“Yes, her house key was on it if I remember correctly.”
“And?” She leaned forward.
“I don’t remember the other one.” He shrugged. “Is that important?”
“It could be.” His jaw flinched. Her gaze never wavered from his. “That key interests me.”
“Why?” His right eye twitched, and he toyed with a file folder on the desk.
“Because if she took the book out and left the key ring with her house key on it in the lock, she obviously didn’t go home and take the book with her. So where would she have put the book? That third key must be for another locked compartment close by or even here in the office.”
He stood up and leaned across the desk. “You certainly ask a lot of questions for a bookseller, don’t you?” He glared down at her. “I have no idea where the book is.”
Her eyes widened. “I wasn’t saying you did, but I hope you can understand my concern. That book is worth a fortune, and it’s missing.”
“Yes, I know what you told her it was worth.” He stroked his baby-smooth chin, looking more like a pudgy eight-year-old than a man in his mid-thirties.
“According to the certificate of authenticity”—she shifted in her seat—“it’s worth even more than I originally calculated, as I told you, and I’m sure you saw that in the documents.”
“No, I never saw them.” Small beads of perspiration formed on his brow.
“But I left them in an envelope on her desk yesterday just before I found her.” She rose to her feet.
“I never saw it.”
“Hum, I guess the police must have it for some reason.” The door flew open. Addie jerked and spun around, facing the ginger-haired woman.
“I’m sorry, Patrick. I didn’t know you had company.”
“That’s fine, Crystal. Miss Greyborne was just leaving. What can I do for you?”
“It’s just that we seem to have a major issue.” Her face flushed and she glanced at Addie, her tight-lipped expression noticeably lipstick-free. “And I don’t know how you want me to handle it.”
Patrick shrugged. “It can’t be that bad.”
“The highways in the area are still closed, and there’s talk of closing the Boston airport, too. I have e-mail inquiries from the out-of-state dealers who’d purchased tickets for the auction. What do I tell them?” She handed him a sheet of paper.
He glanced over it, flung it on the desk, and then walked her to the door. “Tell them we are monitoring the situation closely and will keep them updated when we know more.”
Addie pulled her phone from her pocket, leaned over the list, and snapped a photo, just as he closed the door behind Crystal and returned to his seat.
“But you don’t have the book.” She pointed to the list. “The reason they’re all coming.”
“I know. I know.” He scoured his face with his hand. “I’ll figure something out.” He tapped his fingers on the arms of his chair. “Look, you have a huge collection of rare books, don’t you? Do you have another book of equal value you could donate?” He shook his head when she opened her mouth with a retort. “Never mind. Just trying to problem-solve.” His flushed face dripped beads of perspiration.
“If the book doesn’t turn up soon, you’ll have to tell them the live auction of the book is canceled and refund their ticket money.”
“I will, but it will bankrupt the entire foundation if I have to refund two hundred and fifty dollars a ticket. We’re in too deep now with our suppliers to even consider that.”
“If you don’t have the book, you can’t keep the ticket money under false pretense. They have a right to know.”
“I’m well aware of that.” He shot to his feet. “Now, I have work to do as you have just witnessed. Unless there’s anything else?” He glowered at her across the desk.
She walked out without a word and then paused mid-step upon hearing Patrick’s raised voice echoing through the closed door. She shook her head. He must be on the phone attempting to straighten out the mess the foundation had found itself in. In passing the front desk to the elevators, she noted Crystal gazing in a compact mirror, applying honey-peach lipstick.
“That’s a nice shade on you.” Addie rested her forearms on the counter. “It really complements your skin tone.”
“Do you think?” Crystal snapped the compact mirror closed and dropped it along with the lipstick tube in the top drawer of her desk. “I wasn’t sure, especially since after I bought it I found out everyone is wearing it this season. So, I’m having second thoughts.”
“Nonsense, it looks great on you, and to be honest, not everyone else can pull that color off like you can.” She hoped her smile looked more genuine than it felt.
