to implement it quickly.”
“Marcella didn’t dare risk another attempt to kill me here in Burning Cove,” Raina said. “She was convinced she could get away with murder by proxy—using her insane ex-husband to kill me. That would have given her the perfect reason to shoot him. But when things went wrong she knew that a second attack on me, even if it looked like an accident, was certain to get Luther’s full attention. She did not dare do that.”
Lyra smiled and raised her glass toward Luther. “Marcella may not have known you personally, but she knew the legend.”
Luther waved that aside. “I told you, the world of spies is a small one. Terrible gossips, spies.”
“I wonder what happened to Kevin Draper,” Lyra mused.
“All I can tell you is that he never showed up here in Burning Cove,” Luther said.
“I’ll bet he heard the news about Labyrinth Springs on the radio and concluded that he didn’t need protection after all,” Simon said.
Luther’s mouth kicked up at the corners. “Which means I still owe you a favor.”
Lyra brightened with curiosity. “Why do you owe Simon?”
“He saved my life a while back,” Luther said. “The McGruder case.”
Raina looked surprised. “The poisoner who was killing people with his fake cure for lung diseases?”
“Simon and I worked together on that project,” Luther said. “At the end McGruder surprised me with a vial of acid. He was about to toss it into my face. It would have blinded me. But he was so focused on me he didn’t hear Simon come up behind him. Simon grabbed his arm and twisted it. McGruder dropped the vial of acid. Some of it splashed on the back of Simon’s right hand. McGruder was maddened. He grabbed the letter opener off his desk and charged Simon. There was a struggle. It was over in a few seconds. At the end, the blade of the letter opener was in McGruder, not Simon.”
Simon exhaled a long-suffering sigh. “Sooner or later everybody talks.”
Lyra glared at him. “No more odd jobs of that sort. Stick to the book business.”
“Mostly I do,” Simon said. He smiled. “It pays better.”
Raina looked at Simon. “Lyra tells me you plan to move your bookshop to Burning Cove.”
“That’s right,” Simon said. “I’m going to close down Cage Antiquarian Books in L.A. and open Cage Books here in town.”
Luther’s brows quirked. “Not Cage Antiquarian Books?”
“No,” Simon said. “I’ll continue with the consulting side of the business—there’s too much money in antiquarian books to ignore it. Besides, I like the feel of the old books.”
“It certainly makes a great cover for the odd jobs you do for Failure Analysis,” Luther said. “Not to put pressure on you.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not getting out of the odd-job business, not entirely. But my new bookshop will focus on current titles. The past will always be there, but the future is rushing toward us at a hundred miles an hour. The goal of my new bookshop is to keep up with it.”
Raina raised her glass. “To the future. It’s good to know we will be facing it with friends.”
Chapter 50
I like him,” Vivian said. “Not that my opinion ought to matter. But I think he’s perfect for you.”
“You are my sister,” Lyra said. “Of course your opinion is important. You tried to warn me off Hamilton, and you were absolutely correct. I’m not saying your feelings about Simon would be decisive, but I’m very glad you approve of the man I’m planning to marry.”
Vivian smiled in a knowing way. “I have the feeling he doesn’t know you’re planning to marry him.”
“I’m giving him time to adjust to the relationship.”
“He seems to think the two of you can live happily in side-by-side cottages on the beach for the foreseeable future.”
“I consider myself a lady with a past now, but Simon is right. This is still a small town. Living together without the benefit of marriage would cause talk. I don’t want to generate any unfortunate gossip that might impact Raina’s business. Kirk Investigations enjoys an impeccable reputation.”
“It strikes me that Raina and Luther are going to have to figure out their own relationship sooner or later.”
“I’m sure they will,” Lyra said. “It’s obvious they love each other.”
“Yes. Well, if it helps, Nick likes Simon, too, and so does Rex. Both of them have good instincts when it comes to judging people. I think it’s safe to say that you have the approval of my side of the family.”
“Excellent,” Lyra said. She sat back, satisfied, and picked