Alice had an idea: If she could sneak into the bookstore and find the missing pendant, maybe she could prove Andrea killed Vince. Or, she whispered to herself, disprove it—and somehow discover how Darrell Townsend had masterminded the whole thing.
Once she got to the bookstore, though, Main Street was too busy—she couldn’t sneak into Blithedale Books through the front door.
Behind the bookstore, she found a back door. Chief Jimbo had remembered to put a cease-and-desist notice on that, too. His book must’ve covered that procedure.
Unfortunately, the key she’d gotten from Becca didn’t fit the lock. So she tried the door handle, hoping it was unlocked. It was a metal door, badly rusted, and as she yanked the handle, flecks of red fell to the ground. Mortar came loose from the brick wall around the doorframe. But it wouldn’t budge. It was locked. Maybe even bolted on the inside.
She gave up, circling the bookstore and returning to Main Street. As she came around the building, she stopped.
Across the street, Andrea was striding down the sidewalk. She wore hiking boots and a backpack on her back, and she had the hunted expression of someone fleeing.
She’s closed her cafe. She’s bolting.
Alice stood rooted to the ground, unsure what she should do. In books, the heroes would pursue the suspect. But judging by Andrea’s outfit, she was heading into the forest. And if she was the killer, Alice couldn’t follow her into the Blithedale Woods alone.
Alice made a decision. It was time to do this by the book.
She came panting into the diner, having sprinted down the street.
“Chief Jimbo,” she called out. She found him at a booth in the back. His book lay open on the formica table and he was studying it with a look of intense concentration, chewing the end of a pencil.
Breathlessly, she explained the situation. The necklace she’d found. The photo in Bonsai & Pie. Andrea’s reaction to being asked about Vince. “And now she’s running away.”
Chief Jimbo took the pencil out of his mouth. He looked thoughtful. Then said, “Either that or she’s going for a hike.”
“In the middle of the day? When her business ought to be open?”
“Oh, in Blithedale, people close their businesses all the time to go fishing or hiking. Sometimes you need to clear your mind, you know.”
Alice wanted to stomp her feet. He wasn’t listening.
“But the evidence…”
Chief Jimbo cocked his head. “Tell me again about this necklace. How did you find it?”
“I found it—”
She stopped. She realized what she was about to do. She was about to admit to entering the bookstore illegally and snooping around. Chief Jimbo, she guessed, was more likely to take that offense more seriously than anything she’d said so far.
“Never mind,” she said.
Chief Jimbo pointed his pencil at her. “You know, you might benefit from a hike in the woods, too. It’s good for your mental wellbeing. It’s true” He nodded at his own sage advice. “I read it in a book.”