Page 56 of Rest In Pink

Posted on BurneyCommunityNews on Facebook, Monday 9:15 AM

IS VERMILLION STILL SPENDING A MILLION BUYING UP BURNEY?

It all ties together, my friends. And Burney is at the center of it all. Who is setting fires to properties connected to the crumbling Blue dynasty that are now going for pennies thanks to arson-scared sellers? Are they backed by Vermillion Inc. and Cash Porter, or is it the new player on the scene, ECOmena, the company that’s grabbing listings out from under Vermillion’s grasp? And how does Senator Amy Wilcox feel about that? How are you doing, Cash?

Stay tuned for the shocking answers and more thought-provoking questions. Go to BurneySecrets&Lies at ThomasThacker.online and pre-order the forthcoming tell-all e-book on Burney and all its dark secrets. You will not be disappointed.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I woke up alone in the Big Chef, but the sun was shining, and it was Monday, so of course Vince was at work. I just lay there for a moment, basking in the warmth that streamed through his window against the backdrop of the woods across his driveway, yellow-green with all the sunlight—

Oh,hell, I was nakedagainin front of the big window on his drive. I know there’s usually nobody out there, but I had to stop waking up like this. Sooner or later UPS was going to get an eyeful.

Curtains,I thought, but I didn’t live here and if Vince wanted curtains, he’d have put some up, so I wrapped the sheet around me, grabbed my clothes, and ran to the shower which mercifully had no windows.

Twenty minutes later, I threw the sheet back on his bed—they needed changing anyway after last night—smiled at the stockings still tied to the holes in the bookcase—which I was leaving to remind Vince that I’d been there just in case he’d forgotten—and hit the road back to Anemone’s.

On the way, I looked down into town and saw a fire truck next to the Shady Rest and smoke rising, and remembered vaguely that somebody had knocked on the door last night. Why would they call Vince to a fire?

Oh. Arson. Another one. Now that I thought about it, the third one. What the hell?

There was no use calling Vince for details. He never talked about stuff that was ongoing and he was busy. So, I turned up the hill onto Factory Road on my way back up to the Blue House and called Molly as I drove. “What happened at the Shady Rest last night?” I said when she answered, pretty sure the town’s gossip would have gotten to her by now.

“Fire,” she said. “Thacker’s dead. That’s all I know.”

I jerked back at that, clutching the wheel to stay straight on the road. “Thacker’sdead?”

“Carried out feet first.”

“Wow. I know he was annoying people, but that seems like overkill. No pun intended.” I thought about it. “Call Mac and get the details.”

“No.”

“No? Don’t you want to know, too?”

“I am not calling Mac. Call Vince.”

“Vince won’t talk.” I hesitated. “Why won’t you call Mac?”

“Because if I call him, he’ll think I’m interested in him, and I am not.”

I almost said, “Why not? He’s great,” and then realized that it was none of my damn business. “Okay. Where are we going to get the details then?”

“Red Box.”

“Too early, Kitty doesn’t open until eleven and—” I checked the dashboard clock. “—it’s only a little after eight.”

“Nope, she’s opening at eight now, serving breakfasts.”

“That’s new,” I said, not sure how I felt about change and the Red Box.

“Meet you there in twenty,” Molly said.

“Make it eleven. I have to check in with Anemone and take Peri to her perpetual swim lesson at ten first.”

“Really. So, you’re not at home? And where did you spend last night, young lady?”

“It was Sunday. Naked with the close-mouthed cop, of course. The least he could do would be tell me things.”

---