Mrs. Avery's Adventures

Chapter 1

"More, Timmy, more!"

The cries and squeals of happiness from the children sitting in a small section of the bistro set aside for storytime drew the attention of the other patrons. The area was festively decorated for fall with particular emphasis put on witches, ghost and other Halloween favorites. Piper and Courtney shared a smile as they looked over and watched the children clamoring for the attention of the older man who held a ventriloquist dummy on his lap.

"I love the sound of children"s laughter. It reminds me so much of when my boys were little." Piper Avery had a smile on her face as she pushed her sunglasses up on her head to keep the wind from blowing her silvery hair into her face.

"Your boys were always laughing. And getting into trouble if I remember correctly." Courtney James nodded in agreement, her dark hair bobbing with the movement.

The two women watched the shenanigans of the children as they asked questions of the dummy called Timmy and their reactions when the inanimate doll answered them. The waitress blocked their view for a moment as she refilled their coffee cups.

"If the kids are too noisy for you, we have tables inside," the waitress offered.

But both women refused her offer. They were content to sit outside, enjoying the sun on their heads and the wind against their shoulders. It was a beautiful Florida day, and they wanted to enjoy the outdoors as much as the children did.

The older man who was holding the ventriloquist dummy said something to the children that made them clap enthusiastically. The women were a little too far away to hear what he said, but judging from the reaction, it was good. The older man seemed to get as much enjoyment from the children as they were from him. His silver hair was also blowing in the wind, but his was silver from age; Piper"s had silvered prematurely from an accident as a child.

"You would never know from the way the man is acting that Samuel Weston is one of the richest men in town," Courtney said to her friend.

"I agree. Mr. Weston has such a great reputation for doing good works, especially with children. I can even remember when my kids were little, he would bring his dummy with him to the park and read stories to the children. The man has a heart of gold."

"And the patience of Job!" Courtney added, laughing as she watched one little boy reach up and try to sit on the other side of Mr. Weston"s lap so he could be closer to Timmy, the dummy.

They watched as Mr. Weston slowly and calmly remove the child from his lap, placing him back in amongst the other children and letting the dummy tell the little boy that he had to stay put. With the direction coming from the dummy, the child didn"t hesitate or question, he simply did what he was told.

The two women turned their attention to the menu; they didn"t have a lot of time for lunch. Making quick decisions, they gave their order and settled back in the chairs to watch the entertainment, enjoying it as much as the children did. When their meal arrived, their attention turned to each other to catch up on the news of the day. They chatted through their lunch, and by the time they were finished, the children were scattering to go home, while a few remained wanting to talk to Timmy.

Piper wiped her mouth with a napkin before she mused out loud to her friend. "You know, Mr. Weston is not only a talented ventriloquist, but he"s an excellent wood sculptor, too. I would kill to have his sculptures in my gallery."

"I wouldn"t say that too loud, Piper. After all, you have been involved in a couple of killings lately,” a voice said.

Courtney and Piper both looked up to see a young woman standing next to them. Her long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and by her side was a beautiful King spaniel.

"Hey, Tessa, pull up a chair and join us," Courtney invited with a smile.

"You know I was only joking, Tessa." Piper laughed along with the other two. She bent down to pet the dog, who wagged her tail, happy to be in the company of the three women.

"How far did you and Daisy walk today?" Piper asked Tessa as she straightened.

"We got in about 2 miles."

Tessa Rowan was a young, energetic woman who had taken on odd jobs while trying to decide her future. She"d received many offers for scholarships but had taken none of them, not sure that college was her path. For now, she worked for the locals, with one of her primary jobs being dog walking. Although Piper worried about her indecision, Tessa seemed content. Piper had always thought of Tessa as a daughter. She was a year or two younger than her boys and had been part of the group of friends that always seemed to be at Piper’s home after school and on weekends.

"You know, Piper, you don"t have to kill to get Mr. Weston to show in your gallery. Just ask him," Tessa said as she dropped the leash to the ground and reached for one of the glasses on the table that hadn"t been touched. As she swallowed the ice-cold water, Piper shook her head at her.

"It"s not that easy, Tessa. Mr. Weston is a very busy and important man. I can"t just go up and interrupt him to talk about my gallery," Piper protested.

"Sure, you can. Mr. Weston"s a great guy and would be happy to listen to you. Or you could go talk to Timmy." Tessa laughed at her own joke.

But Piper"s nervousness and Tessa"s pushing became irrelevant. Daisy took the matter into her own hands, and before any of the women realized what she was doing, the dog left their table and walked over to sit next to Mr. Weston.