At the sight of the kitchen, Bunny’s eyes widened. The top cabinets had their doors open, and all the dishes were gone. The house had been Liz’s childhood home, and she’d just moved in. It was outdated, and Bunny knew Liz intended to upgrade, but she hadn’t realized she was doing it this soon. “Are you getting new cabinets?”
“I think so.” Liz placed two mugs of tea on the table. “I was going to just replace the old Formica counters, but the guy that came out said it would make sense to do the cabinets at the same time, so…”
“Yeah, sounds like the smart move. It’s going to be like a whole new place.” Bunny looked around, feeling a little nostalgic. She’d known Liz’s parents since they were around the same age and had spent quite a bit of time in this house before Liz moved in. She’d been especially close to Liz’s father, Frank, after his wife died. But now Frank was gone, too, and she was getting close to Liz. Bunny never had children, and Liz was becoming like a daughter to her.
“Yeah, new but still familiar and comfortable.” Liz gestured for Bunny to sit.
“So, what’s the hubbub at Sandcastles? Did you guys discuss the book club and our little lurker?”
Bunny could hardly believe how lucky she was to be able to segue into asking about Mr. Smith so easily. She’d spent a considerable amount of time contemplating how she would broach the subject without sounding like a silly, gossiping old lady.
Liz raised a brow. “Are you still thinking about him? Brenda said he was really nice.”
“That’s what they said about Ted Bundy.”
“Bunny! You don’t really think the guy is a serial killer, do you?” Liz looked as if she were concerned about Bunny’s mental health.
“No, of course not.” Bunny waved her hand as if that were the farthest thing from her mind.Maybe a thief or someone with a specific victim in mind, but certainly not a serial killer.“He’s just a little mysterious, and it makes me curious is all.”
“Jane did find it odd that he was in the hardware store.”
“Indeed. What was he there for?”
“Don’t know. Andie saw him. He did bring a bag back to the inn but went straight to his room.”
Bunny nodded and sipped, not admitting that she’d also seen Mr. Smith in the hardware store.
Bunny reached for a piece of zucchini bread that Liz had placed out along with the cream cheese. “Have you noticed him doing anything unusual?”
“Mr. Smith? No. He just stays in his room.”
“Well, that seems unusual. Tourists typically go out and about. See the sights.”
“He might have just needed alone time or something. You never know what people are going through, and some people take a trip to have alone time.”
Bunny thought back to when her husband had died. She remembered going around in a fog while the rest of the world carried on around her as if nothing had happened.
“True. I mean, it’s not like anyone found murder weapons or kill lists in his room while cleaning it.” Bunny tried to sound like she was joking, but she could only hope Liz would mention something that Bunny would see as a clue.
“Of course not! Well, he asked not to have cleaning service, which, now that you mention it, is kind of odd…”
“Uh-uh.” Who wouldn’t want cleaning services? Someone with something to hide—that was who. “No weird noises coming from his room or nighttime excursions?”
“Jane didn’t mention anything like that. I haven’t seen or heard anything, but I’m not there much since it’s off-season.”
“You might want to check his trash, just in case.”
“For what?”
“You never know! Look at what happened in our book club book.”
“But that’s just a book. It’s not real life.” Liz’s brow furrowed. “Though I guess if you add up everything, it is odd.”
Bunny sat back and smiled. At least she wasn’t the only one who thought Mr. Smith was suspicious, because judging by the look on Liz’s face, now she thought so too.
CHAPTERFIVE
As assisted-living facilities went, Tall Pines was one of the best. It had friendly staff, expert medical care, wonderful activities for the residents, and great meals, and the rooms were like a posh hotel but with your own personal items and furniture.
