We all whirled around to find Grandpa Leo standing in the doorway. I felt the blood drain from my face and hoped he didn’t notice. Which was kind of silly, because Grandpa Leo noticed everything. No one spoke—not even Val, who’d been all brave when Grandpa wasn’t here. And I knew they were waiting for me to say something. Nobody wanted Grandpa getting mad at them. Even though he hardly ever got mad at any of us. Well, aside from me this week. So as usual, I’d been unanimously—and silently—elected spokesperson.
I cleared my throat. “Jeez. You need to give people more warning,” I said.
“Why? It’s still my house.” He took off his hat and placed it on the counter with his wallet and keys, one keen eye on the lot of us. “So whaddya have to tell me?”
But I wasn’t ready to go there yet. And I had a question for him. “Where have you been?” I asked, nodding at his outfit. He was in all black. His PI outfit. “You look like Super Spy or something.” My tone was teasing, but I really wanted to hear what he might say to that.
But he was still good at sharing as little as possible. “Out,” was all he said.
Yeah. I figured on that being the response. I tried not to wear my feelings all over my face.
He wandered over to the table and selected a piece of sushi from the tray, dipped it in my soy sauce. Eyed me. “Still waiting for what you had to tell me.”
Everyone else remained dead silent, obviously hoping that he’d forget about them. Even at his age, Chief Leopold Mancini still commanded the same attention as in his heyday. And no one wanted to mess with him.
I sighed. Always the one doing the dirty work. “Grandpa. I’m only telling you this because I know you’ll hear about it from one of your friends. You know, in the department.” I was totally stalling, buying time, trying to figure out what to say about tonight’s adventures.
Grandpa’s hand stilled on the way to his mouth but, after a short pause, finished its route.
“Val and I … humored Ava-Rose tonight and went with her to stake out the yacht club.”
Val’s mouth dropped open. I could feel her glaring at me out of the corner of my eye.
Grandpa frowned. “Staking out the yacht club? For what reason? And what do you mean, staking out? Have you gone through official police training and forgotten to mention it to me?”
I ignored the last part of the question. “Ava-Rose is convinced someone is stealing things. And she said she’d seen that vet, Dr. Drake, with Jason Holt the night he was killed.” The words gushed out of my mouth, so desperate was I to not mention the beach, the trailer, the crazy woman piece of the evening.
Grandpa looked around the table. Val’s eyes dropped to her plate again. Ethan was frozen, only his eyes moving between us. When Grandpa’s gaze returned to mine, his cop face was on. “You two should know better than that,” he said. “Playing detective is no joke if you stumble upon the wrong person or situation.”
He wasn’t kidding.
“I know,” I said, trying my best to sound apologetic. “But Ava-Rose has been so upset. Right, Val?” I was babbling now. I’d forgotten how nervous Grandpa could make you if you were lying.
“Right. It was my fault, Grandpa,” Val cut in. “Ava-Rose is really worried about some things at the yacht club, and she asked for my help. I dragged Maddie along.”
“If Ava-Rose has a problem, she should call the police,” Grandpa said. “Not involve my granddaughters. Not to mention, she could get herself hurt. Or killed,” he added grimly. “I’ll speak with her.”
“No, Grandpa, don’t do that!” Val sent a panicked look my way. “Like I said, it was my fault. I wanted to humor her. But I’m really enjoying working for her and if you talk to her that would be, well, bad.”
“Yeah, Grandpa, it’s all good,” I said. “We could have easily talked her out of it, but like I said, I was curious. And it all worked out. Craig showed up.”
Grandpa’s bushy eyebrows rose. “Did he? That was convenient.”
“It was,” I agreed. “And he brought them both to the station to try to figure out what’s going on. So maybe he got some answers.”
Grandpa watched us, his eyes narrowed. I could tell he knew there was more to this story but wasn’t going to pursue it in front of the guys. After a minute, he turned to Ethan. “Can’t you at least go along and try to keep an eye on them when they get these harebrained ideas?” he demanded, but there was a teasing tone in his voice.
“No way,” Ethan said immediately. “I know better than to encourage them.”
“Well, they take after their grandmother,” Grandpa Leo said. “Now, where’s the dessert?”
“I made cupcakes.” Ethan jumped up and went to the counter, where his prized cupcake tower stood in the corner. He took off the lid and presented it with a flourish. Grandpa’s face immediately lit up, and for the moment Jason Holt and Ava-Rose were forgotten. I could feel Val’s eyes boring into mine, wanting to know why I’d chickened out and didn’t mention Leopard Man. I avoided her gaze. Finally, she gave up and went for the cupcakes.
And blessedly, my phone rang while the rest of the group clustered around the counter. Becky. I used it as an excuse to flee the scene and hurried into the living room to answer.
“There’s a press conference first thing tomorrow,” she said without preamble. “About the Holt case.”
“Really? Why? What’d they find out? Did they arrest someone?” I held my breath. Leopard Man? Thea Coleman? Dr. Drake? The possibilities were endless.
“Not sure yet. The police said they’ve found ‘significant evidence’ in the case. I thought you’d want to know.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, wondering where this was going to lead. Significant evidence against whom? Did it have something to do with Thea Coleman? I felt a stab of guilt. She was on the run and I knew where she was. So did Grandpa. Unless they’d found her. Maybe they’d found her and arrested her. Or maybe Grandpa’s presence at the beach house was a setup. Maybe he had Leopard Man lure her there so they could arrest her. I tapped the phone against the palm of my other hand, deep in thought. I wondered if Craig’s interrogation of Drake and Ava-Rose had led to some kind of revelation.
The door to the kitchen flew open and I spun around. Grandpa stood there, looking at me quizzically, a half-eaten cupcake in one hand. “You’re not having a cupcake? I’ll tell you what, these are pretty darn good.”
“Oh, I definitely am,” I said. “Right now. I was just … that was Becky.”
“Ah. And what did Becky have to say?”
“There’s a press conference tomorrow. About the Holt incident.” I stuck my phone in my pocket. “Do you know anything about that?”
“A press conference?” Grandpa dipped his finger into the generous frosting still left on his cupcake and licked it off. “No. I don’t. Why would I?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “You still have friends in the PD, don’t you?”
“I do, but they don’t send me reports anymore,” Grandpa said.
I frowned. “Did you get my message earlier? About the notebook from the other day?”
Grandpa nodded. “I remember putting it in the bin. I don’t know where it went from there.”
We stared at each other for a moment. I couldn’t help but feel like he knew more than what he was telling me. And also that I’d been there, at the beach house. He probably did. Grandpa knew everything. I wondered when he’d say something.
“You know, Maddie,” he said, around a mouthful of cupcake, “there are some things that don’t need to be broadcast to the entire world.”
I frowned. “You mean the press conference? I don’t think it is. I think it’s going to be broadcast to the island.”
“Don’t be a wise guy,” he warned. “I’m serious, Maddie.”
“Grandpa, I know that. But I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I said. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Is there something you need to tell me?” he countered.
I swallowed. “No,” I said, keeping my voice decidedly cheery. “I don’t think so. But I’m going to grab a cupcake now. Before Val eats them all.” I slipped past him into the kitchen, letting the door shut behind me. Grandpa didn’t follow.