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I was locking up the door when I noticed that Tango was hobbling toward Bitter Beans.
"Oh, heck. Are you closed?" he said, groaning. He hung his head and draped himself wearily on his crutches. "I walked all this way."
I apologized. "Yeah. Usually we close during the afternoon slump, but reopen when the evening ferry comes in." I had to take pity on him, though. I motioned for him to follow me in. "But come on! I'll brew you up something."
He followed me into the shop and waited as I scrubbed up. "Okay, what can I get you?"
"Just a small coffee," he said.
I gave him what I hoped didn't come across as a stiff smile. Like, I had volunteered, but if someone opens their shop up for you, don't order the cheapest thing on the list.
"Coming right up," I said, as I measured out the grounds for our pour-over filter. No need to waste brewing up a whole pot.
"So, I heard that Echo had a bit of trouble on his tour," he said, casually.
I paused as I put the grounds in. It had just been such a weird couple days, I began to wonder if him running into me on the street was as accidental as it seemed. "Mmm hmmm..."
"There was, like, a whole article in the newspaper," he mentioned.
"All press is good press," I said as I resumed.
"Not when you almost get people killed."
I couldn't even muster the energy to lie between my teeth about that one.
"So, just wanted to say, if Johnny needs a place to send his tours, I'm available."
I wondered if that was his game all along. "I think that Echo will be just fine."
Tango raised his eyebrow. "Oh? You didn't know?"
"Know what?" I asked.
"Stan just arrested him."
It felt like a gut punch. I turned to Tango, aghast. "He did what?"
Tango hooked his thumb in the direction of the surf shack. "Yeah. In front of a bunch of people over at Johnny's shop. Made sure to announce it good and loud so that everyone could hear." He leaned across the counter. "That's why I'm mentioning this to you, not Johnny. Just want to help. Not rub salt into the wound."
I groaned. That seemed completely on brand for Stan's arresting style. "So, now everyone thinks that Johnny's tours are dangerous?"
Tango gave me a fake, sympathetic smile. I was thinking that he must have started taking classes on pretending empathy from Madison. "Yeah. These things happen. But, again, I know how important these tours are for the health of the island, so hey, feel free to just direct folks over to my tour and I'll give them a 10% discount."
How generous and self-sacrificing, I thought to myself sarcastically. I got the steaming hot water from the tap and washed it over the grounds. Pour-overs take so long and all I wanted to do was get to Johnny and find out if he was okay. I tried to think of something to say.
"So Stan and Fred thought that Ralph tried to injure you and now they think that Echo tried to... pull down a building...?"
Tango's face brightened. "OH! At least there is a happy ending! Ralph is a free man. Said they didn't have enough evidence to hold him, and now that it looks like Echo is the culprit, they dismissed their charges." He perused my bakery case. "Although, I guess he was already at home. Someone bailed him out."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Ralph was an old guy and those holding cell beds weren't made for people in their eighties. Heck, I spent a night there and almost threw out my back.
Tango continued. "I’m actually on my way over to see if I can resume the séances in his space."
I pushed his coffee toward him. "Maybe you should give him a day to cool off..." I cautioned.
Tango immediately dismissed my wisdom. "I need to get these tours up and running. Especially if Echo is off the job." He shifted nervously. "I mean. For the good of the island. And to help Johnny." He put his change on the counter. "You will tell Johnny about my idea of joining forces, right?"
"Yeah," I said, feeling like I was in the middle of a whirlwind. "I'll make sure to let Johnny know."
"Well, it really is the only way," Tango pressed. "I mean, it's not like he has anyone to take over."
"Oh, you'd be surprised. Johnny gives a great tour."
Tango darkened. "What? You think Johnny will take over leading the tours."
"Yeah. Maybe him. Or me," I said as I rang him up and gave him back his change, which he put in his pocket and not the tip jar.
"That wasn't part of the deal," Tango said.
That caused red flags to go up. "What deal is that?"
I could see that Tango realized he had been caught in something, but before he could figure out what lie to spin to me, the door opened and in walked Sandy and her two children Oliver and Nina.
"Oh! Thank goodness you're open!" she exclaimed. "I was about to lose it."
Tango knocked the glass top with his knuckles. "Thanks for the coffee, Paige. See ya later! Tell Johnny."
I glowered at him, realizing he had gotten a lifeline and was now bailing out before he had to answer any questions. I pushed down my frustration and turned to Sandy.
"What can I get for you?" I asked, trying to keep a cheerful face.
"Four cookies," she said, frazzled. "We're in the midst of closing up my parents' old place and I need bribes."
I laughed as I got out a bag and put some of the sugar cookies in there. I guess that Tango causing me to reopen wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Oliver started wandering through the bookshelves, picking up every expensive item we had on display, while his sister decided to ramble on about all the things that she wanted inside of the pastry counter. "I want a witch's hat and a chocolate chip cookie and a mummy finger and a Frankenstein head sugar cookie..."
Sandy was so overwhelmed, her kids didn't even register. "What a day..."
Oliver picked up the book of Seaside history. "Mom? Can I have this?"
"Sure... sure..." she said digging through her purse for her wallet, distractedly.
"That book might be a little hard—" I started to point out.
But Nina interrupted me. "If Oliver gets something, I want to get something, too!"
Sandy rolled her eyes. "Sure. You pick out something, too." She then shouted after her daughter as she ran into the book stacks. "Something SMALL!" Sandy shook her head. "These kids." She pulled out her credit card. "And thank you for that raffle basket!"
