Grand Prize: Murder!. Vivian Conroy

the owner, will you?”

      She walked over to the window and glanced down into the street. For a moment it seemed she froze and stared at something, then she turned round to Vicky again and said lightly, “I have a present for you two.”

      She opened her purse and produced a paper-wrapped parcel and held it out to Marge with a flourish. “I went to the website you write book recommendations for and saw how many times you have written reviews of my series.”

      Marge nodded. “I love gushing about my favorite books.”

      While Bella handed the gift to Marge, Vicky moved to the window unobtrusively to look down into the street. Tourists had just come off a tour bus and were walking to the diner. In front of the hardware store families watched as one of the Dawson brothers created small wooden animals with his coping saw. A man stood a little apart, looking up at the window behind which Vicky was standing. He had a camera in his hand. But that was nothing new in a tourist town.

      Bella was saying to Marge, “You didn’t start when you knew that I’d be coming over here. No, you plugged my books before you knew you’d ever meet me. You’re not…sucking up to me.”

      Bella’s tone was angry as if she had experienced that too often. “You really love my books for the stories. Exactly the sort of person I tour for. The fan I want to meet and make happy. So here it is.”

      Marge clutched the parcel with both hands, then carefully tore off the tape. She folded the simple brown paper away and looked down on the colorful cover of a hardback book marked ARC.

      Vicky read the title upside down: Murder At The Manor, the new installment in the See Britain And Die series.

      Bella said, “Nobody has this yet. I pinched one to gift to you and thank you for all your support through the years.”

      Marge had already opened the book. “Oh, it starts with a prologue of a man on the moors. Very evocative.” Her eyes moved quickly as she glanced down the page. “You always set the scene so well. I feel like I’m there from the first sentence.”

      Vicky said, “I’m glad you like the apartment. That takes care of your lodgings for the duration of your stay. Now about the book signing on Saturday, it’s really just a simple thing…”

      She glanced at Marge for support, but her friend was oblivious to the world. Vicky took a deep breath and continued, “We had talked about adding some promotional activity to give it some more pull, but to be honest, we hadn’t quite figured out what yet. Of course we don’t want you to sit there for nothing.”

      She already envisioned Bella behind a table with a stack of books on either side of her and not a single soul to come ask for an autograph. That would be a disaster.

      But she had no idea what she could come up with on such short notice.

      “Oh, don’t worry,” Bella cut across her nervous explanation. “I’ll add my scavenger hunt.”

      Vicky stared at her. “The what?”

      Bella smiled. “I already did that once in another state and it worked like magic. You give people clues and whoever first solves the mystery, the case as it were, wins the grand prize.”

      Vicky hoped that Bella herself would provide that grand prize. Maybe a set of autographed books? Just starting out, the Country Gift Shop didn’t have the cash flow to cover prize money.

      Bella continued, “A trip for two to London.”

      Now even Marge came back to reality. She looked up from the ARC and gasped, “Did you say London?”

      Vicky’s mouth hung open. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Flights aren’t cheap, and if you want to stay in London itself, the hotels charge steep prices.”

      “Oh, no. Look, when I planned my New England book tour, I knew I wanted to do the scavenger hunt someplace. Why not here in Glen Cove? People might come in from a wider area. It will boost the town. And I enjoy a bustle. We can kick off during the signing. That’s Saturday, right? Then we can have the scavenger hunt continue during the next few days. I’ll reveal new clues every now and then. People can play along and then on the next Friday I’ll announce the big winner.”

      Vicky blinked. “That sounds amazing. The announcement of the winner would coincide with the closing barbecue for the One-Mile Book Market. But… Uh… You will put in this prize? The trip to London?”

      “Yes, I have a sponsor.” Bella sounded as if it offended her. “A travel agency that does trips to the UK. They insisted on me giving away a prize like this, to promote them. I accepted because it attracts attention; people buy more books. Win-win situation, my marketing strategist calls it.”

      Bella gestured with her delicate hands. “Once Paul is here, you can meet him. Brilliant ideas, but a bit of a…big ego.”

      Vicky just nodded. Her mind was not on big egos, but on the easy solution this scavenger hunt idea provided for Marge and her. They need not come up with something fast. And it would really make her contribution the highlight of the One-Mile Book Market. After that, the name Country Gift Shop would be seared into people’s memories. Even the normally slow winter season would be good.

      Bella said, “There is one little legal thing. Because your store sponsors my book signing, people associated with the store can’t participate in the scavenger hunt. Not only them, but also their family members. So I’m afraid you two can’t try and win your way to London.”

      “That’s a bit of a downer,” Marge agreed. “But it will be amazing publicity for the Country Gift Shop.”

      A snazzy tune resounded, and Bella grabbed her purse. She pulled out a sleek silver phone with a pendant studded with colorful gemstones and accepted the call. She listened for a few moments, her fine brows drawing together.

      Then Bella said, “Look, I flew out here today, because I wanted to. You people can’t tell me what to do or not. I pay you. You don’t own me.” And she disconnected.

      She gave Vicky an apologetic smile. “My PR people think they can tell me what flight to take and in what hotel to stay. But I like to take care of such things myself. Thanks again for getting me the apartment. I really appreciate the privacy it affords to work on my plot problems.”

      “Of course.” Vicky nodded with a smile. “We’d better be getting down again. There are people at the store.”

      “Of course. I’m sorry I intruded. Thank you again for setting me up here so quickly. I’ll get my things unpacked.”

      Bella waved them off, and Vicky raced down the stairs, followed by Marge holding the ARC she had put back in the brown paper.

      Marge whispered, “She is wonderful.”

      Vicky nodded. Wonderful, but also determined and used to getting what she wanted. Some people might read that as being stuck-up, self-centered, even domineering. They’d better make sure everything moved along smoothly so there was no reason for confrontation.

      She closed the apartment’s door and went into the gift shop to mingle with the guests still present. The mayor and most shopkeepers had already left again to see to their own business, leaving a bouquet or other small gift on the counter. Claire pointed out at once which gift was from whom. “Typical of the baker to give you a pot of honey. He can never keep his hobby out of it.”

      “I’m glad they were all here. And thanks for covering for me, Mom, while I was up with Bella. She’s all settled in now.”

      Marge had immediately descended on Ms. Tennings and her bridge friends to whisper to them about the scavenger hunt. “It will be announced Saturday after the book signing. I think we need posters or something to advertise it. I can design something. If we print it off and multiply it at the Joneses where they have this big machine, it need not cost a ton either.”

      Trust Marge to start organizing at once, Vicky thought with a smile.

      Someone