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Dana yawned again. “That’s not going to be easy. What are you up to today?”
“I’m at work.”
Her friendtsked. “You work way too hard.”
“That is not a lie. But, I was sitting here thinking about New York and Kenny and how I dodged a bullet with that one.”
Dana snorted. “I’ll say. What an asshole. Throwing you under the bus for his mistake. If he’d kept his mouth shut and not blabbed about the deal your boss made to get the backing of the union boss to that reporter, you would still be in the Mayor’s office.”
“Maybe, but honestly, probably not. My boss knew what Kenny had done, which is why once the whole thing blew over, Kenny got shipped out to Staten Island to work for the borough President. I was told I could stay, but fundamentally, I knew the day was coming when I would be seen as a liability. No one got to just fade away. They either got fired and discredited, got new jobs with their old bosses when they left or they disappeared off the face of the earth, hiding in some little town somewhere never to be heard from again. I chose option three before anyone could force my hand.”
“Personally, I’m glad you did. I missed you while you were in the city.”
“Thanks. I missed you too.”
“So, back to the Manor. How are you going to do more exploring?”
Glancing out the window, Flynn came into view. He was carrying his bakery items but also some other bags. Shopping? Didn’t seem like something he’d do. Not that she knew him at all…but maybe she should. A smile slid across her face. “I’ve got some ideas.”
“Ooh. Do you need any help?” Dana sounded excited. “Being a full-time mom and part-time school secretary is not the most exciting job in the world.
Harper laughed. “I’m not sure. I’ll let you know.” Flynn got into his SUV and pulled out of the parking space. “You know,” she said, “there is something you can help me with.” The smile got wider.
Two hours later they were at Harper’s condo.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Dana asked.
She shook her head ruefully. “No, but it gets me back into the Manor and it gets Susan out of trouble with the town council. She’s been trying to get everyone on her side before the Halloween Extravaganza on Wednesday, but they are all giving her grief, especially Jed Thompson.”
“But we do all the other holidays in the square, why is this Halloween thing so different?”
“It’s not, but the rest of the events, Santa’s North Pole Fair, and the Turkey Trot, are all grandfathered in. The council can’t change them, but Halloween is new at the town square. They used to do it at the school but it’s too big and the school parking lot can’t handle the event and all the cars. You remember what happened last year.”
Dana rolled her eyes. “Jesus, I’d thought I’d seen it all until Jim Thorp lost his shit at Ken King for putting a dent in his new car.”
“Yeah. So, what location has lots of parking and plenty of space and is spooky?” she grinned.
Dana shook her head. “You are pure evil. Switching locations of the whole event to suit your personal needs is a bold strategy.”
“I like to think of it as being creative. Solving two problems at once.”
Dana hugged the pillow in her lap. “Uh-huh. How are you going to get the Rainy Day Club to agree?”
Harper sat on the other end of the sofa sipping her tea. “I have some ideas. First and foremost, if they host then we can get their generator fixed. It moves them up on the list.”
“But their power will be up by then.”
“True but they still need their generator fixed. Honestly, I think Susan might have some connections she can use.”
Dana snorted. “That wouldn’t surprise me one bit. And you know it would make her happy to piss off the town council. Everyone knows she hates most of them.” She glanced at her watch. “Shit, I’ve got to run. The kids have a play date this afternoon and I have to drive them.” She got up off the sofa. “Let me know how I can help.”
“Will do.” Harper gave her friend a quick hug and walked her to the door. She made sure she locked the door after her. Unease set in as soon as Harper was alone. How had they gotten her patio door open? And who were ‘they’? She’d thought it was Flynn but the look of confusion on his face when she brought it up was enough to tell her he had nothing to do with it.
She stared at her door for a second. Short of installing more locks to make it more secure, there was not much she could do. Installing an alarm system would take days. She could, however, set some traps so if the person broke in again, she would at least know they were there.
She went about laying her trap. It wasn’t pretty but it was serviceable. That done, she called Susan. “How did the talk with Jed go?
“The man is an ass.”
