Sherlock barks as Rudolph does his best to chew on his tail.
My tail is off-limits, kid. Sherlock tucks it between his legs in an effort to spare it from tiny teeth marks. Bizzy, you and Jasper need to think about putting in a twenty-four hour bacon bar.
I chuckle as I quickly relay his comment to Jasper.
Jasper twitches his brows at his perpetually hungry pooch. “We’ll take that into consideration.” He looks my way. “I think that should be your new favorite catch phrase. I hate to break it to you, but that was the first in a very long list of requests you’ll be fielding. Don’t worry about a thing. Everything is perfect here just the way it is.”
“I guess I’ll need to have a staff meeting. A shakeup like this could prompt half of my employees to walk off the job—ironically because they fear that I’ll give them the axe.” I make a face at the dark analogy. I wouldn’t be in this predicament if it weren’t for an axe.
“Nobody is quitting because you’re in charge.” Jasper pulls me onto his lap. “If anything, they’re going to be enthused to finally speak with the owner face to face. Quinn was a ghost to them from the beginning.”
“Maybe so, but I need to reassure them that I’m not selling it or turning it into an unrecognizable version of itself. And I’ll have to prove to them and myself that I can keep the cogs to the financial wheels turning. I mean, I see the bills. And I do try to keep electrical costs down. Just last year, I went through and replaced all of the light bulbs with those energy efficient ones, same with the toilets and showerheads. I’ve tried to keep costs down for Quinn because I was half-afraid if we drifted into the red he’d sell the place. And the inn really is my baby. Oh wow”—I look into Jasper’s pale gray eyes—“it’s really my baby now, isn’t it? Our baby.”
He gives a solemn nod. “And I promise you won’t have to go it alone. What I would recommend is not making any immediate changes. Keep things status quo until you can come up for air.”
“You’re so right.”
My phone pings, alerting me to a text message, and before I can pick it up off the table, it pings again and again.
“It’s a text from Emmie,” I say. “And Jordy, and Nessa, and Juni.”
Jasper and I read them one by one.
Emmie—CONGRATULATIONS! Just heard the news! OMGoodness. I’m so happy for you. When you get a chance, we should totally talk about replacing the café with an upscale bistro. I’ve got a ton of ideas for you!
Jordy—Awesome news. So happy for you. Now we can finally get that Olympic-size swimming pool we’ve been talking about.
“The Olympic-size pool we’ve been talking about?” I balk. “I think the ocean is just fine. One less body of water for you to worry about.”
Nessa—Good for you, Bizzy! Grady and I are both doing a happy dance. Now we won’t have to wait for Quinn to reply each time we ask for a raise.
I cringe at that one. “There goes the excuse I had whenever anyone asked for more money.”
Juni—Mama just told me the good news, Biz! I guess this means you’re buying dinner from here on out! Are you free tonight? Because I’m getting hungry!
I sigh as I put down my phone. “Juni’s right, I’ll be buying dinner from here on out, but only because it’s been a long-standing tradition whenever we’re together.”
Jasper buries a kiss next to my ear. “I can take you to dinner if you like.”
“No, that’s okay. And it’s still early. I just want to clear my head a moment. What did you think of the behavior of those suspects at the reading?”
He blows a steady breath. “From what I could see only Angelica looked disappointed. Eve, well, she’s pretty much set for life. And that smile she gave before she left let me know she was pretty thrilled. Arthur looked perplexed but elated. And Warwick definitely had a spring in his step.”
“I didn’t know Warwick was one of your suspects?”
“He is now that he acquired Telenational. Honestly, I think he got the biggest potential jackpot out of the deal. Outside of you, of course. I’ll admit, I was a bit worried about the inn.”
“Me too.” I sigh with relief. “I guess it’s all working out the way Quinn wanted. As for those suspects, well, their minds were prattling away today. Warwick was an open book. The guy didn’t hold back his thoughts after the reading of the will. He was quite verbose when congratulating everyone. But Arthur seemed taken aback when he found out he was getting the Silver Collective in its entirety. He said that payday had come. And now he feels like a sack of trash for what transpired in the garden on that last night of Quinn’s life. And then there was Eve. Her mind was filled with warm fuzzies and heart emojis. She said she knew he loved her deeply and that it meant more to her than all the money in the world.”
He nods. “Warwick and Eve haven’t given us anything to worry about—at least not according to their thoughts, but Arthur? He admitted to seeing Quinn in the garden that night—not to mention he admitted to having a heated exchange. He could have left and gotten the axe with which to kill Quinn. What about Angelica?”
“She was angry,” I say. “Angelica said something to the effect that she wasn’t able to quit her day job at the Davenport. Then she clenched her fists and said, ‘How I wish I could go back in time and kill him all over again.’”
Jasper inches back. “Kill him all over again? And she was in the garden that night speaking to him?”
I nod. “Supposedly the last to speak to him.”
Rudolph barks as he heads on over. That must have been the lady I heard. I
