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Colin smiled.“Well, obviously I can’t disclose the exact ingredients, but you are not too far off, Miss Poole. You would make an excellent saucisse taster.”

“So how come you ran out of Duffers? Is demand higher than usual?”

“No, we’re simply experiencing some production issues. As you might expect, we place the highest demands on the quality of our products, and are currently going through a complete overhaul of our production process. We’re building a new plant,” he explained when she gave him a curious look.“Demand has increased to such an extent that the old production line simply couldn’t keep up. A big part of the process was still done by hand, and unfortunately that wasn’t feasible anymore.”

“Automation,” she said, nodding.

“Indeed. And as our new manufacturing plant goes online, we’ll multiply our output. We’re selling a lot of sausages through our online store, and hope to expand this. We’re also looking into opening stores in other parts of the state, and perhaps even beyond state lines or even internationally. We think we have a fine product, and we’re confident the Duffer can compete with any salami out there, whether in the States or in Europe.”

“Ambitious plans, Mr. Duffer.”

“Well, standing still is the fastest way of moving backward in a rapidly changing world, Miss Poole.”

“President Roosevelt?”

“Lauren Bacall. Miss Bacall loved a good sausage.”

Chapter 19

At the office, Gran was idly leafing through a magazine. She’d been playing Solitaire for a while, then had picked up her phone, only for the darn thing to crash each time she tried to watch one of her favorite shows. So now she had resorted to reading through a copy ofCosmo that Tex supplied for his waiting patients, but was quickly bored with the numerous articles about the perfect nails, or how Jennifer Aniston managed to keep looking so young. And just when she was ready to chuck it all and tell Tex she was going home and he could play receptionist himself, the door to the office opened and Scarlett Canyon strode in.“Oh, you gotta be kidding me,” muttered Gran. As if she wasn’t dealing with enough problems already, Scarlett had to come in and add some more to the pile.

“What do you want?” she asked, none too friendly.

Two more patients sat in the waiting room, and both straightened up with a look of happy anticipation. The whole town knew about the animosity that existed between Scarlett and Vesta, an animosity that spanned decades, and went right back to that one time Vesta had discovered Scarlett, her best friend back then, in the conjugal bed with Vesta’s husband Jack, doing the kind of things only married couples are supposed to be doing there. It had been the end of her marriage, and her friendship with Scarlett.

“That’s strictly between me and Tex,” said Scarlett haughtily. In spite of the fact that she was the exact same age as Vesta, she looked easily two decades younger, and it had cost her a lot of work to make it that way. From her bleached blond hair to her botox-injected forehead to the filler-filled lips and enhanced d?colletage, Scarlett still dressed as if she was the blond bombshell that had launched a thousand ships, or at least made a thousand hearts beat faster, and raised the blood pressure of a thousand more.

“As his assistant, it’s my duty to ask you to state your business,” said Vesta as she brought up Scarlett’s file. “So tell me and let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“I’m not going to tell you my most intimate, personal secrets,” said Scarlett, pressing a shocked hand to her chest. “God knows my complete medical history will be the talk of the town by the time I walk out of Tex’s office.”

“Are you calling me a gossip?” asked Vesta, narrowing her eyes at the woman.

“I’m calling you a nosy parker. You’re not my doctor and I don’t have to tell you a damn thing.”

“And I’m telling you that you’re not going in there until you’ve stated your business.”

Scarlett pressed her lips together.“Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that.”

Vesta noticed how Scarlett was dressed to impress again. Most patients looked exactly like what they were: sick people, eager to see the medical man and hoping he could make them feel better again. They didn’t care what they looked like, and some even showed up dressed in their nightgown, straight out of bed. But not Scarlett, who looked like she was ready to go clubbing, with her deeply cut dress and her shapely legs and her impossibly high heels. Her lips forming a thin line, Vesta moved over to the door that connected the waiting room with Tex’s office and positioned herself in front of it.

“You’re not going in there until you tell me what you’re here for,” she snapped.

Scarlett laughed a light laugh that sounded entirely fake.“Oh, Vesta. You’re still a hoot, aren’t you? Well, all right. If you insist. Now please type all this down in that silly little computer of yours, and don’t miss a single word I say. I’m here to see your son-in-law for a new prescription for the pill.”