by Diana Orgain | Jul 16, 2021 | Gold Strike Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From Dying for Gold Chapter One I think your store is haunted,” Mrs. Jeffries, one of our best customers, screeched. “It’s not haunted,” I said. “Well, the nugget I was just looking at disappeared out from under my nose! How do you explain that?” she demanded. “Wendy,” I offered as way of explanation, pulling the diamond-encrusted gold nugget out of my sister-in-law’s hands and passing it to Mrs. Jeffries. Wendy simply batted her false eyelashes and gave a wicked grin. “I couldn’t resist. Isn’t it the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?” The store in question was The Nugget. Daddy’s family had been part of the original gold rush of 1849. Our family went way back, especially by California standards. I was the fifth generation of a mining family, and The Nugget had kept our family in gold even when our mine, The Bear Strike, had been forced to close in 1942 to support the war effort. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Daddy happier than when the price of gold shot up a few years back and it would finally be prof‐ itable to reopen the mine. Ordinarily, The Nugget catered to tourists, but I’d convinced Daddy to use the shop as a backdrop to put my best friend, Ginger’s, exquisite jewelry designs on display, and all our best customers and neighbors had come out for the occasion. Dad came around from behind the counter. “Cut the champagne off,” he said under his breath. I laughed. “Daddy! This is a ladies’ gathering. One of the main draws beside Ginger’s designs is the champagne.” He leaned into me....
