David’s senses for trouble went into overdrive.
What were these three up to? What had they found? What connection had they made between William’s grandmother and whatever they were obviously investigating?
“We can’t mention this to anyone,” Eve warned, her voice firm. “Not until we know more.”
“Don’t worry, you have my word,” Brian said.
“You know I won’t say anything,” Lila agreed. Then she turned to Brian. “Can I see that photo you showed us at breakfast?”
“Sure,” Brian said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a photo envelope.
He flipped through the photos inside, his brow furrowing. “Wait... It’s not here.” He pulled his backpack off and rummaged through it, eventually dumping all the items out onto the counter below the painting. “The photo.” His head shot up, alarm clear on his face. “It’s gone.”
“It must still be on the floor of the dining room back at the inn,” Eve reasoned, but David saw the flash of concern flicker in her eyes.
What photo? What was on it that was important enough to cause that reaction?
“We can take a turn past there when we’re done here,” Eve told them.
“I’ll call the Inn and get someone to look for me,” Brian said, already pulling out his phone.
David’s mind churned.
What were they investigating? What had they found that made Eve say William couldn’t be trusted? And what was in that missing photo?
“David?” Mrs. Patterson’s voice called from the front desk.
David quickly slipped out of the room unnoticed, moving silently back toward the main hall.
Mrs. Patterson stood near the entrance, smiling broadly. “Thank you so much, David. The sink is working perfectly again.”
“Of course,” David said, keeping his voice pleasant and professional. “Milly will send you the invoice.”
“Great,” Mrs. Patterson said. “Are you sure I can’t get you a coffee? It’s the least I can do.”
“No, thank you,” David told her. “I have to go.”
He glanced back toward the portrait room, his mind ticking over everything he’d overheard.
Tonight at the barbecue, David would try to find out what those three in the portrait room were up to. It was probably nothing. Just tourists being curious about local history. Just a coincidence that they’d connected something about William’s grandmother to whatever theory they were building.
But right now, with everything so close to coming together, David couldn’t afford coincidences.
He couldn’t have anyone snooping into William’s background. Not when they were so close to bringing down a very bad criminal. Not when one wrong move could blow twenty-eight years of careful work.
David gathered his tools and headed for the exit, nodding to Mrs. Patterson as he passed.
Tonight at the barbecue, he would figure out what Eve and Lila were really after. His brow rose as an idea hit him. He picked up his phone and called Milly.
“Don’t tell me you’ve upset Mrs. Patterson?” Milly said without a hello. “You know how sensitive she can be about being on time.”
“No,” David said, rolling his eyes. “Mrs. Patterson is very happy the sink in the bathroom is fixed.”
“Good,” Milly said. “Then I can go ahead and invoice her.”
“Can you message Eve and tell her to invite Brian?” David asked. “I think it will be nice for Lila to have someone her own age at the barbecue tonight.”
There was a pause. The type of pause he knew very well where Milly was concerned. She’d heard right through his feeble excuse.
