The problem, as Melissa Johnson (known to most of the North Shore as Missy) saw it, was that in all the years she had been getting books at the Flea Market Exchange in Two Harbors, was that she had never once been able to get there before Loretta from the Book Nook in Grand Marais.

Which meant that by the time she got there, the best paperbacks (and especially the romance novels) were dried up history and Missy’s choices were all kinds of things she didn’t particularly care for. Or read, for that matter.

Oh, she still took those on because there were some people in Ruby Cove who liked those kinds of books and she wasn’t going to snub her nose at that. But the ones she really wanted were already in Loretta’s clutches. The worst part of it was that some of her best customers would go straight to Loretta when they found out that they couldn’t get what they wanted from Missy.

And Missy had just about had it with that.

Especially after getting the call from Elaine Hoffman this morning. Elaine worked for an importer at the Flea Market Exchange and had become a good friend over the years. They often commiserated over coffee together after Missy was finished picking through the left-overs.

Elaine’s voice had dropped dramatically after the usual exchange of how-are-you’s and what’s-new-with-you’s. “I heard from Margo that there’s going to be a huge bunch of books tomorrow. Huge.”

Missy sucked in her breath at the thought.

“How huge?” she finally asked, her own voice a mere whisper.

“Like five or six really big boxes,” Elaine told her.

Missy nearly forgot to breathe. “How on earth did you find out?” She knew Elaine was nowhere near the inside gossip at the Market, and was usually the last one to find anything out.

Elaine giggled. “In the women’s room.”

“What?”

Elaine giggled again. “I was in one of the stalls and was just about to come out when I heard Joyce and that geeky assistant of hers come in.”

“How’d you know it was them?”

“Because Loretta has that stupid laugh,” Elaine said, as if Missy should have figured that out.   “Becky said something and then Joyce started snorting. So I kept really quiet and then Joyce said, ‘Becky, you are the most ingenious person I’ve ever met. Loretta will give us double for that.’”

Missy gasped. “She really said that?”

“She did.” Elaine knew how much Missy wanted to get her hands on those books first. They’d had enough consolation drinks after the Market to know one heck of a lot about each other at that point.

“Then what?” Missy just had to know what Loretta had cooked up.

“Then…” Elaine paused dramatically.

Missy wanted to strangle her, but merely gripped the phone tightly. “Elaine!”

“Well…” Elaine paused again for effect before delivering the goodies. “Joyce said something about this big shipment coming from some estate sale in the Cities and said Loretta would have a cow if she knew how many books there were going to be. And then Becky said that in this case, she should be prepared to give them double the fee since there were triple the number of books than usual.”

“Wow.” Missy’s imagination was swamped by the thought of all those books. Then she realized that Elaine had also stumbled on the whole reason Loretta was so darned lucky. “Oh! That bitch!”

“Yeah. But at least now you know.”

“Phht.” Missy couldn’t help making the rude noise. “I don’t suppose you overheard where they were keeping them, did you?”

“It sounded like the usual place.”

“But they didn’t say?”

“Nope.”

After she hung up, Missy’s eyes narrowed as she thought of the way those skunks had arranged to make sure Loretta got all the good stuff. It wasn’t fair.

Missy considered calling the Flea Market Exchange, then realized it might not change a darned thing. No one was likely to believe her and Loretta would still get the books tomorrow anyway.

Missy had once called Joyce and tried to wheedle her way in the night before or maybe an hour early, but Joyce wouldn’t even considered it. Now she knew why. She had had a sneaking suspicion that Loretta was doing something like that, but couldn’t prove it. All she knew was that she had often seen Loretta having lunch or whatever with Joyce and they seemed to be awfully good friends.

But this was even worse that her original suspicion. She never would have guessed that Loretta was paying extra just to get those books first.

Well, things were going to change. At least if Missy had her way. And this time she was determined that she would.