Lori Dorsett let her rented sedan coast to a stop close to the curb on the eastbound side of Oliver Street. Without looking left or rightâor at the map of Glory, North Carolina, on her lapâshe knew that sheâd parked opposite Founders Park and up the street from Snacks of Glory, âthe home of the Glorious SOGgy Burger.â Another fifty feet or so and sheâd be able to see the garish red-and-yellow neon hamburger glowing in the restaurantâs window.
âYou do good work,â she murmured happily, confident that sheâd learned the lay of the land. Sheâd memorized the locations of the small townâs landmark buildings: the town hall, the police headquarters, the fire department and the Glory National Bank.
And of course, Glory Community Church.
Immediately after breakfast, Lori had driven every one of Gloryâs fifteen major streets at least three timesâand many five or sixâbut in a random pattern to relieve suspicion should anyone be watching.
Like the lady cop on Main Street who decided that I was casing the bank.
Lori chuckled. It was too bad that she didnât have her camera with her at the time. Lori would have loved to capture the look of disappointment on the copâs face when she realized that Lori was a tourist in Glory and a guest at The Scottish Captain.
Later in the morning Lori had driven through Glory again, visiting the townâs best-known historic sites and buildings to take pictures, actually going to the trouble of unfolding her portable tripod and snapping shots from various angles.
Photography was the heart of Loriâs cover. Sheâd supposedly just finished a year-long certificate program in travel photography at the Chicago Institute of Graphic Arts. Her cameraâa professional-quality Nikon digital single-lens reflexâwas larger and more expensive than most tourists would carry. And she had a complete assortment of lenses and filters and memory cardsâexactly the sort of extravagant camera system that would be owned by a well-heeled recent divorcée striving to transform a hobby into a new career.
Founders Park would be Loriâs last âphoto shootâ of the day.
She climbed out of the car, crossed Oliver Street and set up her camera in front of the statue of Moira McGregor. The visitorsâ guidebook that Lori had nearly memorized explained that Moira had been married to Duncan McGregor, the leader of the group of Scottish émigrés who had settled Glory in the spring of 1733.
âIâll be with you in a flash, Moira. Hold that silly grin while I make a phone call.â
Lori surreptitiously scanned her surroundings. There were no trees in her immediate vicinity and the buildings on the south side of Oliver Street were fairly low, yielding a clear view of the sky.
She switched on her satellite telephone and dialed Kevin Pomeroyâs direct line in Chicago.
âA happy Tuesday morning to you, Mizz Dorsett,â a cheerful male voice boomed. âHowâs life in the Southland?â
âQuiet. Itâs the middle of a workday here and there are maybe a half dozen cars on the street.â
âWhat were you expecting? I warned you that Glory is a clone of Mayberry.â
âYou were right, Kevin. I keep waiting for Andy Griffith to walk around the corner. Iâve seen ten different women who look like Aunt Bea.â
âWhere are you staying?â
âWhere we want me to beâThe Scottish Captain.â
âHa! I told you we didnât need to risk making a reservation.â
âYou were right again. The place has six bedrooms. They wonât fill up until the summer.â
âWatch out for bedbugs.â
âTo the contrary. The Captain is a grand old houseâlovely inside. The sort of place you should take Francine for a romantic weekend.â She laughed. âThe town has a definite charm about it, too. There are several excellent restaurants, Iâve been told.â
âUh-huh. Iâm sure that the art museum is inspirational, and Iâll bet the local galleria has an impressive collection of Fifth Avenue boutiques.â
âWell, cultural opportunities are somewhat limited, but I have passed a few interesting specialty shops.â
âRight! And thereâs always the big box stores on the outskirts of town.â He moaned. âI almost feel guilty sending you to a hick townâuntil I remember that your last assignment was two months in San Francisco.â He added. âDo you have any sense of how long youâll have to sojourn in beautiful downtown Glory?â
âThree weeks, maybe four. To be on the safe side, I told the owner of the B and B that I planned a month of picture taking in the region.â
âHowâs the weather?â
âThe month of May in this corner of North Carolina is glorious. No pun intended.â
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â