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“Neal confessed.” Scott took a swig of coffee out of a travel mug in his hand. Paige caught a glimpse of it—it sported a picture of a grumpy-looking cop eating a carrot and it said, “My other mug has a donut on it.”
Paige smirked. “Who gave you that mug?” Then she answered her own question in unison with him. “Lucy.”
They both chuckled, and Paige went around the end of the counter to turn on the cash register in preparation for the day. “So, Neal did indeed steal the books. I figured as much.”
Scott nodded. “Yeah. He told me he already let you know he’s not coming back to work. Poor kid was kind of a wreck. He said he needed the money from selling the rare books for tuition. Do you want to press charges?”
Paige pursed her lips and thought for a second before shaking her head. “No. I think I’ll leave well enough alone. I don’t think he’s a bad person at heart, and this whole thing will probably serve to keep him on the straight and narrow from now on. He doesn’t work here anymore, and that’s enough. I’ll have to find a new assistant, though.” She nodded toward the Help Wanted sign she’d placed in the window the day before. “I’ll need help to get this place back in the black and also have some time to write.”
“So, you’re not going to stay here long-term? In the attic, I mean?”
“No. I’m going to find another place. I hear Marco’s painting and fixing up Aunt Nora’s house. Maybe by the time he gets it done, I’ll be able to afford a down payment. It would be kind of nice to live in that old place.”
Scott nodded. “I’d better get going. Chief isn’t giving me much time to adjust to my new detective position. He’s throwing work at me left and right.” He paused halfway out the front door. “Come on over for dinner tonight if you want. Sarah said she’s making vegan shrimp.”
Paige grimaced. “What does that even mean?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I could use the backup. Get there around six.”
After Scott left, Paige stepped outside to turn the sign on the door to Open. Taking in a deep breath of the ocean air, she knew it was going to be another scorcher. She glanced over toward the bike shop. It was locked up tightly, dark inside, and she wondered who might buy it. Would they keep the bike shop going or put a totally different business in there? Either way, there would be no more traffic through the basement tunnel. Paige had put a new deadbolt on her side and a motion-sensing alarm inside the damp room.
Glancing the other direction, Paige saw that Just Baked was bustling as usual for that time of morning. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled in spite of herself. For the first time since she’d gotten back from Italy—and, if she was being honest, since even before that—she felt at peace. Even a little happy. She was an ocean-side bookstore owner now, back in the small town she’d tried to leave behind. Her brother and sister-in-law were happy she was there, and she’d have all the vegetables she could ever eat anytime she wanted to drop by their house.
She would learn to tolerate her cousins, even though they were now declaring she owed them her life. Plus, she had new friends in Lucy and Captain McDougall.
As she thought about her new life in Comfort Cove, the bells on the door rang, and she chuckled. Marco stood in the doorway with a beach towel slung over his shoulder. She had a feeling he would show up.
“Bella!” he cried, holding his arms out to her, and she actually smiled and went to him, letting him air kiss both of her cheeks. They’d settled into a lovely friendship over the past week. Marco no longer seemed to have any designs on romancing Paige—he was enjoying chasing his beach bunnies and that was perfectly fine with her. She was completely happy talking to him about food and books and the weather.
They chatted for a few minutes, and then he bought a magazine and headed down to the beach. Apparently, house repairs were not his first priority.
The morning passed pleasantly. A steady stream of customers came through the door, giving Paige plenty to do. At lunchtime, she put the Closed sign up, and Scott, Frank, Taffy, and Patty all arrived within five minutes of one another.
Once they were all there, Paige pulled a manila envelope out from under the counter. “I called you all to come here because Aunt Nora’s attorney dropped this off to me yesterday, and I wanted to open it with everyone here. It’s the judge’s verdict on what’s going to happen to Captain McDougall’s gold.” She tore the envelope open, her heart beating wildly. One of them, at least, was about to be stinking rich. She pulled out a single sheet of paper, scanned the words on it, and felt her mouth drop open.
