Snark & Sensibility

PLEASE WELCOME

LEEANN BETTS

TO

FICTION FRIDAY

EXCERPT FROM LEEANN’S BOOK/RISK MANAGEMENT

When the office phone rang, Carly glanced at the caller ID.

And groaned.

Amanda, from Well Dressed, the only boutique shop in Bear Cove, Maine, which offered designer dresses for the discerning shopper. At least, that’s what the sign over the door read.

Should she answer? Or let it go to voice mail?

Truth be told, she’d ignored the previous dozen or so calls. And the three messages over the past week—each one more frantic and making less and less sense.

She sighed. Yes, several months ago, fresh off her last extra-curricular crime-solving spree, she’d promised to help Amanda, her on-again, off-again friend. At the time, the woman’s problem was tenuous. Something about an order from Peru that didn’t arrive. Or didn’t come in as expected. Or —

She snatched up the receiver. “Hello, Amanda.”

A hiccupping half-sob traveled the telephone wire to her ear. “Oh, Carly, I’m so glad you finally answered.”

Carly leaned back in her chair and propped one foot on the corner of her desk. “Sorry. I’ve been busy. Finishing up with a client. Preparing for the next. What can I do for you?”

From this angle, she had a delicious view of her backyard. Of course, February in Maine was nothing to write home about. Snow. Heavy cloud cover. Wind. She sighed. Maybe she’d convince Mike to move them south for the winter. Being self-employed, they could work from anywhere, so long as they had the Internet. Then again, six months without seeing her kids or grands seemed a poor trade for sunshine and no snow.

“Well, my problem—which you aren’t taking seriously, by the way—hasn’t gone away. I’m sure you were probably hoping it would vanish like Christmas canes in January.”

“Not at all. I never said that.”

A deep inhale and exhale. “I know you didn’t. But really. This is super serious.”

Ah, now Amanda had her attention. Using those magic words: super serious. Still, Amanda was a tad more personable than her predecessor, Susan Markham. Perhaps dress shops emitted some kind of ion that sent its employees down the loony-bin trail. Like mercury did to Mad Hatters of old.

Carly plopped her foot to the floor and sat upright. “I’m all ears. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Can we meet for coffee? I’ll close the shop. Heaven knows it’s slower than cold molasses running uphill in January.”

“Um. Sure. The Dew Drop Inn? At eleven? That’s twenty minutes.” A respite from these four walls would be good. “If you get there before me, order me a breve.”

“What in the world is that?”

“Cappuccino made with half-and-half. It’s decadent.”

“If I drank that, my hips would be as wide as—”

Carly silently completed the sentence. As yours. “Victoria knows what it is.”

“Eighteen minutes.”

The line went dead. Funny how a woman who usually talked her leg off didn’t take the time or energy to say goodbye.

ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT

Carly Turnquist, Forensic Accountant, can never ignore a good mystery. Or in this case, three. When her sometime friend tells her a mystery is afoot, with links to a Quechuan temple, a Peruvian jungle monster, and murder, Carly is hooked. But when her investigations come close to home, she must decide whether to step back or continue, because now her family—and her own life—are at stake. Never one to give up without a good fight, Carly finds herself under attack from a third direction—her body is failing her. Will she continue? Or will she retire gracefully? Perhaps she can do both.

Buy here:

https://www.amazon.com/Risk-Management-Name-Book-12-ebook/dp/B087LTY9S3

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1017588

ABOUT LEEANN BETTS

Leeann Betts writes contemporary romantic suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical romantic suspense. Risk Management, which released June 30th, 2020, is the 12th and final story in her cozy mystery series, “By the Numbers”. Watch for a segue novella in September that weaves Carly’s story with the upcoming new cozy mystery series, “Mysterious Ink Bookstore Mysteries”, with its first title releasing in December 2020. Together she and Donna have published more than 30 novellas and full-length novels. They ghostwrite, judge writing contests, edit, facilitate a critique group, and are members of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, Christian Authors Network, Pikes Peak Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Leeann travels extensively to research her stories and is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary LLC.

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