Three Bells Ringing: Friday's Curious Shop, #2

Three Bells Ringing

A FRIDAY’S CURIOUS SHOP STORY

FRIDAY’S CURIOUS SHOP

BOOK TWO

KAT SIMONS

THREE BELLS RINGING

Copyright © 2023 by Katrina Tipton

Cover design: © 2024 T&D Publishing

Cover Art: © David Burke © Artem Beliaikin © Thomas Perkins | Dreamstime.com

Published by: T&D Publishing

T&D Publishing: https://www.tanddpublishing.com

Kat Simons Website: https://www.katsimons.com

Kat Simons Newsletter: https://bit.ly/KatSimonsNewsletter

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

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A store for the curious. Enter if you dare…

Riley’s new job at Friday’s Curious Shop provides a steady paycheck and her bosses supply a steady stream of sandwiches. More than she expected from the dusty secondhand shop located off a side street in Queens. She doesn’t know how her bosses make money, not a lot of customers seem to come through the door, but Riley keeps busy with dusting and rearranging the shelves, her head down, content with the work.

When costumers do come into the shop, though, they always seem to be a little…odd. Like the man with the strange smile who sets off her alarm bells instantly. Outwardly, a normal man, looking for a perfectly normal item. A jester’s hat.

A very specific jester’s hat.

But Riley’s sure that’s nothing to worry about. Even if the man gives her the creeps and the situation feels weirdly dangerous. What could be dangerous about a jester’s hat?

In Friday’s Curious Shop…

Author’s Note: This novella is also published in the collection HAUNTS AND HOWLS AND JESTERS BELLS

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Thank You

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This one’s for my fellow spooky TV show lovers from back in the day.

And of course, always, for my family.

Chapter

One

Working in Friday’s Curious Shop had introduced Riley Anderson to a lot of unusual people and a lot of unusual things. She hadn’t even been working in this secondhand store for very long. A few months, according to the regular pay deposited into her bank account every two weeks.

When she bothered to stop and think about it, Riley didn’t really remember applying for the job here at Friday’s, or getting it. She had some vague memories of being unemployed and worried about meeting rent. Worried the three people she shared the small two-bedroom apartment she called home would kick her out if she couldn’t get work. She’d thought she might end up homeless, at least, she thought that had been a worry. Riley didn’t have any backups, any family to help when things got tough. So being out of a job really would have been bad.

But all that seemed like distant memories now. She was aware of having only worked in Friday’s for a limited period of time because she felt like there was still a lot she was learning. At the same time, it felt like she’d been here for years.

And yet, there was always something new, something interesting to uncover. A quiet retail job that involved a lot of dusting probably should have