Quincy scooted out of the office, since the door was standing ajar, into the kitchen, to perform his customary countertop prowl. Since he’d been put on a strict diet, Chase took extra care not to leave fattening bits of baking debris for him to find. She thought she had convinced Anna to be careful of his weight, too. Still, he managed to scare up a few crumbs almost every night. When he was finished, one of the women sanitized the countertops as part of their own nightly ritual.
Anna was taking baking sheets out of the dishwasher when the office phone rang, so Chase ran to answer it.
When she heard the deep, rumbly voice of Dr. Michael Ramos, her heart sped up.
“How’s my favorite patient?” he asked.
“Quincy is doing well. He hasn’t gotten into anything he shouldn’t have for over a week now.”
“Glad to hear it. I have some news. Aren’t you and Anna renting a booth at the Bunyan County Harvest Fair this year?”
“Yes, Julie thought it would be a good idea.” Julie, Anna’s granddaughter, was also Chase’s best friend and had been since they’d grown up together.
“I think it’s a good idea, too. You’ll probably sell a lot of dessert bars, and you’ll get valuable advertising. A lot of locals get an early start on Christmas at that fair.”
Chase didn’t want to tell him that October 18 was too early for people to buy their consumables and have them last until the holidays, unless they froze them. That gave her an idea, though. They would hand out freezing instructions with their wares. If, that is, they were still able to do the fair.
“I don’t know if this will work out,” Chase said, opening a file on the computer and typing in the freezing instructions while she clamped the phone between her ear and shoulder.
“What’s the problem?”
“Inger has been feeling ill for the last two weeks.”
“That’s a long time. Has she seen a doctor?”
“No, she’s usually nauseated in the morning, then feels better by afternoon. Today, though, she felt faint just before closing.”
“I’m not a people doctor, but you know what that sounds like, don’t you?”
“No. What do you think is wrong with her?”
“I think she’s pregnant.”
TWO
Anna wrestled the clumsy wicker basket onto the display table in their booth with a grunt.
“What are you doing?” Chase rushed to help her, but was too late. “That basket is too heavy for one person.”
“Oh, pooh. My laundry basket weighs more than this.”
They had stuffed the pretty basket full of dessert bar packages this morning before they left to set up their booth for the opening of the fair and bazaar tomorrow. Anna thought they could use the basket as part of their display. Anna, a seamstress wizard, had lined it with pink-and-purple-striped cloth before they’d filled it. The table was rather small, but Chase thought they could make it work.
“Let’s tip the basket and put the dessert bars half in and half out,” Chase suggested.
“Oh, like they’re tumbling from the basket, right? Great idea, Charity.” Anna started unpacking the small boxes onto the top of the table so they could set up the arrangement.
A gust of wind stirred the back tarp slightly, and it flapped against the supporting poles.
The booths were set up along the sawdust strewn midway at the Bunyan County Fairgrounds. They were nine-by-nine tents, each furnished with a five-foot table and two folding chairs for the price of the display space. Chase hadn’t looked around yet to see who the other vendors were, but she wanted to take a walk along the entire concourse after they set up and before they left tonight.
The tinkling music of an electric calliope came from the direction of the traveling carnival that was setting up in part of the huge visitor’s parking lot. The rides were mostly children’s rides, including a merry-go-round (with the electric music), a small roller coaster, a train ride with a fancy old-fashioned locomotive, and, for the brave, a Tilt-A-Whirl. Chase thought they must be trying things out today.
Several booths of carnival games lined up at the edge of that lot. Chase used to be a fair hand at ring toss. Maybe she would get a chance to see if she could still do it. Later, after things were well under way, of course.
The main attractions at the fair were the butter sculpture competition and the pet contests. Chase was glad the booths were set up on the path leading to the exhibit building and close to the butter sculpture location.
She wasn’t sure what the sculpture contest entailed, but was eager to find out. Julie had started to tell her, but their phone conversation had been cut short by a wave of Bar None customers. All she knew was that the Bunyan County Fair had held the competitions for years, and she remembered seeing some when her parents took her to the fair as a young child.
A shadow fell across the opening to the booth. Chase turned to find Quincy’s veterinarian running an appreciative eye over what they’d done so far.
“I like the banner with your logo. The stripes are eye-catching.”
“Mike,” Chase said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m the vet for the fair. That’s the news I meant to tell you last night.”
“The fair needs a vet? I guess I haven’t read up on it enough. Is there livestock?”
“No, not actual farming livestock.”
“I thought I saw a man unloading a sheep or a goat in the parking lot.”
“There aren’t any blue ribbons for farm animals, but there are a lot of pet contests. All the farm animals you’ll see here are pets. There’s an obstacle course for dogs and a Fancy Cat Contest. You might consider entering Quincy. But how’s Inger today?”
“She came in to work this morning,” Anna said. “I told her we’ll open limited hours all next week, since she’ll be there alone. One of those days she can close up early, or completely, and get herself to a doctor.”
“Yep, that’s what Anna told her.” Chase had her doubts Inger would see a doctor. She hadn’t seemed eager to do that. “I’ll run back to check on Quincy this afternoon, and I’ll also see if Inger is having any trouble. If she is, I’ll either stay or close the shop.”
“Good idea,” Anna said. “I can always go back, too. Between us, we’ll get Inger taken care of.”
No one noticed when the packages that were in the basket began to shift and quake. None of the three even saw the bright amber eyes peer over the top. The cat was able to leap out of the basket, land behind the table, and squeeze under the tarp that formed the back wall. Free of the confines of the basket, though the contents had provided good eating, he waddled along the aisle of booths, looking for something more to nibble on.
“Did you see what I think I just saw?” Mike stepped into the booth and peered at the packed-dirt floor behind the table.
Chase’s cell phone trilled. “It’s Inger.”
“I hope she’s okay.” Anna leaned close to overhear the conversation.
“Ms. Oliver—”
“Call me Chase, Inger.”
“Okay. Quincy isn’t here. I just went in to give him his midmorning snack, and—”
“Midmorning snack? Who told you he gets one of those?” Chase frowned at Anna. Was she still spoiling the cat with too many treats?
Anna backed away from the phone and resumed unpacking a box.
“Mrs. Larson said she gives him one every day.”
It was a wonder he hadn’t been gaining more weight. Chase glared at Anna’s back. “Has the outside door been open?” she asked Inger.
“No. We haven’t even had any deliveries. I know he didn’t go out the front door. The thing is, the office door was closed. I don’t know why he’s not in here.”
Chase closed her eyes and tried to picture the flurry when they were packing up this morning. Had she seen Quincy when she’d latched the office door? She couldn’t remember.