Mrs. Avery's Adventures

Chapter 3

Piper stood in front of the open refrigerator door trying to decide if she was hungry for breakfast, or if it was just a habit she was going through. The banging on the back door broke her out of her reverie, and she glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, frowning as she wondered who could be here this early in the morning. Tying the robe tighter around her waist, Piper walked to the door and looked out. She grinned when she saw her godmother staring back through the glass at her. Throwing open the door, she welcomed the older woman with a hug.

"I should"ve known it was going to be you, Charlotte. Only you would knock on my back door at seven o"clock in the morning. Come on in, I was about ready to make some coffee. You up for a cup?"

"That would be lovely. And seven o"clock isn"t all that early. If you were still sleeping, then it was time for you to get up."

Piper smiled at Charlotte’s retort; she"d heard it many times growing up. Moving over to the cupboard to grab the fixings for a cup of coffee, she stepped on a dog toy, which reminded her of her new housemate. She looked over at the dog bed and saw Daisy raise her head to see what was going on. Since it didn"t involve her directly, the dog put her head back down, content to just watch.

"How"s Daisy fitting in?” Charlotte asked.

"Surprisingly well. She seems to consider this house her little kingdom. Of course, the mothers helped create this mess. Did you know they came over before they came to the party and set up a dog bed in each major area of the house? And there"s toys and treats and fancy bowls for her too."

"Yes, they told me all about it. They had quite a good time doing it too. I hope you realize it"s just a taste of what it"s going to be like with them living across the street."

Piper groaned out loud. She couldn"t help herself.

"Please, don’t remind me. The two mothers, together in one house? I don"t know. It"s going to be interesting, to say the least."

Charlotte laughed out loud as she accepted the cup of coffee Piper handed to her. She"d been friends with the two women across the street just as long as they had been friends with each other. In fact, they had all gone to college together, and she clearly remembered the unique friendship the two of them had even then.

"Well, I didn"t come here to talk to you about your mothers’ new home. That"s something you"re going to have to work out between the three of you. I want to talk to you about what you"re going to do with all this free time you have in front of you."

"Oh, you heard about that already? I was gonna call and talk to you about it. I know we expected it, but it still hurts. I feel like I’ve been kicked to the curb."

Charlotte pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. Motioning for Piper to join her, she pulled some paperwork out of her large handbag and set it on the table in front of Piper.

"I can"t say that I"m surprised. Our lawyer indicated this was going to happen. That"s why I had him put in a few clauses. I know you read everything over, but selling your business was a big deal, and I don"t think you may have caught on to some of the little details the lawyer made sure to put in there. Details that are very much to your benefit."

Piper looked at her godmother with her eyebrows raised and pulled the paperwork in front of her to look it over, her curiosity aroused. Not giving Piper a chance to read the paperwork, Charlotte began to explain what was on her mind.

“When you opened that ad agency, you used a lot of your own photographs, and over the years we"ve made sure they were always copyrighted. However, when you sold the company, you did not sell the copyrights to your photos. This means the new owners are essentially going to need to purchase a license to use them in their ads. And we have set up some very high prices for the use of those photographs."

"You"re kidding me! I never thought about that. I know ninety percent of the photos used, especially in the early days of the business, were from my own collection, but I never thought about the copyright. Charlotte, are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely. I"m protecting your interests as well as mine. Don"t forget in the beginning when you opened the ad agency, I was your backer."

"How could I ever forget? I never would"ve gotten the business off the ground without you. And you know how grateful I am,” Piper added.

“Oh, pish-posh. I"m not worried about that, but I have a proposition for you. I want you to give it careful consideration, I think it"s a perfect fit for you."

Piper looked at her godmother, curious. Charlotte was known for backing small companies—she was a philanthropist who loved to help small businesses, and she always seemed to pick winners. Piper was very interested to hear what her godmother had to say.

"Do you remember when you came to Citrus Beach and helped us by taking pictures of the new preserve Megan Cassidy was undertaking? Your pictures were fantastic, and she was able to use them to help promote the opening of the preserve and get funding to keep it going. You"ve proven over and over again that photography is your true love. Now I want you to use it as an artist."

