Chapters (50)
- COVER
- PRAISE FOR TITLES BY MIRANDA JAMES
- ALSO BY MIRANDA JAMES
- TITLE PAGE
- COPYRIGHT
- DEDICATION
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- AFTERWORD
- LETTER TO THE READER
- SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM BLESS HER DEAD LITTLE HEART
There were many pages of results. I skimmed the list on the first page, and two of them looked promising. The rest appeared to be obituaries. I checked the links connected to social media, but the pictures didn’t match the woman I’d met.
I examined four more pages of links but found only one hit that appeared useful. The link led me to a mention of Della Duffy on a blog devoted to girls’ series fiction. What I read shocked me.
According to the blogger, who evidently went by the bizarre name ILoveVeronicaThane, Della Duffy was involved in an altercation with another collector—unnamed—at a convention devoted to juvenile literature. The blogger gave a brief description of the incident, which took place in the book dealers’ room. Duffy and the other collector both allegedly claimed to have spotted a much-desired item on a table and reached for it at the same time. The other collector insisted that he touched it first, but Della Duffy was equally insistent that she did. When the man snatched it up from the table, she pushed him and tried to grab the book away from him. He slipped and fell on his backside. He never let go of the book, however, and purchased it for his collection. Della Duffy protested loudly but to no avail. According to the blogger, sympathies evidently lay with the victor, who was a popular and well-known figure among collectors.
That was definitely interesting, but I wished the blogger hadn’t been so coy about the identity of the man Della Duffy attacked. I skimmed through the comments attached to the blog post, but no one named the man, though the discussion was lively. One person claimed to have witnessed a similar incident involving Ms. Duffy at another convention but provided no details. I looked further through the entire blog but could find no other mentions of Della Duffy.
Not much to go on, and not completely reliable since they were really only hearsay, but these incidents left me with the impression that Della Duffy went after what she wanted. She appeared to have a temper, also, and that intrigued me.
If she’d wanted Carrie Taylor’s copy of Spellwood Mansion, for example, how far would she go to own it?
I hesitated for a moment, but then I decided I ought to share this information with Kanesha. I e-mailed her the link to the blog posting with a note that I had found another item of interest I thought she should consider.
Okay, out of my hands for now.
Beside me, Diesel stirred. One eye opened, then the other. He blinked at me and yawned. He had a good stretch before he sat up. He warbled, hopefully, I thought. He hadn’t eaten in a while so he was on the point of utter starvation.