Creeps Suzette (30 page)

Authors: Mary Daheim

BOOK: Creeps Suzette

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By four o'clock, Judith was anxious for Joe to come home. They'd hardly seen each other in the past five days. She was turning on the oven when he came through the back door.

Judith rushed to meet him and threw her arms around his neck before he could close the back door. “I'm so glad you're home! Are you finished at Creepers?”

“Right,” Joe said between kisses. “Hey, why the warm welcome?”

Judith smiled. “Because you're here.”

“I thought I was driving you nuts,” Joe replied, looking bewildered.

“I prefer it when you drive me crazy,” Judith said, leaning back to unloosen his tie. “If you know what I mean.”

The golden flecks danced in the magic eyes. “I think I do. But won't the guests start arriving any time?”

Judith shook her head. “Our visitors are from that Midwestern church tour that's in town for a big conference. Some of them are Phyliss's relatives. They'll arrive from the airport by van about five.”

“Then we have time to be crazy,” Joe said, pulling Judith over to the kitchen table.

“Joe!” Judith exclaimed. “Not here!”

“Why not?” Gently, he pressed her back against the table. “I never want you to think I'm dull or annoying.”

“You're not.” Judith sighed as Joe slipped his hands under her cotton sweater. “Crazy, maybe. Poor. Broke. Oh, Joe,” she said, as they shed their clothes, “I'm so happy!”

As they writhed in rekindled passion, Joe and Judith
were oblivious to everything but each other. They didn't hear the open back door swing wide or the cheerful voice of a man they didn't know.

“We got here early!” he cried. “Praise the Lord!”

About the Author

Seattle native
Mary Daheim
began telling stories with pictures when she was four. Since she could neither read nor write, and her artistic talent was questionable, her narratives were sometimes hard to follow. By second grade, she had learned how to string together both subjects and predicates, and hasn't stopped writing since. A former newspaper reporter and public relations consultant, Daheim's first of seven historical romances was published in 1983. In addition to Avon Books' Bed-and-Breakfast series featuring Judith McMonigle Flynn, Daheim also pens the Alpine mysteries for Ballantine. She is married to David Daheim, a retired college instructor, and has three daughtersâBarbara, Katherine and Magdalen.

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Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries by
Mary Daheim
from Avon Books

D
EAD
M
AN
D
OCKING

T
HIS
O
LD
S
OUSE

H
OCUS
C
ROAKUS

S
ILVER
S
CREAM

S
UTURE
S
ELF

A S
TREETCAR
N
AMED
E
XPIRE

C
REEPS
S
UZETTE

H
OLY
T
ERRORS

J
UST
D
ESSERTS

L
EGS
B
ENEDICT

S
NOW
P
LACE TO
D
IE

W
ED AND
B
URIED

S
EPTEMBER
M
OURN

N
UTTY AS A
F
RUITCAKE

A
UNTIE
M
AYHEM

M
URDER
, M
Y
S
UITE

M
AJOR
V
ICES

A F
IT OF
T
EMPERA

B
ANTAM OF THE
O
PERA

D
UNE TO
D
EATH

F
OWL
P
REY

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

CREEPS SUZETTE
. Copyright Â© 2007 by Mary Daheim. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ePub edition February 2007 ISBN 9780061736933

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