“I"m sorry, I"m not sure I know what you mean. Yes, I remember Megan and I remember the fun I had at Citrus Beach taking those beautiful pictures. Megan and I have kept in touch, and she"s told me that she"s been able to reuse them repeatedly for promotions. I"m thrilled that she was able to use what I provided. But I don"t do artists stuff—"

Charlotte shook her head and held up her hands to stop Piper from saying anything more.

“But that"s just it, Piper, you don"t see what you"re capable of doing. I want you to take your photography to a whole new level, and I"m willing to host an art show for you. I"ve purchased a new piece of property down here, and I"m trying to get the area to have a more artsy feeling to it. Featuring your pictures in a gallery would be the perfect way to start. And you won"t be tied down setting up the gallery; I"ve already got that all figured out. All I need you to do is take the pictures. I believe in your talent because I"ve seen what you can do."

Piper was silent. She didn"t know what to say. She"d never considered using her photography skills for anything more than snapping shots to be used in the advertisements she placed through her ad agency. But now the agency was gone, and maybe Charlotte had a point.

"I can see you"re interested,” Charlotte said. “How about if you and I have a late lunch and go down to the gallery so you can see what I"m talking about? In the meantime, you’ve already got your camera equipment, and I’m sure a backlog of photos. Just let me know what else you need to start this venture up. I"ll do everything I can, you know that.”

Before Piper could answer a voice from behind her chimed in.

"It"s a perfect solution. Piper, you need to show your work. You"re so talented. What do you have to lose?"

Courtney had wandered in, hearing the voices and curious as to what was going on so early in the morning. She agreed wholeheartedly with Charlotte and had been pushing for Piper to do more with her photography for years. But her friend had always used the excuse of being too busy with work.

Now she didn"t have that excuse.

"Good morning, Courtney. I hope we didn"t wake you up," Charlotte said.

"’Morning to you too, Charlotte. No, it"s hard sleeping in somebody else"s house. I find I hear every little noise. I’ll be so glad when the renovations are done in my house, and I can move back.” She reached over and grabbed herself a cup of coffee before she turned to her friend and continued. "Not that I"m not grateful, Piper. Besides, I"m over here all the time anyway. But it"s just not the same as sleeping in your own house."

The other two women agreed with her, and since Piper seemed open to the idea of a photo gallery, they sat down and began to make plans.

***

"CHARLOTTE, THIS IS a treasure. How did you ever find this place?”

Piper stood in the middle of an empty room, looking around at the wall space and the beautiful windows that would entice customers in. Her mind was already going in different directions as she envisioned what the possibilities would be.

"I"ve had my agents looking for a couple of different property types. I believe this one is perfect for my hopes for you, Piper."

Charlotte couldn"t hide her satisfied smile as she watched her goddaughter look around the room. Whether Piper knew it or not, she"d already made the decision to go ahead with Charlotte"s plan. The older woman knew enough not to say anything, to just sit back and let Piper"s thoughts take her down the avenue Charlotte had just opened for her.

Piper wandered over to the front windows, pleased they went from ceiling to floor. Not only would they let in natural light, but the windows would also be perfect for putting easels with pictures and portraits on them for customers walking by to see. The color inside must be muted; right now it was some kind of a yellow color, which would not play well with photos. She was looking for a more neutral cream to play off the colors she knew she would be capturing.

There, she"d gone ahead and admitted her acceptance to herself. Charlotte"s plan was a good one, and she was more than up for the challenge. Piper always loved a good challenge; that"s why she had entered the advertising industry. This would be much more low-key and not anywhere near as stressful as her previous job. As Courtney had told her this morning, she had earned the right to go after her dream.

Charlotte came to stand next to Piper and put her arm on her shoulders, hugging her close.

"It really is perfect, Charlotte. And I love the loft upstairs. It"s perfect for a desk and office equipment. I can set up my computers and work from here on the photos I take."

"I know, I fell in love with the loft too. You know, there"s a cozy spot up there for a dog bed, too."

Piper laughed out loud and glanced down at Daisy, who was sitting patiently by the window watching people walk by. The dog seemed standoffish to other people, but she never left Piper’s side, seeming to know that Piper was the one who had taken her in. She wasn"t mean or aggressive to other people; she just knew who her favorite person was. It didn"t hurt that Piper was the one feeding her, either.

Piper took a deep breath and seemed to hold it for a second before letting out the air with a noisy sigh. Her life was going to change with her decision, but neither of the women could know just how much her love of photography would bring not only joy, but evil in it’s purest forms: murder.

