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“I do not.” Clive opened the wide screen door for everyone. “So how was your day?” He didn’t want to put a damper on what he hoped had been a fine afternoon for them.
“Super!” Max cried out. “I caught a fish!” He was nodding like a bobblehead.
“And?” Colette urged him.
“And I threw him back.” Max turned over his palms.
Clive chuckled. “What else did you do?”
“Logan took us to an island. We saw a bunch of lizards!” Max was ecstatic. “And we had a picnic.”
“Yes, it was a lovely way to spend the day. Thank you, Logan.” Colette smiled warmly. “I can’t remember the last time I have enjoyed myself so much.”
“It was my pleasure.” Logan smiled in return. He was beginning to enjoy Colette’s company more and more.
“Max, go upstairs and clean up. I’ll see what I can whip up for dinner.” Colette moved into the kitchen. She felt very much at home, enjoying the nurturing that was being shared. Food, company, fresh air.
“I took the liberty to thaw out some steaks. I thought we could talk Logan into firing up the grill.”
“Sure thing!” Logan replied. “I’ll go clean myself up, too. Be right back.”
Colette investigated the pantry and found fingerling potatoes. She had a special recipe for them. Colette enjoyed cooking and took every opportunity when it was presented to her. Even if it was in a stranger’s house. But they were no longer strangers. They had joined forces and were on a mission to see that Randolph Millstone’s final wishes were carried out.
She went back into the kitchen and up the stairs to change her clothes, brush her hair, and check her makeup. She wanted to look her best for Logan. She was beginning to sense some interest on his part. And he really seemed to enjoy being with Max.Could it get any better?
Logan was the first to come down. “Any luck with the notebook?” he asked Clive.
“If the information I received from the accountant’s office is correct, Mr. Arthur Millstone has been fiddling with the family books. I found a number of transfers that coincide with entries in the binder.”
“So you think it’s a journal of payments to his loan sharks?”
“Possibly.” Clive went into the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine. Tonight it would be a Séamus pinot noir. He took out a corkscrew and peeled the capsule from the top of the bottle. He removed the cork and poured the wine into a decanter. He turned to Logan. “And, I think he’s been selling off some of the holdings.”
“Doesn’t he need the board’s approval to do that?” Logan asked.
“Yes, he does. But maybe he was hoping he could buy them back at some point.”
“Like a pawnshop?” Logan snickered.
“Indeed.”
Stillwell Art Center
Luna was in deep thought as she tidied up the café. She was thinking about that strange phone call from the Dunbar man, or so he had called himself; that strange woman in white; and how strange it was that she hadn’t heard from Cullen. She almost jumped out of her shoes when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was Marshal Gaines. She wondered if he would stop by. “Hey!” she answered lightly.
“Hey yourself,” Gaines replied. “So, as I was heading over in your direction, I came upon a man who had a flat tire. To his dismay, he didn’t have his cell phone with him. Apparently he had left it at his shop. I helped him unload the truck to get to the spare tire, which of course was flat as well.”
Luna interrupted him. “Are you with Cullen?” The words rushed out.
“Well, I was about to say, the man was your brother. We’ve been sitting on the side of the road for the past two hours. You OK? You sound a little harried.”
“Cullen got a phone call today. It was from a man named Clive Dunbar. He claimed to be the attorney for the Millstone estate.”
“Isn’t that who we were looking for? Millstone’s attorney?”
“Yes, but he mentioned Arthur and Rowena Millstone and that we should not talk to them if they call.” Luna was speaking a mile a minute. “And then there was a strange woman lurking about today. She said her name was Roseanne, but I think she was lying.” Luna was running out of breath.
“OK. Take it easy. We should be there in about twenty minutes.”