“Thank you so much. I really needed a pick-me-up today.”
“I can only imagine. Teresa’s death must be hard on everyone.”
“Yeah,” she shrugged. “I guess so.”
Addie flinched with her callous tone. “It’s just that”—she glanced back down the empty corridor—“it looks like Patrick is running you ragged to help him pick up the slack. I saw you working downstairs a while ago, and now this.” She pointed to the computer.
“Yes.” Crystal rolled her eyes. “I was supposed to be flying to the Cayman Islands yesterday to meet my sister for a holiday.” She checked over her shoulder and dropped her voice. “But when he found out I was stuck here because the highways to Boston are closed and I couldn’t get to the airport, he actually put me to work as his assistant of all things.”
“That’s too bad, about your trip, I mean.” Addie eyed the young woman. “You must be really disappointed. All this has changed your plans.”
“You have no idea. My sister’s going to be furious. She’s flying all the way from Sydney to meet me, and I won’t be there.” Her lip jutted out in a pout.
“Does your sister live in Australia?”
“Yeah, she’s just finished her PhD there.”
“Nice place to study. What field is she in?”
Crystal squinted and focused on the computer screen.
“Crystal?”
“Huh?” She looked up at Addie blankly. “What?”
“I asked what field she was in.”
“Right, sorry. Um . . .” She swallowed. “I don’t know.” Her shoulders twitched with a slight shrug. “Some nerdy science stuff.”
“At least she gets to do whatever it is someplace without snowstorms.”
“Yeah.” Crystal stared at the screen, toying with her cell phone beside her on the desktop.
“But I can see you’re busy. I hope you get lucky and the storm passes soon, and this whole mess with Teresa’s death and Patrick now using you as his assistant sorts itself out.”
“Me, too. It’s a pain and definitely not what I signed up for.”
“Yes, of course, you wouldn’t have.” Addie studied Crystal’s flat expression. “I’d better be off, too. Good luck with your vacation plans.”
“Thanks.” She refocused on her computer screen, not giving Addie a second look.
Addie headed down the hall. Self-centered little . . . She scoffed and glanced back at Miss Perfect Receptionist, only to see her in the midst of a selfie photo shoot. She snickered and punched the button. The elevator stopped at the second floor. A group of visitors rushed in, pushing Addie against the back wall. She collided with a man jostling to squeeze in behind her and squirmed when his hot breath caressed the back of her neck. When the doors opened on the main level, he shoved forward, propelling her into the lobby. She fought to regain her footing and glared at him as he pushed past her. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed a man in a black trench coat slip into the elevator just as the door closed. “Jonathan?” She gazed up at the floor indicator until it stopped at level three.
“What are you up to?” She punched the up button for the elevator, but it stalled in its descent on the second floor. Addie glimpsed the stairwell sign behind her and took the stairs two at a time. The text alert
pinged on her phone, and she paused on the second-floor landing.
Powers out at the store, filled with customers, can’t open the cash register, do you want me to close?
I’ll be right there.
She tapped her reply to Paige on the keypad. The lights in the stairwell flickered; then it went black.
Addie sucked in a deep breath and clutched the handrail. From the floor above, heavy footsteps echoed down the darkened stairwell. Her heart beat a staccato rhythm in her chest and then the emergency lighting switched on. She rushed back down to the first floor, fingers clenched around her purse. She burst through the exit door and rushed into the lobby, taking a quick look over her shoulder. Her eyes locked with Jonathan’s as he pushed through the staircase door behind her. Caught up in the wave of visitors heading for the main entrance, she glanced back, but lost sight of him in the crowd stampeding for the street.
Chapter 9
Addie gasped when the frosty air bit into her lungs. The intersection streetlights on Main were flashing in all directions, and traffic was at a standstill. She buried her face in her coat collar and headed next door to the police station parking lot, where she’d left her car earlier. One look at the snowdrifts piled up past the windows of her Mini told her it wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. She braced against the wind and made her way on foot through the knee-deep snow on the sidewalk back to her shop, thankful she’d traded in her ankle boots today for the higher ones.
