Chemical Attraction Read Free

clock and moaned. Five more hours of waiting.
    She didn’t want to use that Hollies song as a secret code to meet the agent. How was she supposed to work it into every conversation? Knowing she wouldn’t be able to take a nap, she sat in her oversized chair and reached for her notepad. She started a list: King, King Midas, Midas, Golden Touch, and Midas Touch. She leaned back and sighed.
    “What am I doing? I’m just a research scientist,” she mumbled as she stared at the list.

    Joe Roberts smiled at the multicolored flowers surrounding the newly painted Sylvia’s Bed & Breakfast sign. Two huge shade trees cooled his sweaty back from the long drive. For two weeks, he’d hoped to do some fishing and a lot of napping. He walked up the steps to the front porch and banged on the outside screen door.
    “Just a minute!” a voice yelled.
    While he waited, he watched a woman in a tank top and tight biker shorts jog down the block. He admired her sexy long legs. A thin white-haired woman in her early sixties opened the doors for him.
    “Joseph, it’s so good to see you again. Come in, and welcome.”
    “Mrs. Folkert, you’re looking mighty fine,” he said, hugging her.
    “Well, aren’t you sweet?” She laughed. “Your room is ready. You’ll be my only boarder until next week.”
    He picked up his bags and followed her into the parlor. His body welcomed her central air. In the living room to the left, he glanced at the baby grand. Her historical house had two other rooms and a small bathroom on the main floor next to her large kitchen. The second floor had four bedrooms, her living quarters, and another communal bathroom.
    She handed him a set of keys. “I know you like the Blue Room. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”
    In the Blue Room down the hall, he set his suitcase on the bed and hung his garment bag in the closet. Each room at Sylvia’s B & B had a color theme. This one was the most masculine, but it still had blue flowers covering the walls, bedspread, and pillows. He’d stayed in the Yellow Room once. Even in the dark, the room glowed.
    He didn’t mind the flowers. He liked the homey feel of her place. Mrs. Folkert went out of her way to make sure everything was just right. He appreciated her friendship and mothering, something he didn’t get from his own. She reminded him of his best friend’s mom, who had created a safe haven for him in grade school.
    He unzipped his suitcase and stuffed his clothes in the empty dresser. After setting his toiletry kit aside, he took out his dress shoes and handgun. The shoes he tossed on the floor and the gun he hid between his t-shirts. Before entering the bathroom, he peeked into the kitchen to see Mrs. Folkert stirring a large bowl. After a quick shower and shave, he rolled his clothes into a ball and tucked them under his arm. With a towel around his waist, he stepped into the kitchen.
    “Are those chocolate chip cookies for me? The smell’s making my mouth water,” he said, reaching for a hot one.
    “No, they’re for the banquet tonight.”
    “What time does that start, anyway? I told Eva I’d meet her there.” He stuffed the cookie into his mouth and moaned.
    She smiled. “It starts at six and I’ll save you a few more if you help me carry them down there.”
    “You bet I’ll help,” he said, grabbing another.
    “Joseph, I may be old, but I’m not dead. Put some clothes on.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he replied with his mouth full of warm heaven.

    David backed into a parking space at the Hartford Auditorium. This huge three-story stone and brick building held almost every community event in town. Named after Allenton founder Bill Bennett Senior’s wife, Ella Hartford, it had been a mainstay for over fifty years. The community theater group put on plays. The local dance instructors rented the building for their recitals. Businessmen used the main stage with floor seating and upper tier for their meetings and programs. Just about