Beginner's Luck

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"Five?" asked the bookstore clerk when Joyce set the copies of Whispering Shadows Mystery Monthly on the counter.

"I have a story in it," Joyce told her. She felt a blush spread over her cheeks as she smiled.

"Really? How exciting!"

"It's my second story. I sold my first to them a few months ago."

The clerk, a young woman who seemed to be about Joyce's age of 19, opened one of the magazines. She moved her finger down the table of contents page, along the list of authors. She stopped at Joyce's name. "I bet you're Joyce Walther," she said.

Joyce beamed. "Right! How did you know?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson. I'm a fan of this magazine. I read your first story when it came out. It was very good, by the way. At the time, your name stuck in my mind, because the introduction said you live here in town. And I've also been to your father's store." Grinning, she swept back some wavy brown hair and showed a gold earring to Joyce. "Then, of course, you were in the news for the way you caught those thugs. With all that, how could I forget your name?"

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