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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 thought about Wendell Smythe, about a man racing with the clock to get his affairs in order before he had to become so horribly incapacitated or possibly even die. I felt a surge of pity for him, dealing with his physical condition on top of the betrayal within his own company. I thought about my phone call with Tom on Sunday, the call that had sent me to Philadelphia in the first place. As tired as I was from my previous case, Tom wouldn’t even let me wait one day. Now I knew why: His dear friend Wendell urgently needed the money before he went back into the hospital.

Suddenly, a piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

Wendell Smythe didn’t need the J.O.S.H.U.A. money to put a bid on a building. There was no building—and Gwen must’ve known that; it was why she had acted so strangely when I had asked her about it. No, Wendell’s funds were all tied up in his business with no time to liquidate. He must have needed cash, and fast. That’s why he called us: He told Tom the money was for a building, but in fact Wendell was going to use the J.O.S.H.U.A. money to straighten out the financial mess at Feed the Need. Even though it meant lying to his friend, Wendell must’ve felt the ends justified the means because he was determined to set things right before he went in for the operation.

The question that remained, then, was who caused that mess in the first place? More importantly, I thought, was it worth killing for?

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Five

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Dinner was at six, and I was glad. Between missing lunch and taking the afternoon swim, I was starving. By the time I made my way down to the dining room, I was surprised to see that the entire clan was there: Marion, Judith, Derek, Sidra, and Carlos. We took our places at the table, and I was flattered when Carlos insisted on the chair next to mine.

Derek led us in grace, and then the meal was served, a sumptuous parade of cream of asparagus soup, Caesar salad, roast, vegetables, and breads. Angelina served skillfully from the background.

It was a good thing that the food was so delicious, because the conversation was stilted at best with Derek eyeing Judith suspiciously, Sidra avoiding eye contact with Derek, and Marion lost in her own thoughts. At one point, I felt Carlos slip a piece of paper into my hand, and I wondered with a start if he had something important to tell me. I unfolded it as soon as everyone else was distracted with a new course of food, but it was just a typed page of numbers and letters.

“It’s my own secret code!” Carlos whispered enthusiastically. “I made it up this afternoon.”