Murder Packs a Suitcase Read Free Page B

Mallory repeated without thinking, then immediately regretted letting her ignorance show.
    â€œComp
as in ‘complimentary,’” Trevor explained, without showing the tiniest shred of impatience. “In other words, free. Sorry to use jargon, but you’ll catch on fast enough. And I should mention that you’ll be part of a press trip. That’s a group of travel writers who are hosted by the tourist bureau folks. On this trip, your base of operations will be Orlando. The fact that the Disney parks and Universal Studios have such a stronghold there has made the area a natural center for the family-oriented tourist industry—which means it’s the ideal hunting grounds for the kind of attractions you’ll be writing about.”
    He hesitated before saying, “I suppose I should mention that our writers generally travel alone.”
    Mallory frowned. “Sorry?”
    â€œWhat I mean is, there’s no budget for including spouses or other family members on these travel junkets,” he explained. “Some writers run into difficulties because of babysitting problems or scheduling issues. Is that something we’d have to plan around?”
    She realized he was trying to find a delicate way to ask about her availability without coming right out and asking if she was married or had children.
    â€œNo,” she replied, not the least bit offended over what seemed like a completely legitimate concern. “My children are grown. And my husband died six months ago in an accident.”
    A startled look crossed his face. “I’m sorry,” he said kindly. “That must have been extremely difficult.”
    Mallory nodded, surprised by how sincere he sounded. From the seriousness in his eyes, she got the feeling he had some firsthand experience with loss himself.
    â€œYou’re right, it has been tough,” she admitted. “But this job—writing travel articles for the magazine—sounds appealing. It also strikes me as something I’d be good at. I loved working for the
Record,
but after a while it got to be too much of the same thing. But travel writing…wow. That sounds like—”
    â€œLike what?” Trevor asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
    With a self-conscious laugh, she said, “It sounds like something that will impress even my kids.”
    Chuckling, Trevor gestured toward the photo of the two smiling young women. “I’m a parent myself, so I know how hard that is. But you’re right. Travel writing may not be quite as glamorous as most people assume, but it definitely has its perks. Seeing places you wouldn’t necessarily travel to on your own is just the beginning. You’ll also end up viewing the places you go in an entirely different way. Even if you’ve been there before, evaluating them more objectively forces you to see them through new eyes. It’s part of feeling responsible to your readers, as if you’re venturing there first to see if they should follow.”
    â€œIt sounds like you’ve done some travel writing yourself,” Mallory observed.
    â€œSome.” He glanced around his office and sighed. “These days, I’m lucky if I can escape from these four walls long enough for lunch.”
    Suddenly Trevor’s expression darkened. “In terms of this Florida trip, there is one tiny glitch.”
    Aha, Mallory thought. Not surprisingly, that old adage “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is” was about to prove to be more than something grandmothers liked to say.
    â€œWhat’s the glitch?” she asked. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved that this entire fantasy was on the verge of dissolving as quickly as it had swelled her head. Either way, she chastised herself for having already started a mental To Do list that included “Check expiration date of last summer’s sunblock, See if elastic on old