“Okay, let"s go for this. Where should I start first?" Piper waved her arms around her as if encompassing the whole building and then turned to Charlotte, waiting for her answer.

"Well, you can decorate it yourself, or I have an interior decorator who could help,” Charlotte said. “I’ve got a cleaning crew coming in as well. Basically, all we need are your pictures to put on display. So, I guess the first thing that you need to do is get out there and start taking some snapshots."

"If it"s the same decorator you used up in Citrus Beach, I would happily put all this in her hands. Do you think Megan would be willing to do some outside pots of flowers for me?"

"Yes, and yes. Why don"t you let me set this up so you can get to work on getting your pictures? Valerie is the perfect person to get this project done for you. You know her work and, to be honest, I clued her in on what was going on, so she"s already cleared some time for you. With that in mind, do you think we could shoot for a gallery opening in five or six months? Will that give you enough time to get everything framed and ready for display?"

Piper nodded, not even bothering to tease her godmother about planning ahead. She was already forming in her mind where she wanted to start. There were a couple of nature paths close to the ocean that she loved taking pictures from. But she didn"t want to do just nature photos. She"d always wanted to wander down to the local market and snap pictures of the stalls, vendors and tourist shopping. This was her opportunity. She was thinking so fast and furious that she didn"t hear when Charlotte told her she was going to head out. She gave a start when Charlotte tapped her on the shoulder, bringing Piper out of her daydream.

"You might need these." Charlotte held out a set of keys. "I"m going to leave you here. I have a few things I need to do, and then I"m going to get the wheels rolling with Valerie. I"ll get in touch with Megan for you, as well. I’m meeting your mothers for dinner tonight. Why don"t you join us?"

Piper took the keys and agreed to meet her godmother later that evening. Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, Charlotte left, and Piper couldn"t help but do a quick little twirl around the room. Her actions caused Daisy to look up and bark, thinking something was going on.

"Come on, Daisy, let"s go check out that loft and see where we will put your bed."

Calling to the dog, Piper hurried up the stairs. She stood at the top of the landing and looked down at what would soon be her gallery. She hugged herself. In six months, this would be filled with pictures and patrons.

Grabbing her cell phone, she started taking pictures so that she could show Courtney.

***

"PIPER, WHAT A SURPRISE to see you down here. I"m guessing Charlotte has let you in on her little secret?"

Piper was locking up the gallery when she heard a woman"s voice. Looking down the sidewalk, she saw her friend waving to her. Missy Taylor was the local realtor and, judging from what she just said, she had been the one to sell Charlotte the gallery.

"Yes, I just met with Charlotte."

"This is great. My office is right here too. It looks like I"ll get to see more of you from now on."

By now Missy had reached Piper"s side, and she put her hand out for Daisy to sniff. Once the dog had given her approval, she gave the dog a pet and then looked back up at her friend.

"When Charlotte told me what she planned for this space, I was thrilled. It’s just what the area needs. We"re also getting a new bistro, and the bookstore is giving themselves a makeover,” Missy said. “Did you know the Town Council is talking about cordoning off this section and making it a street fair type of area? With the big parking garage at the end of the shops, it is perfect for this area. It"s exciting to see the changes coming, and I’m so thankful Charlotte has taken on the promenade as a project."

“She’s taken on the promenade?”

“You didn’t know? Charlotte bought the entire shopping development. She has lots of big plans to revive the whole area, making it a destination spot for both the locals and tourists. The woman is a visionary.”

"That sounds like my godmother,” Piper said. “She said she had a little project. I"m glad I"m going to be part of it. Listen, I"ll catch up with you later. I"d like to take Daisy for a short walk, and then I want to go get my camera."

The two women shared a hug and parted ways. Piper and Daisy walked the short distance to the parking garage where they had left the car. Piper dropped off her tote bag and then they turned and made their way towards the beach. Piper was curious to see how Daisy would react to the waves, but she didn"t need to worry as the dog seemed to take it all in stride.

They walked along the beach for a short time, and then Daisy and Piper headed back to the parking garage. The entire time they’d walked, Piper had been planning where she was going to go to start her new venture. This time of day she needed to go someplace that could supply shade to get the right lighting for her pictures, and she knew of a small park not too far from the house that would be perfect.