I shook my head. "Sorry. I already offered, but she turned me down."
"She did? Why?"
"I guess…because I wasn't a good fit?"
"You'd still be better than a hit man," she said. "Maybe you should offer again."
I wasn't quite sure aboutthat.But Ididknow one thing. Tonight, I'd be asking Maisie a whole bunch of questions, possibly over more tiny bottles of booze.
I liked sharing them.Or maybe I just liked having someone to share them with.
To Franny, I said, "I'll keep an eye out, I promise." But then I paused. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Hit me."
"Is there a pawn shop here on the island? Or maybe someplace that sells second-hand jewelry?"
"Why?" she asked. "Are you buying or selling?"
"Selling," I said, pointing to my earlobe. "These."
"Sapphire earrings?" She squinted. "Are they genuine?"
"Yeah, the real deal." I knew, because Mom had only told me a hundred times. "Anyway, I'm just wondering if you've got any ideas. I'm hoping to sell them fast…like this week if possible."
"Tell ya what." Franny smiled. "I'll ask around. If there's a buyer, I'll find 'em."
Hope kindled in my heart. "Really?"
"Yup." She grabbed a napkin, whipped out a pen, and scribbled out a phone number. Thrusting the napkin in my direction, she said, "Text me the full details along with some pics. I'll send it up the grapevine."
Just then, the door burst open, and Ryder Vaughn stepped inside, scanning the place like he was looking for a bomb.
When nothing went boom, his gaze shifted in my direction. "So, where's the riot?"
I wasn't following. "What riot?"
At that moment, Skip emerged from the back, still gripping that same spatula. He looked to Franny and said, "Hey! That vent was empty."
Franny frowned. "Really? Huh. Well at least you checked."
I looked from Franny to Skip and back again. "For what?"
It was Skip who answered. "Valuables." His gaze shifted to Franny. "Somebodysaid there was loot up there."
Franny snorted. "I said theremightbe loot." She looked back to me. "I saw it in a movie once."
"Yeah, well…" Skip grumbled. "I wasted a whole lot of effort for nothing." And with that, he turned and trudged into the back.
As the door swung shut, I looked back to Franny and pointed toward the cash on the counter. "Speaking of loot, is that your tip money, or…?"
"Nah. That's coffee money," she said. "Just tuck it in the till. I would've done it myself, but I didn't know the code."
My eyes shifted to Ryder, who was still watching from near the door. When he grinned, I couldn't help but grin back.
But then, his grin faded. "So, you're okay?"
The question made me pause.Had he dropped in just to check on me?
