Hank pointed at the logo on his tote bag. “It wasn’t our guide. It was the concierge.”
“That’s right,” added Gertie. “She got on the tour bus and told us that most of the stores in town were gold stars, but a few were what she called ‘think twice’ shops. We should think twice before visiting those merchants. Isn’t that what she said, Hank?”
“Yep.”
Nora struggled to maintain her calm. “What stores were on her think twice list?”
Gertie fished around in her purse and withdrew a tiny notepad. “Soothe, Red Bird Gallery and Gifts, and Miracle Books.”
Nora feigned confusion. “Did the concierge say why those places were on the list?”
Gertie exchanged a puzzled look with her husband before answering. “It seems strange, now that we’ve been in your shop, but the lady said that these places were considered—what was the word, Hank?”
“Disreputable.”
“That’s it. She said that she and her friends steered clear of those stores, so we might want to as well.” Seeing the hurt in Nora’s eyes, Gertie reached out and took her hand. As she gazed down at the bubbled skin and the partial pinkie finger, her face filled with compassion. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, Hank and I will tell every guest not to pay a lick of attention to that concierge. You made us feel like family, and we’ll come back again. You can count on it.”
Gertie’s kindness tamped down Nora’s fury, but not for long. The couple was barely out the door before Nora was calling June.
“You’re shitting me!” June exclaimed when she heard what had happened. “That concierge is breaking the rules. Lodge employees aren’t supposed to recommend one local business over another. The concierge is supposed to pass out the downtown shopping map, explain the trolley schedule, and make dining reservations. My boss will lose his mind when he finds out that this woman was bashing local businesses.”
“I want her to lose something,” Nora seethed. “A few teeth would be a good start.”
“Honey, I’ve got this,” June said. “I’m going to record this woman’s think twice speech. I’ll come to town on the next trolley, but I need to hurry if I want a seat in the back. I’ll wear a hat and sunglasses and keep my face hidden behind a map. I tell you, girl, I’ve got this.”
Nora relaxed a little. If anyone could put this situation to rights, it was June.
Around noon, Nora waited for the lunch rush to begin. This was a popular time for locals to pick up special orders or select their next read. It was also when many of the lodge guests who’d started shopping at the other end of town reached Miracle Books.
Gertie and Hank must have done something to influence their fellow trolley riders, because the bookshop was busy from noon until two thirty. As Nora put away strays, she counted customers.
“We have seven customers and less than an hour until the midafternoon rush,” she told Sheldon. “I feel bad, but by the time I got to Soothe, I’d pretty much have to turn around and come back. I’ll call Celeste and let her know that I’m not coming.”
Sheldon, who had a sink filled with dirty mugs, didn’t bother to hide his relief. “That means I can go home, take a hot bath, and then spend the evening in a recliner with my heating pads.”
One look at Sheldon’s swollen wrists and knuckles and Nora knew that he was having nasty rheumatoid arthritis flares. She pointed at the wall clock. “You’re leaving now. Turn around. I’m untying your apron. Don’t bother arguing.”
“I won’t. Everything hurts.”
Nora pulled the bow loose and grabbed the apron before it could fall to the floor. When Sheldon turned back around, she wagged a finger at him. “You’re supposed to tell me when you’re hurting. I’d rather have you here for a few hours a day than in bed for days in a row. No acts of heroism. That was our deal.”
“Look who’s talking, Edna St. Vincent Millay,” he said. “You’re burning your candle on both ends so fast that you’ll be a puddle of wax by Halloween. You can’t fix your own problems if you’re wrapped up in your customers’ problems, Celeste’s problems, and Jed’s problems too.”
Nora cocked her head. “I’m not trying to solve a problem for Jed. His mom’s sick. I can’t change that. Or are you talking about something else? What do you know, Sheldon? Come on. Out with it.”
“Okay, okay!” Sheldon threw up his hands in surrender. “He called about twenty minutes ago. I couldn’t interrupt you because you were talking to that man who just lost his dog, but I know that Jed’s going to ask for something you can’t give him.”