• • •
The birthday party went very well. The guest of honor had loved the food and even shared her recipe for making green tomato–raspberry jam. Tippi was punctual and was a huge hit with the older guests. When the festivities began winding down, Tippi assured Dani she had everything under control and sent her back to the mansion to search for Kipp’s book.
Once Dani was home and changed into shorts and a T-shirt, she headed to the attic. She had a decent chunk of time before she needed to pack up and go to her personal chef gig and she was determined to get through every single carton until she found the damn book.
Although she couldn’t recall the exact title, Dani did remember the book’s appearance. It was slightly larger than a paperback, but less than a quarter of the usual thickness, not more than seventy or so pages. That thinness was one of the reasons it would be so hard to find in the boxes.
A couple of hours later, tired, dirty, and dying of thirst, Dani grabbed one of the three remaining cartons. With only ten minutes left before she had to get ready to leave, she was running out of time.
Slitting the packing tape, she reached inside and started piling the contents on the floor. A stack of padded hangers was followed by a pair of terry cloth slippers and a package of plastic spoons. Why on earth had she kept disposable cutlery?
Ooh! This was where her favorite summer Coach purse had been hiding. Although she hadn’t lost her taste for high-end handbags, she could no longer afford to indulge in buying them so she was especially happy to find this one. As she lifted out the pistachio-green bag, she caressed the soft leather. Gently setting it aside, she peered into the box to see if there was anything else at the bottom and gave a victorious whoop.
Sitting on top of a pile of old Gourmet magazines was Kipp’s book. She picked up the tattered volume, flipped it open, and saw:
Al Aaraaf,
Tamerlane,
and
Minor Poems
By Edgar A. Poe
Clearly it was old, but was it really as valuable as Kipp obviously thought? Dani checked her watch.
Shoot! She was going to be late if she didn’t stop right this second. And tardiness was no way to impress a new client. Particularly one who had made it clear that she didn’t usually hire people from brochures left at her front door and that this was a trial run.
Dani hurried down from the attic, tossed her find on the dresser, then hesitated. Feeling a little silly, she went back and tucked the slim volume into a package of tampons and hid the box in her underwear drawer. Rushing into the shower, she decided that although she planned to give the book to Kipp no matter what it was worth, she’d definitely Google the title before she handed it over.
• • •
The dinner party had gone smoothly and Dani got home at a reasonable hour. But as she walked up the stairs to her suite, the last couple of days’ frantic pace finally caught up with her. Pulling off her clothes, she stumbled over to the bed and collapsed facedown on top of the covers. It was a good thing that she didn’t sell lunches on the weekends because she fell asleep without setting her alarm.
Dani woke to the sound of Elvis Presley’s “Little Sister” and fumbled for her cell phone. It wasn’t on the nightstand, or the dresser, or the floor. Still fuzzy from the deep sleep she’d been enjoying, she finally found the device in the pocket of her discarded pants.
Dani fumbled to answer the phone and swiped across Ivy’s picture. “What?”
“Are you all right?” The volume of Ivy’s voice was just as shade below a shout.
“I’m fine.” Dani squinted at the sun pouring through her windows. What time was it? “Why? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“That’s what we want to know,” Ivy said. “It’s nearly noon. You never sleep that late. And Dr. Dingleberry has already been here twice pounding on the door and demanding to speak to you.”
“Dingleberry?” Dani repeated. Where did Ivy come up with that stuff?
“You know, the poop hanging off an animal’s butt,” Ivy explained.
“Got it.” Dani trudged into the bathroom and turned on the water. “After I shower, I’ll text Kipp to come over. Keep the door locked.”
As Dani shampooed her hair, she hummed Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.” Everything was finally going in the right direction. Mikeloff had his killer and no longer had an excuse to harass her. Today she’d hand over the Poe book to Kipp and get him out of her life for good. And she had a date tonight.
Okay. Not exactly a date. A thank-you. But she was having dinner with a ridiculously handsome man, and yes, she was cooking it, but it was just the two of them and he didn’t have a girlfriend. And despite both their efforts to ignore it, there was unquestionably chemistry between them.
After she was dressed, Dani reached for her phone to text Kipp but paused. She had a vague memory of Spencer telling her that he wanted to be with her when she gave the book to Kipp. But she didn’t want Spencer to get the idea she was a helpless little lady he could boss around.
Dani picked up her cell, then hesitated. Still, she had no desire to be alone with Kipp. He’d been acting crazy and having an armed head of security witness the exchange couldn’t hurt. Even kickass female heads of state had bodyguards.
After a quick conversation with Spencer, who assured her that he could be at the mansion by five thirty, Dani messaged Kipp with the time. He demanded an earlier meeting, but she texted, 5:30 or never.
A string of profanity followed, then a single word appeared on her screen: fine.
Her mood slightly dimmed, Dani ventured downstairs to figure out
