Tidewater Lover Read Free Page A

You'll leave when? Sunday?"
    "No, tomorrow night. I'll have to commute on Friday, but Mike gave me Saturday off."
    "Lucky you," Maryann sighed. "I wish I had him to work for instead of that crotchety old pruneface."
    Lacey merely laughed. "Hope your tooth gets better," she offered in goodbye as her friend opened the outer door.
    "So do I. See you tomorrow."
     
    On Thursday evening, with her small hatchback loaded with suitcases and odds and ends, Lacey drove into the driveway of Margo Richards's home. Her brown eyes roved over the elegantly simple lines of the beach house, painted a cream white that matched the foamy whitecaps of the ocean breaking beyond the dunes.
    Only a fool would deny that she was looking forward to having the beautiful home all to herself for the next two weeks, and Lacey was not a fool. A faint smile curved her lips, which bore little traces of strawberry gloss.
    Grabbing her cosmetic case and one of the smaller pieces of luggage from the rear seat of the car, Lacey stepped out and walked buoyantly to the front door. Intent on reaching the flowerpot where Margo had said she would leave the key, Lacey didn't pay attention to what was beneath her feet.
    The toe of her sandal hooked the roughly textured mat in front of the door, catapulting her forward. The cosmetic case flew from her hand, the lock failing to hold so that the lid snapped open to scatter her cosmetics onto the concrete slab. Fortunately Lacey managed to regain her balance a stumbling second before she joined the case.
    "Why don't you pay attention to where you're going, Lacey?" she scolded herself, then stooped to pick up the items scattered before her.
    A gleam of metal winked at her near the edge of the mat. Curious, she reached for it, pushing the mat aside to reveal a shiny key. She studied it for a second, then tried in in the door lock. It opened with the first attempt.
    "How typical of Margo," she murmured aloud, leaving the door open while she refastened her cosmetic case. "She forgot where she told me she'd put the key and chose the most likely place."
    Inside the entrance foyer of the two-story house, Lacey paused. >From her previous single visit to the house, she remembered that the rooms on the ground floor consisted of a study, a rec room and a utility room. The rest was taken up by a garage.
    The main living area of the house was at the top of the stairs to her left. Looking up the staircase, Lacey admired again the tall built-in cabinet stretching from the landing of the open stairwell to the ceiling of the top floor, The carved moldings of its white-painted wood were etched with a darkly brilliant blue. Through the panes of glass in its tall doors, assorted vases and figurines of complementing blues were deftly scattered among a collection of books.
    With cosmetic case and suitcase in hand, Lacey mounted the steps. A large potted tree stood near the white railing at the head of the steps. All was silent. The click of her shoes on the hardwood floor of the second story sounded loud to her own ears, but she resisted the impulse to tiptoe.
    The decor of the stairwell was an introduction to the white and blue world of the living room. Matching cream white sofas with throw pillows of peacock blue occupied the large area rug, predominantly patterned in blue, in front of the white brick fireplace. Again, the assorted statues and figurines carried the theme of blue, accented by the hanging plants and potted plants that abounded in the room.
    The dining room and kitchen were an extension of the living room with no walls to divide them. A mixture of white rattan and white wicker furniture in the dining room added an informal touch, with the emphasis subtly changing from blue to green, mostly by the usage of plants.
    Setting her cases down, Lacey walked to the large picture windows fronting the ocean. The blue drapes were pulled open to reveal an expansive view of the sea and the beckoning sandy beach. She turned away. There was time