He nods. “Since she’s been disbarred—outside of working at some club in Seaview—she’s what’s known as a legal ghost. In layman’s terms, a legal consultant for the underworld, mobs, drug runners, you name it.”
“Oh wow, that’s interesting. Why did she get disbarred?”
“She was convincing clients they were being sued for sexual defamation. Career killing stuff if it got out. Of course, it wasn’t true. She was convincing them to settle the false claims for large sums and pocketing the money. The long and short of it? It was extortion. She was caught. She’s a convicted felon. She’ll never work in the legal field again, not in any upright way. I doubt they’ll let her run a coffee shop. It’s a tough world out there after a conviction. She’s lucky she has a gig or two lined up. Being disbarred is tantamount to the death penalty to an attorney.”
I glance her way and catch Georgie and Juni chatting her up.
“She seemed pretty desperate,” I say. “I wonder what caused that to happen?”
“She needed money, and fast. Whatever was happening, she was unrelenting in getting her way. Desperate times lead people to do desperate things.” He sniffs in the direction Mackenzie took off in. “I’d better find Mack. She looks too good tonight to let out of my sight.” When I dared her to wear that catsuit out in public, I didn’t think she’d take me up on it. But she did say she’d do anything for me.
Hux takes off just as Dax and Stormy pass by and I wave them over. Dax has on a muscle shirt showing off his biceps. Back in the day, Hux used to call those shirts a trip to the gun show. And Stormy has on a rainbow tie-dyed shirt that I’m sure will be the envy of Georgie and Juni once they spot her in the wild.
“Hey-ho!” Dax waves to both Macy and me. He nods to my sister. “How’s the healing coming along?”
Macy scoots in my way. “All healed and ready to be revealed. In fact, I bought a brand new swimsuit that shows off my wild side nicely. And come tomorrow afternoon, you can see your artwork on display at the cove.”
Dax belts out a soft laugh. “Sounds good. I’m glad you like it. Make sure to keep it in the shade. No burns for your bottom.”
Stormy nods. “Let’s just say I didn’t follow the doctor’s advice and found myself self-medicating with tequila for the rest of the night.”
Macy waves her off. “I’m one step ahead of you. I already plan on having a steady supply of mimosas by my side all afternoon.” She points to Dax. “You might just see my backside one more time before the summer is through. My left cheek is getting jealous of all the attention.” She bops back to her table. “I’d better drum up some business. The rent ain’t going to pay itself!”
I guess it’s true what they say. The pain from childbirth is quickly forgotten once you cradle your baby in your arms, or in my sister’s case, bottom.
Dax shakes his head her way. “I get it. If it wasn’t for Stormy, the landlord would have shut down my shop.”
“Oh?” My investigative antenna goes up. “The Needlepoint?”
“Yup.” He snaps up a lemon tart. “We had a rough winter, and I’ve been playing catch-up as best as I could. But there was a pay or quit notice stapled to my door one morning. My landlord is a tough cookie when she wants to be. I almost lost it all.”
Gatsby perks up and lands his paw to my leg. I just remembered something! Stormy asked Wyatt for a loan one day and he refused to do it without a kiss. That’s when Molly stepped in. It was ugly.
My lips part at the revelation.
I force a smile to twitch on my lips as I look to Dax.
“So Stormy saved the day?” I look to the girl with the stringy hair. A bright blue feather dangles from her greasy locks as if a bird flew in and couldn’t find its way out.
Stormy giggles at the thought. “Don’t women always save the day, Bizzy?”
I nod. “That they do.” And I hope Jasper sees it that way when I hand-feed him this information. “So how did you do it, Stormy? Are you officially a part owner in the shop?”
“Yes, I guess I am a part owner.” She laughs. “Let’s just say I gave him a rather creative loan and saved the Needlepoint from its impending doom.” Stormy bats her lashes up at her beau while he stuffs his face full of lemon tarts.
“A loan?” I’m almost amused by how they’re classifying the theft. “Did Wyatt give it to you? Molly mentioned he was generous to a fault the night I met him.”
Stormy and Dax exchange a quiet glance.
“No.” Stormy is quick to put that rumor to rest. “I was able to pick this up all on my own.” And now that Wyatt is coincidentally dead, I won’t have to worry about slowly paying it back. Not that I probably would have, but it was a nice thought while it lasted.
This is my moment. I can feel it. It’s now or never with these two.
I lean toward Stormy. “Any idea on who took that book from the glass case?”
She gives a sideways glance to the crowd swarming around those bargain boxes.
“I don’t know who did it. But I bet the answer is closer than you think.” I’m just sick I didn’t think of it first. I can’t believe there was another criminal mastermind at work the very same night.
“You think either Thomas or Brooklynn took it?”
Stormy shrugs. “Thomas was always drooling over it. Wyatt, of course, wouldn’t even let him touch it. I’ve never seen anyone so beaten down the way Thomas was.”
I clear my throat. “I guess it had to do with that secret society they were a part of.”
Stormy nods. “You heard? Thomas mentioned once that Wyatt
