Forty Thousand Dollars and the Deed to Maple Avenue Bakery

down, the damp air doing nothing to clear the tightness in my chest. The used blue Buick was parked in its usual spot by the alley, its windshield still smeared with the grime of the morning rain.

At half-past four, the afternoon rush was beginning to fade, leaving the display cases mostly empty except for three loaves of rye and a dozen sugar cookies.continue reading …