By the time she reached her shop, she was chilled clear through to the bone. A fiery sensation had crept over her numbed cheeks, the tips of her ears, and her nose. Even so, her heart at least quickly warmed by the delightful cinnamon-spiced Christmas fragrances and the magical ambiance of candles that greeted her. Once again, Paige had demonstrated her resourcefulness and had arranged the reading spaces into neat conversation areas with candles dispersed in strategic locations around the large room. Customers closer to the windows were curled up in the overstuffed leather armchairs, sipping on steaming mugs and quietly reading.
Paige caught sight of Addie and slid up beside her. “I hope you don’t mind that I used the candles from the curio shelves and took the three lanterns from the window book display?”
“Heavens no, it’s beautiful. Thank you for thinking of it.” She looked around the bookshop. “Exactly as it should be and probably would have been a hundred years ago.” Addie frowned. “But why is everyone still here? You’d think they’d want to get home in a blackout.”
“A few tried to leave and then came right back. With this”—she gestured to the gridlocked street—“they can’t even get their cars out of the parking spots right now.”
“Of course.” Addie rubbed her cold, stung hands together. “Okay, what we need to do now is figure out something about sales since we can’t get the cash register open.”
“I had a few from people who happened to have exact change, and I told everyone else to sit tight until you got here.”
“Right, well, for those who can’t or don’t want to wait until the power’s restored, let’s just take hold orders and store them for now.”
“Sounds good.” Paige began making her rounds, visiting with each customer to explain the checkout plan.
Addie noticed Catherine hunched over at the counter reading a book by lantern light. “Find something good?” Addie leaned over her shoulder.
Catherine stuck her finger in the binding and showed Addie the cover. “Yes, in fact, I did. I found A Holiday for Murder.”
“Ah yes, Agatha Christie.”
“I’d only read a couple of her books years ago and had no idea what I’d been missing all this time. I love this.”
“Are you aware that book you have had at least three title changes over the years?” At Catherine’s head shake, Addie pulled up a nearby stool. “It was first released in England as Hercule Poirot’s Christmas back in 1938. Then the American publisher changed the title in 1939 to Murder for Christmas. The copy you have was a paperback version put out in 1947 under a completely new title.”
“I don’t care what it’s called,” Catherine laughed softly. “I love it and am glad Jonathan recommended it to me.”
“Jonathan?” Addie made an effort to appear that she was scanning the store. “Is he here, too?”
“No, actually he ran out to buy some cigarettes”—she shuddered—“but I thought he’d be back by now.”
“Don’t worry. The roads are near impossible with all the traffic and with the power out, cash registers won’t be working, either. I’m sure he won’t be much longer.” Addie shrugged.
“You’re right. At least it gives me time to read some of this, and then I can discuss it half-intelligently with him tonight.”
“Tonight? So he is staying with you again?”
Catherine’s lips turned up slightly at the corners, and she returned to her reading.
Addie bit the inside of her cheek. “Catherine, I’m—”
“How wonderful to find the two most beautiful women in the world here together.” Jonathan kissed Catherine’s cheek and slid onto the stool beside her. “What have you got there?” He took the book from her hands. “Ah, yes, Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie.”
“Did you get your cigarettes?” Catherine looked at him under a raised brow.
“Yes.” He patted his coat pocket.
Addie’s lips twitched. “That surprises me.”
“Why?”
“With the power out, how did they ring in the sale? And besides, I thought you quit that disgusting habit years ago.” She bit her bottom lip between her teeth. “At least you told David you had.”
He handed the book back to Catherine. His hand cupped hers, but his eyes fixed on Addie’s. “Some habits are hard to break.”
She looked at Catherine’s sparkling eyes and back at him. “Yes, I can see that.”