Scott raised an eyebrow at her, and Paige handed him the piece of paper. He scanned it too and then grinned.
The cousins were almost beside themselves, dancing around on their tiptoes in heady anticipation. “What does it say?” Taffy demanded.
“It says none of us gets the gold,” Scott answered. “The family who owned the bookshop until Aunt Nora bought it”—Scott tipped his head toward Frank—“owed the government money in back taxes on their . . . not entirely legal . . . endeavors. The gold has been seized as retribution.” Scott held the sheet of paper up and waved it a little in front of the others. “It’s all gone.”
The store erupted in noise as the cousins and Frank began bickering, moaning, and lamenting the fate of the gold coins. Eventually, they all wandered out of the shop. Scott reminded Paige about the vegan shrimp before leaving again.
Paige locked the new deadbolt on the front door and ran up the stairs to her attic room. She grabbed the logbook and opened it, waiting for the pirate ghost to get his bearings. “Ah, hello, lass,” he said when the mist cleared and he could see her.
“Ahoy, Captain,” she said. “I came to tell you I found your gold.”
“Ho, ho, did you now? And where was it being all this time?”
Paige told him the entire story—how she’d found the coins, how Horace Bellevue had tried to take them, and how the government had ultimately confiscated the treasure.
By the time she was done, the ghost was chuckling. “Well,” he said, “I can’t say as I’m happy my treasure ended up in the hands of the ruling class. I died trying to keep it in my own greedy paws, after all.” He paused. “But don’t worry, lass. The mystery of my gold wasn’t the only one that needed solving.”
Paige cocked her head and raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
If a ghost’s eyes could sparkle, the pirate’s surely did as he gazed back at her. When he smiled broadly, she could see the glint of gold teeth in his mouth. “No one has found the pouch of diamonds I had with me when I jumped off my ship.”
Paige’s face broke into a wide grin. “Why, you old pirate, you. The surprises never end.” Casper jumped in her lap and purred loudly.
A noise from downstairs caught her attention, and she wished the captain a good day, closed the book, and headed back to the shop’s main floor.
She half hoped it was Lucy. She felt it was time to come clean with her new pal.
Instead, a dark-haired man stood peering through the front door as though trying to see if anyone was inside. When he spotted Paige, he smiled, and her heart tripped over itself. He was gorgeous. Magazine model gorgeous. Movie star gorgeous.
He pointed toward the Help Wanted sign on the door. She hurried forward and let him in. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a dimple in each cheek. He stuck his hand out and she shook it automatically. It was strong and warm and sent the oddest feeling up her spine.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Jordan Rake. Your sign says you’re looking for some help, and I think I’m just the man for you.”
Her face flushed as she saw Lucy walk up the sidewalk behind her would-be new boyfriend. Paige shook her head. Lucy must have gotten the hint because she spun around and walked away.
Sorry, Lucy. I’ll have to confess to being a witch—like you—some other time. But right now, I have my own magic to perform!
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The End
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Continue reading the Beachside Books Magical Cozy Mystery Series with:
Someone has an axe to grind. Literally!
PAIGE MURPHY HAS SETTLED into her new life as a writer and bookshop owner. Business booms when an infamous Hollywood director announces he’s hidden a treasure that could bring fame and fortune to whoever finds it . . . and his clues lead a bevy of actors and adventurers to Comfort Cove!
But when the body of one of those actors is found on the beach, Paige’s detective brother sets his sights on Paige’s hunky new assistant as the killer. Now, she must turn to her newly-formed coven and resident ghost to catch the real murderer without jeopardizing her brother’s new job.
Apples, Actors and Axes is Book 2 in the Beachside Books Magical Cozy Mystery Series.
If you like your cozy mysteries with a cast of quirky characters, a dash of magic, and a loyal but slightly dim-witted cat, you’ll love this light-hearted whodunit.