“Nice to meet you, Bunny,” Sam said as if he hadn’t already known her name. “So, what is it that you think this Mr. Smith has done?”
Dooley had inched over toward Bunny and nudged her hand. She started petting him without hesitation. That was a good sign. Sam imagined Dooley was a good judge of character, and anyone who wouldn’t hesitate to pet a dog couldn’t be half bad.
“What is your interest in that?” Bunny kept petting Dooley as she cast a skeptical eye on Sam.
He supposed it was a fair question. “Nothing really. I just find it curious. I used to be a police detective, so I guess mysteries are in my blood.”
Bunny’s brows quirked up. “A detective? Well, in that case, I guess I could tell you. You see, it all started with the book club.”
* * *
Despite her earlier suspicions, Bunny found herself warming to Sam. That was why she told him about how Mr. Smith had been lurking outside the book club meeting, how he’d smashed the cantaloupe on the cliff, and how he had a list of poisons. She omitted the part about Liz taking those out of the trash. She didn’t want to get Liz into trouble.
And it didn’t hurt that Sam was a retired detective. Maybe he’d know some good ways to figure out what Mr. Smith was up to and stop him if he was planning to harm someone. He was also kind of cute, and she really liked Dooley.
“So, when Liz said she overheard him saying he was meeting someone here, I felt like I should come here just to make sure he didn’t have any nefarious plans for his companion. It can be very isolated here. A place where no one can hear you scream.” Bunny looked around. The sun had set, but it was still light enough to see the trails. Even so, she’d better start back to her car soon.
Sam’s brow quirked up. “No one can hear you scream?” He looked a little concerned.
“Oh sorry! I’ve been reading the new mystery book for the book club and might have been focusing on the tagline a bit too much. I guess I can be a bit overly dramatic sometimes.”
Sam did not look surprised to hear that. “Well, it sounds like you do have some valid concerns, and I suppose following this Smith character isn’t doing any harm, but you should be careful.”
“Oh, I will be.” Bunny was a bit disappointed that Sam hadn’t given her any sage detective advice. She was reluctant to end their chance meeting even though the dim light was starting to become worrisome and she wanted to get back to her car before it got too dark. But for some reason, she wanted to keep talking to Sam—probably because he hadn’t given her any good advice yet on how to thwart Mr. Smith.
“This book club, is that the one at Tides?” Sam asked.
“Yes!” Bunny brightened. He’d heard of it. That was good. That meant he wasn’t some random weirdo but a friend… or at least a friend of a friend.
Sam nodded. “Claire at Sandcastles told me about it.”
“Oh, I love Sandcastles. Have you tried her cannoli?”
“Delicious. I love the blond brownies.”
“Me too!”
“Dooley likes the Beach Bones.”
“I’ll bet.”
“So, you like the book club then?” Sam asked.
“Well, we just had our first meeting, but it was fun. Lots of good snacks and good company.” Bunny hesitated a bit, not wanting to sound too full of herself, before adding, “I was the only one who figured out who the killer was early on.”
“Really? How fun.” Sam seemed suitably impressed, as did Dooley.
“But I bet you’d be even better at it, seeing as you were a detective. You should join.”
“I might.” Sam stood. “It’s getting rather late, and I don’t think you’re going to catch Mr. Smith doing anything tonight.”
“Why is that?” Finally, this guy was going to impart some professional detective wisdom!
Sam nodded in the direction of the parking lot.
Bunny squinted and moved a branch aside to peer through the trees. Mr. Smith was walking to his car, his companion to another car. They waved and got in. Some detective she was—she hadn’t even noticed they were leaving!
“Seems like they are both in good condition,” Sam said.
