“Looks as if our welcome’s going to be a bit better than the sendoff.” Grandfather joined us at the rail. Serge’s pet tern was still perched on his shoulder. Had he deserted Serge for Grandfather? Or did his sudden apparent infatuation with Grandfather have something to with the bits of sardine Grandfather occasionally fished out of the pockets of his fisherman’s vest.
“Let me have those things a sec.” Grandfather held out a hand for the binoculars.
I handed them over—they were his anyway. Grandfather raised them to his eyes and scanned the pier. But he was still scowling, I noticed—what now? Normally there was nothing he liked better than a large collection of reporters he could charm. Was he under the delusion that our arrival wasn’t getting as much coverage as it deserved?
Finally, about the time we got near enough to see the crowd without binoculars, a look of relief washed over his face.
“Ah, good,” he said. “Trevor’s there waiting for us.”
I mentally kicked myself. I’d assumed Caroline would let Grandfather know that we’d finally reached Trevor, who was safe and sound and had never left Baltimore. She probably thought I’d shared the news. I’d been too busy taking care of Trevor’s anguished request that I burn the autographed copy of The Sharp Claw of Love that Desiree had thrust into his unwilling hands to thank him for paying off her taxi driver. Although in the end, I didn’t actually burn the whole thing—only the title page with its embarrassing inscription. I’d shelved the book itself in the library lounge.
“Were you worried about him?” I asked aloud.
“No such thing,” Grandfather retorted. “Just wondering whether the wretch has thought to bring me my ginger beer.”
Liar, I thought. But I didn’t say it aloud—I just watched as Grandfather fed another bit of sardine to the expectant tern, stepped forward, struck his most dramatic pose, and basked in the knowledge that dozens of cameras were focused right on him.
ALSO BY DONNA ANDREWS
Lark! The Herald Angels Sing
Toucan Keep a Secret
How the Finch Stole Christmas!
Gone Gull
Die Like an Eagle
The Lord of the Wings
The Nightingale Before Christmas
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus
Duck the Halls
Hen of the Baskervilles
Some Like It Hawk
The Real Macaw
Stork Raving Mad
Swan for the Money
Six Geese A’Slaying
Cockatiels at Seven
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much
No Nest for the Wicket
Owls Well That Ends Well
We’ll Always Have Parrots
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
Murder with Puffins
Murder with Peacocks
About the Author
DONNA ANDREWS has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Barry Awards, an RT Book Review Award for best first novel, and four Lefty and two Toby Bromberg awards for funniest mystery. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Private Investigators and Security Association. Andrews lives in Reston, Virginia. Terns of Endearment is Andrews’s the twenty-fifth mystery in the Meg Langslow series. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Also by Donna Andrews
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
TERNS OF ENDEARMENT. Copyright © 2019 by Donna Andrews. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover illustration by Maggie Parr
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Andrews, Donna, author.
Title: Terns of endearment: a Meg Langslow mystery / Donna Andrews.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019008876 | ISBN 9781250192974 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250192998 (ebook)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3551.N4165 T47 2019 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019008876
eISBN 9781250192998
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First Edition: August 2019