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Zoe nodded.
“All right. Now let me see. What did I do with that?”
He tapped his jacket pockets, looked under the chair, and then reached out to the blanket and lightlytouched its edges. “No, it’s definitely not there.”
Zoe removed her thumb and said, “What’s not there?”
Baron, pretending not to have heard her, said, “Oh, of course, now I remember. Zoe, could you just reach in your cat’s right ear? You’ll find it in there, I think.”
Zoe looked uncertainly at Decker and then Jamison, who nodded encouragingly at her.
Zoeslowly put her fingers in Felix’s right ear and her eyes bulged as she withdrew a small silver coin. She said, “How did it get in Felix’s ear?”
Baron clapped his hands together and glanced at Jamison. “Well, I feel sure that Felix is a very special cat, right?”
Zoe nodded.
“Well, special cats can do magical things, like hiding coins in their ears.”
He tookthe coin and examined it. “Now, this is a very rare coin. It will bring whoever possesses it good luck. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Zoe, still looking wide-eyed from her cat to the coin.
Baron held it up in front of her. “It’s one hundred and forty-seven years old. It once belonged to my ancestor. He had a great many coins and never parted with many, but this one found its way to meand I would be honored if you would accept it as a token of my appreciation for your being such a brave young lady, and the owner of such a special cat. Would you do that, Zoe? Will you take the coin?”
Her fingers closed around the coin as she nodded.
He sat back and looked at her. “And now do you believe in magic? Perhaps just a little? Or at least in very special cats?”
She nodded energetically.
“What do you say, Zoe?” said Jamison, gazing admiringly at Baron.
“Thank you.”
“No, thankyoufor doing me the honor of accepting it.” Baron glanced over at Amber, who was staring at them from across the room. “I bet your mom could use a hug right about now. And you can show her your brand-new, very old coin.”
Zoe smiled,jumped up, and ran over to her mother as Baron stood.
“That was really nice,” said Jamison.
“It was,” agreed Riley.
Jamison added, “You seem to be a man of many talents.”
“No, just a jack of all trades and a master of none, I’m afraid. My lot in life. So, how are things here?”
Jamison said, “I guess what one would expect. I’m just glad the funeralis over.”
Baron shook his head. “I don’t get the ritual of the funeral and the gravesite service. As if already grieving people need to go through that as well.”
“It’s a way of paying respects, John,” countered Riley.
Baron pointed to the bottle held by Jamison. “I would rather pay my respects by drinking that. And if you point me toward the kitchen, I can get usglasses.”
Jamison led him that way, leaving Riley and Decker alone.
“You left my place really abruptly the other night,” she said. “You said you had somewhere to go.”
