LITMIR.BIZ

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Moms?” Jamal asked.

      I turned on my cousin. “You don’t know who the Mystery Moms are? They’re only the biggest national book club for mysteries. They have dues and chapters and conferences. We sponsor a chapter here in Hazel Rock. They meet once a month at the store. They’re some of our best customers.”

      “She has no life outside this barn,” my dad complained.

      I ignored him and began to take notes on my phone.

      “She’s going to have to live and breathe this barn odor for the next couple weeks,” Jamal said as he sniffed the air.

      Princess had snuck over to where we stood and was sniffing my cousin’s pant leg as we spoke, her head traveling upward as she tried to smell the new visitor. Jamal jumped when she stood on her hind legs and put her claws against his shin. I expected her to jump in return, but she just stood there, watching and sniffing him.

      “That’s not the Barn you smell, that’s Princess. I told you she has a smell all her own.” Unfortunately, I was getting used to the odor. “She’ll have a bath before the reporters get here, and the store will be dressed to the nines. It’s the least I can do to make the store look its best for the reporters.”

      My cousin reached down and tenuously patted Princess on her shell. “So, this is what a pet armadillo looks like. I still can’t believe you have one.” Princess rubbed her body against his leg, but that was a little too much for Jamal to handle. He cringed and stepped back. I remembered doing the same thing once upon a time.

      “You’ll get used to her.”

      “Yeah, I’m sure I will.” He wiped his hand on his shirt before shoving the rest of his second donut in his mouth. “The Book Seekers app is about to bring in more customers than you can possibly imagine. I’m talking about expanding your business and making it into a successful bookstore.”

      “We already are a successful bookstore, Jamal.”

      “Yeah, but this will make the Book Barn Princess a nationwide brand.”

      I’d been down this path a few months back with Cade. He wanted me to take the business and go nationwide, open other stores, but I was content with having just one Book Barn Princess in Hazel Rock. What was wrong with owning one independent bookstore and not wanting to expand? What was wrong with just wanting to make our business as successful as it could possibly be? Why did the men in my life think our store had to grow beyond Hazel Rock?

      I wanted to succeed. I wanted to live comfortably. And yes, my daddy needed a retirement plan, but couldn’t I do all that right here in Hazel Rock?

      My dad was the first to speak. “We’re not looking for a nationwide brand, Jamal. We like the Barn just the way it is.”

      Jamal looked around at all the pink walls, the different stalls filled with various genres. The girl’s section was decorated in a princess grunge theme with a tiara chandelier above the stall. It was beautiful and all the little princesses who visited the Barn loved it—including our very own little armadillo. Princess liked to look up at the glistening crystals hanging down as if they were stars in the sky. It seemed to confuse her, yet enthrall her at the same time.

      I reinforced my daddy’s statement. “We’re happy the way things are, Jamal.”

      “Wouldn’t you be happier if you were bringing in more than just a handful of customers a day?”

      “Of course, we’d like to bring in more customers. Every business owner wants that.”

      Jamal rubbed his long, lean hands together. “Then hear me out, and I’ll make sure you don’t regret it.”

      I looked to my dad for his input. This wasn’t just my decision; this was a choice both of us would have to agree on. We owned the store together. We worked together, and we made decisions together.

      “What can it hurt?” my dad asked.

      What could it hurt indeed…

      Chapter Three

      Jamal went through the details of the app several times, explaining to us exactly how it would work. The user would receive their initial clue to locate a book somewhere in Hazel Rock. But it wasn’t an actual book, it was a virtual book. The user would follow the clue to the location by utilizing a 2-D map and the phone’s GPS signal to display the user’s location. Once at the location, the user grabbed the book by pointing their camera at the cover. Once a photo was snapped, the picture and the book was then automatically recorded on the individual’s virtual bookshelf with their profile and a second clue was earned. If the user did not locate the second book on the next clue, they could purchase additional clues.

      When I downloaded the app, and picked up my first clue, I thought it was kind of creepy, yet kind of cool at the same time. A 2-D map of downtown Hazel Rock appeared on my phone and gave the clue for me to follow:

      A place where the dead are taken in the city of Hazel Rock.

      “Seriously, Jamal. A place where the dead are taken in Hazel Rock?”

      Jamal dismissed my moral outrage and focused on me utilizing the app. “That’s a good clue, Charli. All you have to do is start walking in that direction. Once you’re within close range of the book, a circle will appear on your map. If, however, you are going in the wrong direction, the red stop sign will show up and you can choose to go another direction, or you can ask for another clue.”

      “Another clue? So, you just give them clue after clue?”

      “No, the first clue is free. If the user locates the book, a second clue is issued. If the user doesn’t find the book, the second clue will cost them ninety-nine cents.”

      “Ninety-nine cents? Holy schnikes, that’s a little high for a clue, don’t you think?”

      Jamal shook his head. “You saw how easy the first clue was. There’s only a couple places you could possibly go.”

      “The funeral home or the cemetery,” my dad said.

      My aunt leaned over my shoulder, looking at my phone screen. “Take your pick.”

      Daddy stayed at the store while Jamal and I exited with my aunt following close behind. We walked down Main Street toward the funeral home, watching the map on my phone the entire way. It was a fairly crude map with all the buildings blended into the grass, but the roads were mapped out well in a bright pink.

      “Is there a reason why you chose pink streets?” I asked as we walked toward the Tool Shed Tavern’s parking lot.

      Jamal smiled. “It was pretty brilliant, huh?”

      “What do you mean?”

      “I chose the color for the Book Barn Princess. That way it’s branded for your store.”

      “But what about other bookstores? Won’t they want branding too?”

      “If another bookstore wants to pay for advertising, they can have some variations to the programming in their area. It’s another way for the app to bring in cash.”

      I stopped and looked at my cousin despite the drizzle starting to fall. “Are you charging me a fee?”

      “Get out!” Jamal bumped me with his hip. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

      I bumped him right back, letting my boney hip hit his thigh. “Good to know blood counts for something.”

      We made our way past the Shed toward the little white ranch-style house with a porte cochére over the circular drive at the front doors. As we approached, a pink armadillo appeared on the screen of my phone and ran toward the funeral home.

      “That’s Princess.” Jamal pointed to the pink armadillo vector and I showed my aunt, who was having a hard time not bragging about her boy throughout the entire walk. I could tell it made my cousin feel proud, despite his protestations about her praise.

      I

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