Proof of Murder (Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #4) - Lauren Elliott Page 0,59
set her sights on Addie and didn’t appear to be considering any other suspects. This brought Addie’s thoughts back to her cousin, the second name on her blackboard. She had pretty much become a ghost, but Addie wasn’t thinking of the apparition type; more of the change-your-identity-and-disappear-forever type. Something Kalea could well achieve by living off the hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of the Beeton edition of A Study in Scarlet and the other original copies of the Holmes books.
She meandered around the tables, noting the crowd expanding with people only looking for later-day leftovers at a reduced price. The professional early-bird shoppers knew what they wanted when they came to these events, when they wanted it, and had the cash to make that happen, but by what she overheard they were long gone by now. As she made her way from one table to the next, her eyes peeled for a floor lamp, she became aware that along with the tagalongs and lookie-loos, there also appeared to be a large police presence. She counted six officers weaving through the hordes of people. At first she thought they were doing crowd control, but then she realized half of them were holding what looked like lists in their hands. They’d check the list, scan the items on a table, and refer back to the list.
Ethan, a young officer she’d come to know, wasn’t scanning a list. He was scanning the faces of people. This wasn’t normal security, not even for a yard sale with slightly above-average garage sale items. Something else was going on.
Serena slid up to her side, grinning like a Cheshire cat, and nudged Addie. “Look.” She opened the large tote bag she’d brought with her as she juggled two more hemp-handled shopping bags. “I can’t believe the deals I found. How did you do?” She glanced at Addie’s hand that only held her cell phone. “Nothing?”
“No, I’m only on the lookout for a floor lamp,” she replied absently as she continued to scan the crowd over Serena’s shoulder. There was something about how the officers were walking a grid pattern that disturbed her. Something was wrong. “You know what? I’m going to go inside and find Blake.”
“You’re what? You told me we wouldn’t go in that house today.”
“I said you didn’t have to. It’s okay. You stay out here and shop. I want to find out about the books I saw on Wednesday.”
“Addie, don’t go back in there. Something bad always happens when you do.”
“I’ll be fine. I won’t be long.” What was that people said about famous last words? She shivered as she strode toward the back porch.
Chapter 18
As Addie reached the bottom step, the door flew open and a flustered Art stomped down the stairs. “Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, but it’s not looking like the auction house is going to have everything cleared out before my first buyer arrives next week.”
“Is there still lots left over?”
He slapped his white fedora on his head. “The police have the library still cordoned off, so it’s not empty and, apparently, there’s another issue, but Mr. Edwards didn’t elaborate.”
“What are you going to do if they’re not out of here soon?”
“Not much I can do. Who knew I’d have an eager buyer in the first place? I’ll just get Vera to work her magic on the staging around what’s left when I conduct the showing.” He tipped his hat and hustled off through the crowd.
Addie wished she had Art’s positive attitude, the ability to make the best of a bad situation. She took the steps two at a time and excused her way through throngs of people only to come to a traffic jam at the bottom of the haunted staircase. She could just make out Blake and Jerry, heads together, obviously discussing something in the study. Probably not the best time to ask Blake about the police being here.
Sick of waiting for the slowpokes in front of her to get a move on, she spun around to leave and caught sight of a wispy cloud drifting over the top step. The image floated upward, hovering for a moment, and drifted toward the wall, vanishing in a puff of vapor. Addie’s chest squeezed, forcing her breath out of her burning lungs. Her quick intake of air congealed into a sob-scream. She clasped her hand to her mouth and glanced at the crowd before her. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her. Or the ghost.