As Alice walked down Main Street, she felt confident she could rule out Andrea as a suspect. Andrea’s revelation that she’d taken off Vince’s necklace and put it in a drawer after their breakup convinced Alice that she hadn’t killed him. Plus, her story about leaving town for her cabin—both on the day of Vince’s death and when she fled from Alice’s questions—made sense.
Back to square one…
And yet she was relieved that Andrea could be ruled out. Now the question was who the real killer might be. Vince’s previous lovers—Sally and Harriet—no longer lived in Blithedale. Could one of them have returned? If they had, no one had seen them. And Becca was right—why return to kill Vince now?
But if the three hearts on Susan’s pendant were all accounted for, who could the killer be? She recalled her conversation with Susan Malone, Vince’s widow, and considered what she’d said about Vince’s infidelities: “With each one, I’d allow myself to believe, you know, that maybe this time it would be different. It never was.”
What if Vince had a new lover?
She reached the What the Dickens Diner. Before she delved deeper into who Vince’s new lover might be, she had important business to see to. She needed to make sure Rich had kept his promise. She needed to make sure he saved what remained of her magical bookstore.
Inside the diner, Bunce sat in a booth with Mayor MacDonald and Chief Jimbo. But before Alice could reach them, Becca came rushing up to her. The big woman threw her arms around Alice in a bear hug, lifting her off the floor.
“I still can’t believe you’re all right.”
“I was—” Alice let out an oof. “—until you crushed me.”
Becca released her. “I have to tell you—you won’t believe it—and you need to talk to Susan, she—”
“Wait,” Alice said, holding up a hand to silence her. “First I have to speak to Bunce.”
She ignored Becca’s flurry of demands to talk and made a beeline for Bunce.
Striding over to where he sat, she interrupted the three men’s conversation.
“Bunce, did you talk to Rich?”
“Why, hello, Alice,” Mayor MacDonald said with a big smile.
Chief Jimbo gave a little wave.
Bunce squinted up at her, his usual frown on his face. “Mr. Rich?”
Her heart doubled over. Had Rich not called Bunce? “Rich Crawley?”
Bunce nodded. “Oh, yes. Mr. Crawley. I spoke with him.”
“Well? What did you agree?”
“Nothing.”
She stared at Bunce. “What do you mean nothing?”
“He made me an offer on the bookstore. But I said no.”
“No?”
Alice grabbed Bunce by the shirt sleeve, balling the fabric into her fist.
“No?!”
“Got too much wax in your ears?” He shook himself free. “Did destroying my bookstore damage your ears? That’s right. I said, no.”
“But—but—why?”
“I may have an idea,” Mayor MacDonald said. “When the Oriels backed out, it was because of Vince’s death. Something about a ghost.” He gave a little snort, showing his incredulity. “I remember sitting in this very booth with Bunce and Mr. and Mrs. Oriel, the four of us agreeing on the terms of the sale. It seemed a done deal. And at that very moment, Vince was falling to his death. Back then, the bookstore itself was still intact. But with half of it falling down, it now poses a risk to the community. I had no choice. I’ve officially required Bunce to fix the problem.”
“But what am I, a millionaire?” Bunce snorted. “I don’t have that kind of money. Mr. Crawley was unwilling to pay for fixing the bookstore building. He also balked at the idea of paying in cash. So I turned him down.”
“But Bunce,” Alice said, crouching down to get to his eye level, trying to be reasonable, “you’re making impossible demands. Crazy demands. Who’s going to pay in cash and invest in fixing the damage before they buy?”
Bunce crossed his arms. “Darrell Townsend will. In fact, he already has. I had no choice. We shook on it last night and signed this morning.”
“Darrell’s fixing the bookstore…?”
“Fixing?” Bunce grimaced. “Well, he’s fixing it his way…”