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The Class Menagerie

The Class Menagerie

Titel: The Class Menagerie Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Jill Churchill
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minutes later to Jenny’s mother.
    “Jane, where have you been? I’ve been trying to get you for two days. No, this is great. Wait till you hear. Come in.“
    “Can’t,“ Jane said.
    They sealed on the little wrought iron bench by the front door. “All right, here’s the deal. These little boys asked them out to a movie. It’s one of those dreadful male things. Two hours of driving around in fast cars and shooting and gallons of testosterone sloshing everywhere. Howard wants to see it too—I’ll never understand men—so he agreed to take the four of them. Don’t you see—?“
    Jane was smiling. “The girls will hate the movie, hate the boys, hate having a parent along and, with any luck, will hate the idea of ever having another date.“
    “Right! I knew you’d appreciate the plan!“
    “I do. But it’s still the thin edge of the wedge—“
    “Jane, they don’t have nunneries anymore that you pop daughters into.“
    “More’s the pity. Okay. I’ll go along with it. But if this doesn’t work, you’ll have to adopt Katie.“
    “I’d be glad to. We could just trade. I’m so pleased that the girls settled their differences. Jenny was ruining life as we knew it. Her brother and father were both threatening to run away from home. And I was helping them pack. You’re sure you can’t come in for a bit?“
    “No, I’ve got to run.“
    Jane made her next stop the mall and headed for the Foundations section of the anchor department store. A towering, substantial platinum blond was waiting on two elderly ladies, ringing up their purchases. “I think you’ll enjoy these, ladies, and if there’s any problem, just bring them back. Bye, now,“ she said, watching after them and waving sweetly as they departed.
    “If they bring those goddamned corsets back, I’ll choke their scrawny necks,“ she added to Jane. “So, how’s life treating you, Janie? You still dating that hunky cop?“
    “More or less. Listen, before another customer grabs you, Suzie, were you here yesterday around noon?“
    “Eternally. I’m part of the decor these days. There are people who claim I was just standing here one day in the middle of a field and they built the shopping center around me.“
    “Do you remember an out-of-town customer, late thirties, very stylish, bought a whole bag full of stuff?“
    “A very expensive bag. I’ll say. Friend of yours?“
    “No, of Shelley’s. I just gave her a lift.“
    “She said someone had stolen her underwear as a joke. Strange kind of joke, if you ask me,“ Suzie said. “Oops, just a sec. Got to flog some boob baskets.“
    Jane waited until Suzie was through showing industrial strength underwear to another customer, then sidled back up to her. “Here’s the question, Suzie. Did you notice if the woman put something else in the bag?“
    “Let me think.“ Suzie closed her eyes, concentrating. “Oh, yeah. She had this red notebook she kept farting around with. Reading while I was ringing stuff up. Trying to shove in her purse, but it didn’t fit. I think she tossed it in with the undies. Yeah, I’m sure she did. Why in the world do you care?“
    “I don’t know. I just wondered. You didn’t happen to see what was written in it, did you?“
    “Jane, do I look like I’ve got time or reason to care? Sorry, but I gotta get back to work. Give that VanDyne one for me.“
    “One what?“
    “Whatever you’re giving him,“ she “said with a lewd wink.
    So Crispy was telling the truth about putting Lila’s notebook in the shopping bag , Jane thought as she went back to her car. Did it follow that the rest of the story was true? That she’d put the shopping bag on her bed, gone away, and returned to find the book gone? And what about her story about its containing only boring notes? Would Lila have been so frantic to get it back if that were the case?
    Then Jane remembered the last time she’d priced car insurance. If she’d lost her notes and had to go through the whole confusing mess again, she’d have been frantic, too.

    Preparing for Katie’s date was like preparing for Desert Storm. The first requirement was a shopping blitz after school that cost the earth and left Jane hurriedly turning up a hem on a totally inappropriate dress at the last minute. She and Katie got into a slanging match over false eyelashes, which Katie lost, and about perfume, which Katie won.
    “Mom! The kitchen’s a mess!“ Katie screamed at a quarter of seven. “What if they

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