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Paige breathed in the ocean air and grinned. It felt good to have her toes in the sand. It had been all work for her since she’d gotten back from Italy, and it was past time for some rest and relaxation.
“Fore!”
She ducked as a Frisbee sailed past her ear and then dove to grab it before it hit the sand. Laughing, she turned and threw it back to Candy, Lucy’s fourteen-year-old daughter.
“Kid’s got an arm on her.” Scott panted and leaned over, his hands on his knees. “She’s got enough energy for two or three cops too. Maybe she should look into a career on the police force.”
From her seat on a beach towel a few feet away, Lucy tsked. “It’s an honorable profession, dear, but so dangerous. Candy’s a beautiful piano player—I’m hoping she’ll pursue that as a career.”
Paige nudged her brother with an elbow. “You’ll have to find someone else to fill your old job now that you’re a high-falutin’ detective.”
Scott nodded, still sucking in air.
“Oh, don’t be modest,” Lucy told him. “You deserved all the accolades you got in the press for solving two crimes in one day. Dear Nora’s killer is contained, and you took down a big Gulf Coast drug ring. Your captain was right to reward you with a promotion.”
“Thanks. I didn’t really crack that case all by myself, though.” He nudged Paige back and gave her a knowing look before taking off down the beach to catch the Frisbee Candy had lobbed.
Paige plopped onto the sand beside Lucy and her husband, Earl, and leaned back on her elbows. The baker patted Paige’s knee and chuckled. “It must feel so good to know your aunt’s killer is under lock and key.”
Turning her face up to feel the sun, Paige nodded. “Yep, I’m definitely glad that’s over. Now Aunt Nora can rest, and we can move on.”
Earl excused himself to fire up the nearby charcoal grill and help Sarah with her black bean burgers.
“What are you going to do now?” Lucy asked.
Paige shrugged. “Get Beachside Books going strong. Find a real apartment. Finish my novel.”
“Find the gold?” Lucy’s eyes sparkled as she grinned.
Paige laughed. “Of course.” Now that Captain McDougall had confirmed the existence of the gold, she’d love to figure out what happened to it. Her attention was diverted from the conversation by a group of four people who were walking straight toward them. She held a hand above her sunglasses to get a better look.
“Oh, great,” she mumbled when she recognized the four Bickles—Harry, Leroy, Taffy, and Patty.
“Taking the day off?” Taffy could make even the simplest pleasantry sound like a dig.
“She had sort of a big week, and it’s a beautiful evening, so I think she deserves a little beach and picnic time.” Scott had returned and his tone was gentle but firm.
Patty waved her hand as though to brush off her cousin’s words. “Whatever. We just stopped by to tell you the news. We’ve sold Aunt Nora’s house. Closing is tomorrow.”
Paige sat up straighter. “That was fast.”
“We were motivated sellers and the buyer was willing to pay more to expedite things.” Taffy grinned. “We’re ready to wash our hands of the useless place. There’s no gold there—we searched quite thoroughly—so we decided just to sell it and move on.”
Paige frowned. It seemed to her like the cousins should have run this by her and Scott first. After all, she needed a better place to live than the attic room. Of course, there was no way she could get qualified for a mortgage.
“Who’s the buyer?” Scott asked.
“Frank Maretti.” It wasn’t clear to Paige which of the Bickle brothers spoke.
But she was interested in the news about Frank. What could he possibly want with Nora’s old house? The land wasn’t worth much, being off the beach, and the house really needed some updating. She grinned as the light bulb illuminated her mind. He must think the gold might be there. That’s why he’d sent Marco to break into the bookshop, so it was clearly on his mind.
Paige wondered if the gold was at Aunt Nora’s house. She quickly dismissed the thought. If her greedy cousins hadn’t found it, there wasn’t much chance it was there. Knowing them, no nook, cranny, or space on the property had been left unsearched.
“Anyway,” Taffy said, taking in both Scott and Paige with her hooded gaze. “If there’s anything else in that house you want, you’ll need to go by tonight or tomorrow and get it. After we close at ten in the morning, you’ll be trespassing if you’re caught there.”
“Thanks for telling us,” Scott said. “Do you guys want some bean burgers?”
The four Bickles grimaced, shook their heads in unison, and hastily departed, much to Paige’s relief.
The burger wasn’t too bad, and Paige wondered for a second if she was becoming a vegan. Then she remembered the bacon she’d cooked that morning in her attic room and grinned. Nope. Not a chance.
Around a bite, she told Scott, “Neal got out of the hospital this morning. They didn’t find any drugs in his system. The doctors think he must have passed out from some kind of shock or something.” She exchanged a quick glance with Lucy, who covered a smirk with her hand.
“It’s nice to have things settling down, right?” Scott sat next to Paige at the picnic table and nudged her with his elbow.
“Yes.” Her brow furrowed. “But there’s still the issue of who replaced Aunt Nora’s first editions with fakes.”
Scott slipped back into cop persona. “I’m planning on paying a visit to Neal. Maybe he knows something or has a suspicion about who could have done that.” He grabbed a carrot stick. “I’ve never really trusted that guy.”
She nodded, her thoughts on Neal. Maybe she should fire him. It seemed likely he at least knew something about the thievery, even if he wasn’t directly involved. He was the only person other than Aunt Nora to have anything to do with the inventory, as far as Paige knew.
From the corner of her eye, she watched Scott wash down the bean burger with a beer. Even though Scott saw Captain McDougall decades ago, Paige had decided not to tell her brother about more current encounters with the ghost. Not yet, at least. He might freak out and insist she leave the attic room or get rid of the logbook. Once she’d found a new place to live and gotten moved, maybe she’d talk to him about it.
A dark thought tickled her mind. What was it this time? Neal. She might need to keep him around. After all, if she fired him, he might blab about the ghostly encounter all over town. That could tank her business. She’d have to give this whole thing more thought. But later. She just wanted to enjoy one afternoon on the beach with her friends and family like a normal person.