Mo let out a low huff from his spot under the table, like he didn’t like what he might be implying.
I crossed my arms. “You came here to warn us, or to see if we’ve already stumbled onto a clue?”
Stone’s mouth tipped into a half-smile. “Both. I know you, Pepper, you’ve got a nose for trouble. And trouble just blew through town in ski masks.”
Ian’s arm brushed against mine, protective in that quiet, steady way of his. “We’ll keep our eyes open.”
Stone’s gaze lingered on me a beat too long before he stood. “Good. And if you find something before I do—call me. Preferably before you go charging into the middle of it.”
The front door shut behind Stone with a heavy click as if Ian shut the door a tad bit too hard. I stayed in my chair, staring at the empty spot he’d just occupied.
“Well,” I said, “that was relaxing. Nothing says ‘lazy afternoon’ like being told professional criminals might be combing the county for mystery loot.”
Ian dropped into the chair beside me, stretching his legs out. “It’s not loot if they’re after documents. Or something they can’t pawn.”
“Like what?” I asked. “Top secret government files? A map to buried treasure? My grandmother’s missing fudge recipe?”
He chuckled. “Funny, but we both know we can’t wait to sink our teeth into this one.”
I leaned forward, lowering my voice like we were already in conspiracy mode. “If they’re hitting banks in a specific area, they’ve got a reason. And reasons leave trails. We just have to figure out which trail to follow.”
Mo gave a loud sigh from under the table, the canine equivalent of here we go again. While Roxie, my calico, didn’t even bother to lift her head from where she slept on the top tier of her cat house.
Ian glanced toward the yard, then back at me. “I can take more time off now that I’ve hired more people to help.”
“You mean Winifred,” I said, scrunching my nose.
“She manages the office?—”
“Like a drill sergeant everyone fears.”
He laughed. “That she does, and she has everything running smoothly, and she gets along beautifully with her counterpart, Edith, in Scotland.”
“Two peas in a pod,” I said, having gotten off to a bad start with Winifred and not able to correct it, as of yet.
“With Macgregor & Co. Publishing Arts expanding so rapidly I need someone like her to manage a myriad of positions.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on my lips. “Besides, I want to spend more time with you and her proficiency at her job lets me do that.”
I smiled and kissed him back. “Since you put it that way, I’ll tolerate her.”
Mo gave a soft woof and wagged his tail.
Ian peered over his shoulder. “Someone Mo knows is about to make an appearance.”
A knock at the door was followed by a turn of the lock.
“It’s me, your dad,” he wisely called out.
I gave a shout. “Out on the deck.”
The French door opened, and my dad stepped out onto the deck. My dad’s a good-looking man and fit for his fifties. He blames his full head of white hair on me, claiming I caused him excess worry through the years, and I kind of did. He dropped his hat on a chair and filled a glass from the pitcher with the peach iced tea on the table, his favorite.
Mo wagged his tail in greeting but didn’t bother to get up.
“Dad, shouldn’t you still be at the crime scene? Or are you hiding from the new mayor?”
One corner of his mouth twitched. “Your mother doesn’t scare me.” He paused. “Not too much.”
We all chuckled since it was the truth.
