“What do you think they were arguing over?” I point to a spot she missed near my thumb and she quickly fills it in with an intricate pattern. Oddities aside, this girl is fantastic at what she does. My hands officially qualify as works of art.
“I don’t know. But I think Wyatt had something on him. It was almost like he was controlling him with it.” She blows slowly over my finger to get a bubble of ink to dry quicker. Her eyes meet with mine and there’s a note of panic in them. “I just realized what they could have been fighting about.”
“What?” Camila leans in as if she cared.
Stormy takes a breath. “Wyatt had some pricey book in a glass case.”
“The Agatha Christie first print run?” I can’t believe I’ve forgotten all about it.
“That’s the one.” Stormy’s brows knit. I can’t believe she knows about it. She shakes her head. Why they heck did I bring it up? The last thing I need is the cops crawling around sniffing for information. “Anyway. I don’t want to talk about it. Thomas is a scary guy. There were rumors that he had a dark past.”
“What kind of a dark past?” I shoot Camila a look that says don’t interrupt this time.
Stormy itches her cheek and a bright orange streak of ink erupts over it. I’d tell her about it, but I don’t dare break her concentration.
She squints to the ceiling. “Wyatt said something about a death.”
“As in someone close to Thomas died?” I ask with my ear tipped her way.
“As in the dude killed someone.”
A bloodcurdling scream erupts from the back, and, sure enough, a blur of a woman wearing a hot pink kaftan runs right out of the place, and yes, I caught a glimpse of a rather naked behind. Juni trots out after her, screaming something about needing a blood transfusion.
Good Lord.
I pull a few bills from my wallet and I toss them onto the table.
“Thank you for the beautiful work, Stormy.” I look to Camila. “It was interesting seeing you.”
Interesting? I shake my head at my own word choice.
I guess that was as close to nice as I can get while still telling the truth.
“Tell Jasper I said hello!” Camila calls out after me. “On second thought, I’ll tell him myself when I get back to work.”
I bet she will.
Georgie and Juni are already halfway to the car, and I do my best to catch up to them.
It turns out, Georgie doesn’t need a blood transfusion. It was a particularly bloody threat issued from Juni to Dax for nicking her mama with a needle.
We head back to Cider Cove sans a butterfly on any of our tiny hineys, and sans any hard answers as to who might have killed Wyatt Sanders.
But as fate would have it, I did glean something interesting.
Thomas Dean just may have killed someone.
But could he have killed Wyatt, too?
Chapter 11
The Blue Brick Steakhouse is not only one of Cider Cove’s premier eateries, it just so happens to be a hop and a skip from the Country Cottage Inn, just a few doors down on Main Street.
Both Jasper and I liked the idea of sticking close to home, especially seeing that neither of us is all that thrilled with the idea of going out with Emmie and Leo in the first place.
Emmie looks like a doll in her tight red dress, her matching patent heels, and crimson-stained pouty lips. I’m wearing a near identical dress in black, and my shoes are a lot less shiny. I may not want to double date with my bestie and her new main squeeze, but I sure as heck want to look good for Jasper. I’ll admit, seeing Camila this afternoon got me rattled. Sure, she’s mean, but she’s a beauty, too. That can’t be denied. And how I hate that per capita, Jasper sees a lot more of her than he does of me.
Jasper brushes a kiss along my lips as we wait to be seated. “You’re beautiful.”
I reach up and give his scruff a quick scratch. “And you’re breathtaking. Is there any way to turn down the volume on the sexy? Or am I going to have to bat the girls away for the next fifty years?”
“Just fifty?”
The door opens and in walks Leo Granger with his dark hair slicked back and that dark smile that holds a carnal promise on his lips, and no sooner does he glance to Jasper and me than he locks eyes with Emmie and they treat us to an impromptu make-out session.
“All right, all right,” I say. “We get it. You like to kiss. Oh, look, we’re being seated. I guess you’ll have to come up for air.” I wave like mad at the waitress, and she mercifully nods for us to follow her.
We’re seated by the window about halfway from the entry and halfway to the kitchen, quite possibly the best seats in the house. But I’m still a little deflated from witnessing that lip carnage these two displayed in the entry, I’m not even sure I have an appetite anymore.
“Bizzy, Jasper.” Leo nods to the two of us. “Sorry, I was running late. I got caught in traffic.”
Emmie shakes her head. “I don’t mind one bit. I know you have a very important job and you’re coming from Seaview.”
Jasper takes a breath. “I work in Seaview. I wasn’t late.” He flashes a lightning quick smile.
Leo offers a stale smile right back. “I’m glad I didn’t miss dinner.”
The four of us get right to examining our menus.
Leo catches my eye for a microsecond. Jasper knows that Leo shares my ability to read minds. Of course, while they were best friends way back when, Jasper had no idea. And as of late, Jasper and Leo’s relationship has been on the mend. But the thought of Leo with Emmie—it’s just…
It’s just what, Bizzy? He lowers his menu an inch. What exactly do you have against me dating Emmie? I
