard to tell.
"You
don't know who I am, do you?" she said, in a strident tone.
It
took a great deal of effort to say, "No."
"Thanks
to you, I don’t have any idea where my brother Joe is."
Crud.
Joe Pedone's sister. "Are you, are you Mary Something?"
I asked.
"Oh
yes. Mary Jo. Joe Pedone's twin sister. And you and I are going to
have a long talk." She walked back to her desk and fiddled with
the phone for a moment.
It
was very hard to think. I couldn't imagine that she would hurt me.
Unless she was as screwy as her brother, who was not a nice man at
all. I thought about Ramona. She knew what building I was in, but she
had no idea of the suite. Not that it was a big building, but I wish
someone knew where I was.
"Up
you go." Mary Jo put her hand under my arm and helped me stand.
"We're going into Mr. Hardin's office." She guided me to a
chair that had a soft seat and upholstered arms, and picked up a roll
of duct tape from the nearby desk and started to wrap it around my
wrists, securing them to the arms of the chair.
This
is not good. I just could not get my brain and limbs to
cooperate. What did she give me?
"You're
going to hear me out, and then you're going to tell the police that
you were very, very wrong about my brother." She pulled a chair
toward me and sat facing me.
Mary
Jo's face was contorted in anger. "My Joe is a good man. He sent
my mother a check every month. A good check. Now she has to live on
Social Security and whatever I can give her, and it's not much. And
I'm stuck working in this stupid office, watching the lawyers win
tons of money for their clients. Do I get any kind of bonus when they
win a big case? Not hardly."
She
went on and on. My eyes had closed and then there was a loud whack
and my head jerked back. She slapped me!
"You
stay awake and listen to me!"
Her
face was inches from mine, and I could see the spittle at the corners
of her mouth. "What do you…what do you want?" The slap
had made my neck hurt again.
"You
are going to listen to me!" She was practically
screeching now.
I
realized she had probably picked five-thirty because the lawyers
would have left, and maybe everyone else on this floor. My head
wobbled, but I tried to look at her. I didn't want another slap.
"…and
you're going to tell my mother you were wrong about Joe. Broke her
heart, you did." She kept going. "I said listen to me!"
I
was vaguely aware that her arm was raised, and I steeled myself for
another slap.
"Ow!
Let go of me!" Mary Jo yelled.
Someone
had come into the room and shoved Mary Jo hard enough that she fell
to her knees. And then Ramona was on Mary Jo's back and shoved her
face into the carpet. And someone was screaming. I was pretty sure it
wasn't me.
I
heard a police siren, and then it stopped abruptly. Someone much
bigger than Ramona and I ran into the office and he started shouting,
too. If only these people would shut up.
Ramona
was trying to unwrap the duct tape. "Jolie, Jolie! What did she
give you?"
Really,
I didn't feel that bad. It would be a lot better if I could lie down
for a bit.
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