"What?" I asked.
"Oh! Your grandmother must not have shared it with you. We won!" Sandy said with a smile. "We're all SO excited." She looked at her kids as they ran around. "I, for one, can't think of anything nicer than a museum for these kids."
"I WANT TO PLAY CHECKERS!" Nina shouted as she ran over to the checkerboard table.
"Something to occupy their little minds," Sandy added, exhausted. She leaned forward. "Quick, ring me up before they remember that I told them I'd buy them something."
I gave her a smile and quickly ran her card through. As Oliver and Nina played around the shop, though, I couldn't help but think how much the island really needed this dream of Richard and Granny's. We did need a place that kids could run around and learn. Who had been so desperate to stop it that they had cut the board in Ralph's shop? And then, why did they sabotage the cannery? Was it the rivalry between Echo and Tango? It just didn't sit right. Was it some sort of revenge aimed at Ralph? Or Johnny? Why would someone want to take away something that benefited the island's families? It was wrong. And the more I thought about it, the madder I got.
"CAT!" shouted Oliver, spotting Captain.
Captain gave a little helpless meow as the kids descended upon him. I figured he'd let them know, as cats do, if he had enough of them.
But before Captain could put them in their place, Sandy called out, "Leave the cat alone!" She gathered up all her things. "We better get out of here before they destroy your shop and tell me they want a pet. Thank your grandmother for me! Tell her I'll stop by later to pick the basket up. KIDS! We're leaving!"
Nate chose that moment to come inside, however. We had a date for a late lunch, and I guess he got tired of waiting outside. Sucker. I would have told him to save himself. Oliver and Nina ran screaming around him like he was a May pole.
"KIDS!" Sandy shouted as she got to the front door. "I am so sorry, Nate," she apologized.
But instead of trying to extricate himself, he picked up Nina and Oliver under each of his arms and hauled them as they screamed with delight, depositing them on the boardwalk in front of the shop next to their mom.
I couldn't help but smile as a warm feeling blossomed in my chest.
The silence after they left, however, was so sweet. Nate came in, still laughing as he glanced over his shoulder at the kids, but they were pressing their faces against the glass at him. Now, the only thing to be done in such a situation is to give back in kind. So, Nate put his mouth on the glass and blew out his cheeks. I could hear Oliver and Nina screaming happily as they jumped up and down. Sandy rolled her eyes, both tickled that Nate was playing with her kids, but also doing the mental math of settling them down after he had riled them up.
"You are trouble," I laughed at him as Sandy was finally able to herd her children down the street.
"That's what my mom always told me," he replied, walking over to the counter. "So, how's my favorite girl doing this afternoon?"
I leaned across and gave him a kiss. "Highly caffeinated and ready to take on the world."
"Well, you've got me beat on both fronts."
"Let me see what I can do about that," I said with a wink. I turned to the espresso machine and started pulling a shot for his Americano. I was thinking that maybe it just made more sense to have lunch here at the shop. "Flip the sign to 'Closed' for me, would you?"
"You're the boss, boss!" he said, heading back over. He gave Captain a reassuring scratch to let him know that the monsters in the coffee shop were gone. Captain rewarded him with a grateful purr.
"Did you hear that Stan arrested Echo?" I asked.
Nate groaned. "Echo? That guy wouldn't risk his entire career for a stunt like that."
"Maybe he got jealous of Tango...?" I hazarded, not believing it myself.
"Or maybe Madison got sick of trying to convince me the old cannery was derelict and should be sold to the highest bidder and decided to do something to push the point, instead." He came back over to me. "How long would it take for Madison to saw through steel with her manicure set?"
"Madison wouldn't know how to unscrew those bolts if her favorite influencer did a YouTube instructional video about it," I pointed out.
"Wouldn't it be great if Stan and Fred arrested Madison for something?" He rested his chin in his hands dreamily. "That would be so great. Can we nominate her?"
"Sad news, my friend. I don't think that's the way the justice system works."
"What a shame."
I added the hot water to his drink. "Now, Tango. Tango came in here and asked me to send any clients his way."
"Is it a tit-for-tat? I mean, if we're going to spin conspiracy theories, did Echo saw that floorboard that collapsed under Tango?"
"But would they really escalate to killing someone for a bunch of $20 tours?" I shook my head. "No, there has got to be something bigger behind this."
"This is a great game of conspiracy theories," Nate said, teasing me and also reminding me to come back to reality. "Who do you think it is behind it all? The Illuminati?"
I gave him a laugh and a friendly shove. "You're right. This is way above our pay grade." I pushed his cup across the counter. "In the meantime, Johnny doesn't have anyone to lead his tours, and between you and me, I really don't want to see Trevor get all of the business from this. I'm thinking I'll head over and see Echo to see how we can keep this party going."
"Do I see sense some perfectly reasonable but also mildly petty professional jealousy?" Nate asked, with a twinkling side eye. "Because I'm not above pointing out you're going to feel pretty lousy saving Echo's business if it turns out he tried to smoosh us."
"I'm SURE it wasn't Echo," I replied.
"You suuuuure?"
"I just have a feeling."
"Okay!" said Nate, holding up his hands in surrender. "But I'm not above saying I told you so."
"It is not just the tours, it's the after party," I explained. I motioned around Bitter Beans. "Those tours really helped keep us net positive. We're becoming a 'go to' place after the tours for people who don't want to have their conversation drowned out by shanty music."
"Well," said Nate with a sly smile. "I guess we're just going to have to keep these tours in the family."