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Back A Penny for Your Thoughts Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. A PENNY
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
  60. About the Author
  61. Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
  62. About the Publisher

I pulled out the black dust and then went to work on the paper, using an ostrich feather fingerprint duster to swirl each of the notes in a fine coat of dust. I then carefully applied the special tape to the prints that showed up, lifting them right off of the page. Once I was finished, I got out my phone and called Duane. He said he could get someone to run the prints if I brought them right over, so I straightened up the mess I had made, locked everything in my briefcase, and headed out the door.

Thirty-Four

Thirty-Four

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The trip to the Perskie Detective Agency was uneventful, but by the time I got back to the Smythes’ house my side was aching and I was exhausted. It was around four in the afternoon—too late for a nap, too early to go to bed for the night. Wishing I could take a little canoe ride, I parked the car around back and headed for the house just as Sidra and Carlos came out of the cabana.

They were dressed in bathing suits, carrying towels. As I watched, they walked to the pool and set the towels on a wrought-iron table nearby. Suddenly, a dip in the pool seemed like the most wonderful notion in the world.

“Callie!” Carlos called out as he saw me walking up.

“Hi!” I said, pausing near the back door. “May I join you?”

“Of course,” said Sidra. “Please do.”

I headed upstairs, changed into my bathing suit, and came back down as quickly as I could. By the time I got back to the pool, Sidra was sitting on the side, her feet dangling in the water, and Carlos was doing cannonballs into the deep end.

I set my towel and my briefcase on the table next to theirs. I was going to offer an explanation about the briefcase by saying I thought I might catch up on a little paperwork poolside. But Sidra didn’t even seem to notice, and I was glad. From now on, I wouldn’t risk having anything else taken from my room when I wasn’t there.

“A lovely afternoon for such a sad day, isn’t it?” Sidra said, adjusting her sunglasses.

“Yes,” I agreed. “It is.”

The sun was bright but the air was chilly, and I headed down the steps quickly, finding the warm water to be an invigorating counterpoint to the cool air. I slipped under the water and then surfaced, face upward, relishing the heavenly relaxation that came with a heated pool.

As I leaned back in the water, floating gently, Sidra stood and stepped into the water, easing down the steps. How stunningly beautiful she was. In a bathing suit, she could’ve been a contestant for the Miss Universe pageant.

“This feels so nice,” she said, relaxing into the water. “Carlos and I couldn’t quite figure out what to do with ourselves this afternoon.”