shoulder without looking back.
Chapter 5
Addie parked in her spot at the back of Beyond the Page and raced inside to the front counter. “Thank you so much, Paige. You’re a lifesaver. I really didn’t think my little outing would take all day.” She dropped a pod into the coffeemaker and glanced around the shop. By the stacks of books sitting beside the leather reading chairs, and the number of empty paper cups in the trashcan, the store had been busy today. While Addie waited for her coffee to finish brewing, she caught Paige staring at her. “What?”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“Were you actually inside Hill Road House?”
“Yes, of course I was. That’s where the auction is.”
Paige rounded the carved-oak Victorian counter. “Did . . . did you see her?”
“See who?” Addie’s head jerked up. “My crazy cousin? How did you know she was in town?”
“What? No, I didn’t even know you had a cousin.” Paige’s eyes fixed wide on Addie’s. “I was talking about her: Kathleen Gallagher, the young woman who mysteriously fell down the stairs and died in the house. Some say she was pushed, but they could never prove it.”
“Pffft.” Addie waved her hand, retrieving her coffee from the machine. “Surely you don’t believe Serena’s tall tale, too?”
“It’s not a tall tale. They say Kathleen’s ghost drove her in-laws insane, and Arthur and Maeve Gallagher leapt over the upstairs railing to their deaths. When their bodies were found, their faces were all twisted up, like they’d been scared to death.”
“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.” Addie slid onto one of the three counter stools, took a sip of her coffee, and shivered. The vision she’d seen at the top of the staircase and the memory of the cold air wrapping around her legs replayed in her mind. “You’ve read too many mystery thrillers.” She set her cup down. “Didn’t you tell me once that Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca was your favorite novel of all time?” Her brow rose as she looked up at a pale-faced Paige.
“Well, yes, but—”
“Aha.” Addie took a sip of her coffee. “You just proved my point. The power of suggestion.”
“No, but—”
Addie’s arched brow couldn’t mask her involuntary eye roll.
Paige let out an exasperated breath and began retrieving books from the pile left on the floor by a chair, banging them noisily onto the shelves of the book trolley.
Addie chuckled to herself and took another sip from her steaming cup. “By the way, I found some great books that I’m going to bid on at the auction tomorrow. I’ll probably be there most of the day. I’m also going in early to make sure Blake doesn’t need any help finishing the setup.” The only response was the creak of the trolley wheels. “How did you make out with that crate of consignment books? Were there many of those light, romance novels we need?” There was still no answer, and the trolley had gone silent.
Addie rose from the counter and made her way around the first row of bookshelves. No Paige. She skirted her way to the next shelving unit, and there was still no sign of her assistant. When she finally came to the last row along the wall shelves, there she was sitting on the floor, a book opened in her lap. “What are you doing?”
“Research.” Paige blinked up at her.
“Anything I can help you with?”
Paige closed the book and struggled to her feet.
“That’s a copy of June Winslow’s The Ghosts and Mysteries of Greyborne Harbor, isn’t it?”
Paige placed it back on an upper shelf.
“Why are you researching local pirate legends?”
“I wasn’t. I was hoping it mentioned something about Hill Road House.”
“You should have just asked me. I read that one for the book club, many times over, and know for a fact that there’s no mention of Serena’s tale in it.”
“Well, there should be.” Paige righted the books on the cart. “There has to be something in one of these books to prove to you what Serena and half the town say is true.”
“You want actual proof of ghosts?” Addie shook her head. “Come on, Paige, you know as well as I that people write books all the time trying to prove the existence of ghosts, but no one can confirm it. I think it’s highly unlikely you’ll find what you’re looking for in any of these.” Addie gestured to the bookshelves. “It’s just not scientific. It’s all fiction.”
“Just promise me you won’t go back there again.”
“Why are you and Serena making