Ryan laughed.
Kate sneezed and tickled the kitten under her white chin. “That’s it, Liz! You’re adopting Bronte. Come by tomorrow to pick her up.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Liz held Bronte close to her chest and the kitten closed her eyes.
“Good. I’ll catch you guys later. I have some new-old Hemingways to unpack and the perfect vintage safari helmet to place on top of them.”
Liz glanced at Bronte. “Do you want to take her with you?”
“No, she’ll find her way back to the stacks,” Kate said, as she practically skipped out of Deli-casies. Liz felt lucky to have such a perennially upbeat best friend.
Ryan made sure Kate was out of sight before he said, “You know tiny kittens grow into big cats. They’re not as cute then.”
“You’re not an animal lover?” Liz knew there was something off about him. Now she’d found it.
“I’m more of a dog person,” he said, as he scratched behind Bronte’s ear. The kitten didn’t even wake up. “Cats are too standoffish. With a dog, you know where they’re coming from, always happy to see you and ready for a good time.”
For a dog lover, it sure looked like he’d fallen under Bronte’s spell. His description of a dog reminded Liz of Kate. She had missed her friend when she lived in Manhattan, even though Kate came to visit every few months. Kate, who was the friendliest of people, hadn’t liked Travis from the get-go. How had Liz been so blinded by Travis’s fame, then her own?
Liz left Deli-casies and joined Minna at one of the burnished-aluminum tables in Home Arts by the Sea. Minna had her feet up and was reading the magazine Vero Beach Living.
“No customers?” Liz asked.
“Nope.”
“I heard about Francie. I hope she’ll be okay?”
“Oh, she’ll be fine. I think she’s just traumatized from Regina Harrington-Worth’s murder. Francie thinks someone put a voodoo curse on the treasure from the San Carlos and Regina Harrington-Worth was collateral damage. She’ll rally.”
“We’ll all rally when we catch the person who did it.”
“Amen.”
“How late did you and Francie stay on Saturday?”
“Francie left around six. I left around six thirty. Francie set us up with another of her blind dates that she found on a Melbourne-members-only dating site.”
Liz felt relieved they both had an alibi.
Minna continued, “I told Francie I wouldn’t go unless she checked the guys out before I got in the car and drove over there. I always take my own wheels when Francie sets me up on one of her blind dates. I’ve been burned too many times. I said I wouldn’t succumb to one more of her attempts at online dating—she had one last shot at redemption.”
“How did it go?”
“After I went home and changed, then got in the car at seven to go to the Sebastian Beach Inn, Francie texted me the date was off. She’d gotten there ahead of me and looked in the window of the restaurant to see two dorks sitting at the bar drinking Shirley Temples topped with paper umbrellas. She knew it would be a waste of an evening, so she took off.”
“Saved by an umbrella,” Liz said. “What did you do?”
“I went to François Farrant’s opening, Bruised Shells, at the Sun Gallery in Vero Beach. And guess what? I met a guy!”
Liz clapped her hands.
“Francie says even though I met someone, I still owe her one more blind date. I think she needs the moral support. You and Kate could join us on the next one. An eightsome. We can invite Pops’s grandson. At least that way we could play musical chairs and let any attraction come what may. Speaking of attractions, what are your thoughts on Ryan? He seems a bit moody, but gorgeous. He might be too young for me or Francie, but he’s perfect for one of you. So, what do you think? You up for a quadruple double date?”
“Yes. Let me look at my calendar.” Liz took out her phone from her front pocket and tapped the screen. “Oh good, I see an opening. The twelfth of...never.”
Minna laughed. “Well, you can’t say I didn’t try. Misery loves company.”
Liz got up and said, “I’d better get going.”
Kate entered Home Arts, her formerly white T-shirt black with soot. “Guess what, Minna? We finally found a kitten to adopt Liz.”
“Don’t you mean that the other way around?” Minna asked.
“Not in this case,” Kate said.
Chapter 27
Liz drove to the hotel and parked in the rear. Her father’s car was missing, so she decided to take advantage of his absence and use his laptop for a little sleuthing. Before getting out of the car, Liz texted Betty that Minna had an alibi; Francie, not so much. Then Liz asked Betty to tell Pierre that she would be making dinner tonight and that David Worth and Ryan would be in attendance.
A lightning bolt stabbed the ground next to the gazebo, and thunder rattled the car windows. Liz bolted out of the car and fought her way to the door, worried she might get zapped, or have one of the many palm trees swaying near the ground, fall on her. For the first time in Liz’s memory, her father’s door was locked. She ran back to the car, got her keys from her handbag, and sprinted back. She opened the door and stepped inside, leaving her raincoat and shoes on the inside area rug, then she sat at the desk and fired up the laptop.
After typing in her mother’s maiden name and birthdate, Liz clicked on the icon for Treasure Coast Security. She spent the next hour reviewing the footage from the camera outside the emporium, along with the camera outside the main entrance to the lobby on the evening of Regina’s murder. If Agent Pearson was any kind of homicide detective, then Liz was sure she already had the Indialantic’s camera footage from the security company. But Liz wanted to see for herself the comings and
