Sharon Dunn - Death of a Garage Sale Newbie (Bargain Hunters Mysteries, No. 1)

Fun and perceptive, intriguing and entertainingDeath of a Garage Sale Newbie is a mystery that demanded my attention from page one. Interesting characters with a passion for the good deal won my heart, and I loved tagging along on the hunt for the next great find and the next clue. Sharon Dunn is one of my all-time favorite authors, and I wasnt disappointed!

Tricia Goyer, award-winning author of Generation NeXt Parenting and Night Song

What a fun read! In Death of a Garage Sale Newbie, Sharon Dunn has concocted a lively mystery peopled with characters Id love to spend time with.

Carol Cox, author of Ticket to Tomorrow and Fair Game

Death of a Garage Sale Newbie is Sharon Dunns latest triple-play homerun. She swirls together whimsy, faith, and mayhem into a delightful read. Thank you, Sharon!

Lyn Cote, author of The Women of Ivy Manor

I love the members of the Bargain Hunters Network. Hats off to Sharon Dunn for a fun and intriguing read!

Marlo Schalesky, author of Veil of Fire

Death of a Garage Sale Newbie is more fun than a table full of underpriced gadgets at a yard sale! Its a clever mystery filled with engaging characters.

Mindy Starns Clark, author of the Smart Chick Mysteries

How much trouble can four garage-saling, bargain-hunting friends get into? Plenty! Murder, danger, and excitementbut also some unexpected revelations about the power of love, friendship, and faith.

Lorena McCourtney, author of the ivy Malone Mysteries

The first ring of the phone vibrated in an empty house. Morning shone through open curtains. Breakfast dishestwo plates, two coffee mugshung drying in the rack. The second ring went unnoticed, but the third ring caused a gray cat with white toes to jump from her usual post on the counter by the microwave to the floor. The cat rolled on its back in a beam of sunlight, flexing its paws to the ceiling.

After the fourth ring, the answering machine clicked on and a crisp, mature female voice said: Hello, youve reached Ginger and Earls place. Obviously, were not here right now. Although Earl might be working on some contraption in his garage.

In the background a male voice said, Theyre not contraptions. Theyre inventions.

The female voice cleared her throat. In any case, he cant come to the phone. Please leave a message.

The machine beeped, and a voice that rippled like sheets fluttering on a clothesline said, Ginger, Mary Margret here. I was hoping to catch you before you left. Youd be so proud of me. Ive already hit four garage sales, and its not even eight oclock. I got the cutest little fishing pole for Jonathan andwell, youll see. I cant wait to show you and the girls my finds. I have to pop over to some property to meet another agent from the office; then I can hit a few more sales. Im so excited. Ill see you and Suzanne and Kindra at noon, my place. You have the key, so you can just go inside if Im not there yet. She laughed. I have a gift for you sitting on the counter.

Three hours and twenty-seven minutes passed. The cat sauntered across the countertop, stopping to stick her nose in the butter dish before resuming her post. This was the felines secret. When her people were home, she had to trade the smooth hardness of the countertop for the lumpy cat bed the old woman had sewn.

The phone rang again. On the first ring, the cat stood up and arched her back, spreading her toes to get the sleepiness out of them. On the second, she posed at the edge of the counter, and on the third ring, she leapt to the floor and stood at the door, expecting someone to open it. The phone rang a fourth time, and Ginger spoke her message again.

The cat tilted her head in the direction of the speaker as the machine beeped and the same rippling voice spokeonly more frantic this time.

Ginger, Ginger are you there? Heavy sigh. Youre probably still out garage saling. I think Ive discovered something, something terribly bad, illegal from the past. I dont know what to do. I cant think straight; Im afraid. Please, if you do stop by your place after youre done garage saling, well IIm so shook up, I cant remember your cell number. Ive gone and erased what I had programmed in. She lowered her voice. Im really afraid.

The answering machine clicked off with a vibrating buzz.

Ginger Salinkski gripped her box of garage sale treasures a little tighter. She slowed her pace up the stairs to Mary Margrets house. The door hung slightly open. Odd. Her friend was one of those tidy people who closed doors even if she was just running out to the mailbox.

HelloMary Margret? She shifted the bulky box in her arms and pushed the door open the rest of the way with her foot.

Sunlight flooded through the kitchen and splashed across a counter that separated the kitchen from the small living room.

A broken drinking glass glistened on the linoleum.

Ginger bent over and placed her box on the floor. Her hand fluttered to her neck. Alarm corseted her rib cage. So Mary Margret, the compulsive cleaner, had left a broken glass on the floor. No big deal.

The kitchen clock said it was exactly noon. The other bargain hunters, Suzanne Thomas and Kindra Hall, would be here any minute. Mary Margret should have been sitting with a tray of cookies and iced tea waiting for them. They always met at her house because it was centrally located to the good garage sale territories in Three Horses.

Ginger stepped toward the counter, pushing aside a gift basket that blocked her view to the living room. Folded clothes had been knocked off the coffee table to the floor.

Something was not right.

Mary Margret wouldnt leave clothes out. She certainly wouldnt leave them on the floor. Ginger gathered up the clothes, tossed them in the laundry basket, and trotted down the hall. Mary Margret? Its me, Ginger.

Her friend was eight years older than her, but in good health. She pushed open the bedroom door and held her breath, expecting to see Mary on the floor unconscious or gasping for breathor worse.

Her heartbeat increased. Broken glass and knocked-over clothes suggested some sort of struggle or a person in a hurry. But there was no blood, no reason to think

She slammed her palm against her chest. Why couldnt she get a deep breath?