He patted Catherine’s hand. “So, tonight, my dear, when I start carrying on about the world’s greatest fictional detective of all time, Hercule Poirot, you’ll understand who I’m referring to. Because as we all know”—he glanced at Addie—“that’s where the best detectives are found, isn’t it, between the pages of a book.”
“Of course.” Addie held his gaze. “But don’t forget about Jessica Fletcher and Nancy Drew.” Her lips twisted up at the corners in a smirk.
He tossed his head back, laughing.
“Now those are two fictional detectives I do know.” Catherine erupted in laughter, joining Jonathan’s horselaugh in a disharmonious chorus.
Paige dropped an armful of books on the counter. “There. I’ve attached sticky notes with the name and phone number of the customer. Now we need a handy place to hold them. Any room under the counter?”
“I’ve got the perfect thing. Mind if I borrow the lantern, Catherine?” Addie dashed to the back room, returned with a clear plastic bin and lid, placed the books inside it, and shoved it out of the way with her foot. “Done.” She smiled at Paige.
The overhead door chimes rang, and Addie glanced up as Marc made his way toward them, a wide grin across his face. “I see you’ve made the best of the situation here.” He glanced around the candlelit room.
“It was all Paige’s idea.” Addie smiled at her beaming assistant. “She had everything under control by the time I got back from the hospital.”
Marc looked at her as the corner of his mouth twitched. “What were you doing there? Never mind, I know what you were doing there. How is Simon today?”
Addie’s cheek burned. “No, I was checking on a few things. You do remember a very expensive, rare book is still missing, don’t you?”
“How many times do I have to remind you not to play detective and leave that up to the police?”
“Funny.” Jonathan swung around in his seat toward Marc. “We were just speaking of that and how the best detectives are found between the pages of a novel.”
“Well, then.” Marc squared his stance. “Please keep reminding our friend here of that
because I think she has fact and fiction confused.”
Addie scowled at both of them.
Marc’s eyes twinkled, and his lips creased up at the corners. “I’ve just come by to check on everyone who’s still open and make an announcement.” He nodded at her, turned, and spoke to the remaining customers. “Could I have your attention, please. The traffic exiting the town center has thinned out now; but so you know, the power is out across town. I strongly urge you all to start making your way home before it gets dark.”
There was rumbling among the customers, and two people’s hands shot up with questions. He held up his hand. “Greyborne Harbor is not the only affected location. The storm has swept across the entire eastern seaboard. Although we are luckier than most as their phone lines are also down. Ours aren’t, plus we still have cell tower service, so the Internet is working. However, please do consider heading home now and be careful. Should you require assistance tonight, please continue to call nine-one-one as all lines are operational, at the moment.” He tipped his hat rim and glanced over at Addie. The suggestion of a smile pulled at the corner of his lips, but it was quickly replaced by a curt nod, and he left.
“I guess that’s our cue, my dear.” Jonathan rose to his feet and held Catherine’s jacket.
“Can I have you put my book on hold, please?” Catherine slid her arms into the sleeves. Jonathan’s fingers lingered on Catherine’s neck as he held it for her. Addie’s jaw clenched.
“You can take it now. It will give you something constructive to do tonight.” She glanced sideways at Jonathan, who challenged her with a steady gaze. “Wait, though. Before you go, Jonathan, can I ask you a question?”
“What’s that?”
“When I was at the hospital a while ago . . .” His shoulders squared, and his eyes went blank. “I got to thinking. Did Teresa say who called her or why she canceled your lunch?”
“No.” If he felt relief over her question and her not calling him out about deceiving Catherine with his actual recent whereabouts, he masked it well. He was good at not expressing a tell. She’d give him that. Not even an unconscious cheek tic, or lower-lip chew like she, according to her friends, reverted to when thinking or stressed. “Teresa just said there were a few issues she had to take care of and she’d have to take a rain check. I told her I’d call her later and left.”
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