title: The Importance of Coffee (Or, The Worst Story Ever Told): A Daniel Francis Story (A Work in Progress) (Volume 1)
author: Ryan Diminick
description: Ryan Diminick lives in New Jersey. When he's not writing, he loves to spend time with his family, perform onstage, and contemplate the finer things in life.
zlib_text: The	Ghost	in	the	Big	Brass	Bed
  The	Nina	Tanleven	Mysteries,	Book	Three
  Bruce	Coville
  
  For	Danelle,
  who,	like	Alida,	had	to	wait
  
  CONTENTS
  1.	The	Caffeine	Poster	Child
  2.	Phoebe	Watson
  3.	The	Painted	Past
  4.	In	the	Tower
  5.	Watched,	by	Unseen	Eyes
  6.	Panic	in	the	Parlor
  7.	The	Lost	Masterpiece
  8.	Past	Imperfect
  9.	Art	Lesson
  10.	Dark	Vision
  11.	Footsteps	in	the	Dark
  12.	Dumb	Waiting
  13.	In	the	Gazebo
  14.	Fatherly	Concerns
  15.	“This	Is	a	House	of	Darkness”
  16.	The	Hangman
  17.	Byron
  18.	Editorial	Comments
  19.	Sketches
  20.	Enough	Rope	to	Hang	Himself
  21.	Hanging	Around
  22.	On	the	Edge
  23.	Off	the	Wall
  24.	Over	There
  
  CHAPTER	ONE
  The	Caffeine	Poster	Child
  You	could	say	I	met	the	ghost	of	Cornelius	Fletcher	because	of	my	father’s
  three-dollar	coffee	maker.
  My	dad	had	just	bought	the	coffee	maker	at	a	garage	sale.	Personally	I
  thought	 this	 was	 a	 dumb	 idea;	 in	 my	 opinion,	 drinking	 coffee	 is	 a	 lot	 like
  sucking	old	sweat	socks.
  My	father,	however,	was	very	pleased	with	himself.	“Th