Tainted Mind by Tamsen Schultz Page B

lucky.”
    “Like Rebecca?” Vivi commented, her eyes still surveying the larger quilts hanging on the wall behind the counter.
    “She's sort of a regular. Lives up here in the wintertime. She's a costume designer in New York City and spends her winters up here doing her own projects.”
    “Sounds nice.”
    “It is if you don't mind the cold and snow.”
    “It must be hard for the other businesses that might depend more on the tourists? Is there a lot of turnover?”
    “About as much as you would expect,” Julie replied, turning back to the counter and placing the beautifully-wrapped quilt on the counter. “The jewelry store does reasonably well, the bakery does good business. The Tavern has been doing well for several years. But we used to have a chocolate shop, a few more cafes, and a local grocery store down here. Anything that is too overpriced for the locals doesn't last long. The weekenders’ money is good, but not usually good enough to sustain a business on its own.”
    “The bane of small-town economics, I suppose,” Vivi responded as she signed her credit card receipt.
    “You're not from around here?” It wasn't a real question but Vivi answered anyway.
    “No, Boston. But I travel a lot and spend a lot of time in small towns all over the country. I like them. I think it's kind of nice to know most of your neighbors.”
    “Whether you want to or not,” Julie added with a smile.
    “There is that,” Vivi conceded. “Now, if I want to mail this somewhere, I know I saw a post office.”
    “Go to the end of the street, turn left, and it will be on your right. I don't have a large selection of cards, but if you want a great baby shower card, Madelyn across the street has some fun ones.”
    Vivi thanked the woman and, taking her advice, jogged across the street and bought a card to send with the quilt. Once that errandwas complete, she headed to the post office and sent off the entire package. Realizing how close she was to the police station, she opted to stop by rather than call Ian to check on her clearance.
    “Officer Granger,” she said, walking into the main office.
    “Dr. DeMarco,” he answered, standing as she walked toward him. He was young, probably not even twenty-five, and his tall, gangly body hadn't come anywhere close to filling out yet. Still, his soft brown eyes were kind and inquisitive, and his eager but sweet demeanor made him easy to like on sight.
    “How are you today?” he asked.
    “Well, thank you. Is Deputy Chief MacAllister in?” she asked, reverting to his title in his workplace.
    “I'm in here, and call me Ian, everyone does,” came a voice to her right. Officer Granger made a motion to a door that was open a crack. She walked over and peered in.
    “Is this a good time?” she asked. He looked up from his paperwork and she was caught again by the color of his eyes.
    “You're our Hail Mary on this murder, any time is a good time for you,” he answered.
    “I was out running some errands,” she said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. “Met two very helpful shopkeepers, by the way,” she said as an aside. “And I was walking through town so figured I would stop by and check to make sure you have what you need from Kathryn before I head down to Riverside?”
    “I do, thanks for checking. You're good to go. What errands did you run?” he asked, closing a case file on his desk.
    She must have given him a funny look because, really, it was an odd question.
    “There's not a lot of shopping to do in town. Call me curious,” he shrugged. She took a few more steps into the room and stopped next to the chair in front of his desk.
    “Or call you an investigator,” she suggested with a lopsided smile. “One of my cousins is having a baby, and the shower is next weekend. I'm going to be the godmother but can't make the shower, so I popped into Julie's quilt shop and picked something up to send,” she explained.
    “Glad you found something and