“Same here,” Maxi agreed, “but from what I hear, there’s still a lot of tension between them. So I’m heading over there to provide some emotional backup.”
Bunny smiled warmly at Maxi. “That’s very kind of you, Maxi. I’ll see you at four for our painting lesson.”
“Looking forward to it,” Maxi said, waving as Bunny continued down the cobblestone street.
As Bunny made her way to meet Sam, her thoughts kept drifting back to the Beach Bones debacle. Sam had mistakenly bought Sandee’s Beach Bones from the market, thinking they were Claire’s. Dooley had taken to them immediately. In fact, Dooley seemed to prefer the red ones from Sandee’s collection over Claire’s. Though she would never tell Claire that!
“Bunny! Over here!” Sam’s voice broke through her reverie as she saw him standing near the entrance of the town library, holding two cups of steaming coffee.
“Hey!” she called back, waving and increasing her pace to reach him.
As she took the coffee cup from Sam, they shared a quick kiss.
“Did you find anything more?” Sam asked. They’d split up the detective work, with Bunny going to some of the local auction companies and Sam researching the items in the trunk further.
Bunny shook her head, a wisp of her hair falling into her eyes. “The auction houses didn’t really have much. I asked to search back on what ones Olga attended, but that long ago, there were no computerized records. How about you?”
Sam shook his head. “Everything in the trunk is fairly common. So we know the people were not wealthy, at least Idon’t think so. But the items were a little mismatched, as if they were thrown in from different rooms or something.”
Bunny sipped coffee, and an idea occurred to her. “You know, the problem is that there is too broad a time span. Maybe we should focus on the wrapping paper on the gift. If we can identify the pattern or the style of wrapping, we might be able to find out which years that paper was popular. That’ll help us narrow down the yard sales we have to look at.”
Sam’s face lit up, “That’s brilliant, Bunny!”
“I have a picture of the present on my phone. Let’s get into the library and start poking around on their internet. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Sam gave her a hug and smiled down at her. “I already got lucky when I met you.”
Bunny smiled back, but internally, doubt tugged at her. Not about Sam; she felt the same way about meeting him. She was the one who had gotten lucky. What she doubted was the odds of finding who that present belonged to.
Bunny wasn’t one to give up easily, but for the first time, she had to admit she wasn’t one hundred percent sure they’d be successful at solving this mystery.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Inside the animal rescue charity tent, Claire looked at her watch impatiently. She’d only been here an hour and had worked up a sweat dealing with a steady stream of people all by herself. Sandee was supposed to be here, too, not that Claire really wanted to spend time with her, but the woman had never shown up! She should not have been surprised.
The tent was a burst of autumnal colors set up near the sidewalks of Main Street. Under the canopy, tables were neatly arranged and covered with cheerful tablecloths that showcased falling leaves and pumpkins. In the middle of one table sat a donation jar, surrounded by an array of pet-themed trinkets—everything from little paw-print keychains to doggy bandanas. Another table was laden with baked goodies, among which Claire’s own Beach Bones dog treats prominently stood out in their festive packaging. She’d brought them along and had pictured them competing side-by-side with Sandee’s. At least that was one benefit to the other woman not showing up.
Claire bustled about, adjusting displays and greeting passersby with an enthusiasm that belied her annoyance. The tent was located perfectly to capture the afternoon sun, which cast a warm, inviting glow over everything. The weather wassplendid—mild with a slight breeze, the kind of day that made her forget winter was just around the corner.
As people meandered down Main Street, the town’s commitment to festive décor was evident everywhere. Twinkle lights adorned the shop fronts, each trying to outdo the next with an eye-catching arrangement of hay bales, scarecrows, and vibrantly colored mums. The paper luminaries, set up by locals earlier, outlined the pathways and seemed to invite evening to fall so they could show off their glow.
Claire glanced down the street to see Jane hurtling towards her. She entered the tent, a frown creasing her forehead as her eyes swept over the space.
“Hey, Claire! Wow, this all looks amazing,” Jane exclaimed, but her tone carried a note of concern.
“Thanks. What’s wrong?” Claire was genuinely pleased to see her friend but sensed something was bothering Jane.
“Well, I came because I thought you might need some moral support.” Jane glanced under a table then lowered her voice. “Where is she?”
Just then, Maxi burst into the tent, a little breathless but smiling broadly. “Hi, guys!”
“Maxi! I thought you’d be busy down at the art gallery. Did you find an artist?” Claire asked.
Maxi sighed. “No, but I needed to take a break and thought I’d stop by and?—”
“Hidey-hoo, everyone,” Andie’s voice rang out from the side of the tent.
“It’s getting a bit crowded in here.” Claire smiled at her friends. “But in a good way.”
