Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Greg had already left for work when I got home, so I hurried out the door as well, hoping that Emma wouldn't notice that I picked up my laptop and put it into my tote. When she heard the Jeep start, she'd know that running was probably off our to-do list for the day. If I got my research done today, I'd take her tomorrow before I started working on my paper. Otherwise, I was going to owe my dog a lot of beach runs before this degree was finished.

At the shop, I had a note on the counter from my aunt. Great, I was being disciplined for not following her procedures. In my shop. At least I believed, and the bank agreed, that it was my shop. I ignored the envelope and got the shop ready for my commuters. Once that was done, people started coming in for coffee.

Since Toby was on duty, I didn't have anything else to do except read her note. I opened the envelope and saw it was her retirement plan. I scanned the pages and noted that she had listed out payouts to her retirement account based on sales and even a training plan for me to take over the items she was currently handling.

I set the plan aside and read the note she'd attached.

Dear Jill, I think it's time for me to really retire. Harrold and I have discussed this in detail. He in turn will be transferring his shop over to his nephew. His son doesn't want to take over the Train Station. Anyway, since you started the business, I'm just looking to step out gracefully with a few dollars to pay me for my enhancements to the shop as well as training you in the systems I've set up. We'll start your training the month following your graduation. That way, you don't have one more thing on your plate.

I'm looking forward to spending my golden years with your uncle and traveling to the places I've always wanted to see. I hope this doesn't come as a shock, but I know you're well equipped now to run the business on your own.

Much love,

Aunt Jackie

I read the note a second time. As much as I grumbled about my aunt bothering me at work and setting up unnecessary procedures for such a small shop, I'd come to rely on her to watch my back. I could run the first shift and not worry about our bottom line except for once a month when we reviewed the books. Aunt Jackie would sound the alarm if we were in trouble. Now she wanted to leave and travel?

I took a breath and called Greg. I needed someone else to hear this and tell me what I should be feeling, because right now, I had too many emotions to count.

I got his voice mail. I left him a message asking him to call, then did what I always did when I didn't know how to deal with the real world.

I pulled out the book I'd started yesterday and read until a customer came into the shop. My shift ended at noon, and by that time, only four customers broke my reading time. I should be able to finish this book tomorrow and write a review during my shift, emailing it to Deek. I'd be two days early.

That never happened.

But as I watched Toby work, I guessed I needed to rethink some of my processes. I could still run the morning shift and do the tasks my aunt did during slow times. If it got too much, I'd have to hire for my shift. Or spread the time around to my staff. Deek and Evie were already full-time on the sales floor after my aunt went to full-time management. Toby had a real job and just wanted extra hours to pad his savings plan. I wasn't sure how many more, if any, hours Judith wanted. Tilly, my newest employee, would take all the hours I'd give her. Even with adding hours to the current staff, I still needed someone in the wings to fill in gaps.

So hiring another part-time person needed to go on the list. Right after I graduated and finished Aunt Jackie's School for Coffee House Management. Or at least right after I graduated. I didn't need one more thing on my list now.

I put the book away in my tote and pulled out my shift-closing checklist. As I worked through the items, Toby watched me. Finally, he grabbed the broom I'd just finished using to sweep the shop. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

I sagged and sat on one of the stools. "I guess it shows, huh? Aunt Jackie's retiring. They want to travel more."

Toby's face lit up. "That's exciting. I know Harrold has a bucket list that he keeps in a notebook. Every time he hears of a new place, he writes it down. They've crossed off several since their marriage."

"He does?" How come I didn't know about this notebook?

Toby laughed as he took a cheesecake and cut it into servings to put into the display case. "I told him they'll have to live to a hundred or more to visit all those places. I guess they've decided it's time to kick it into gear."

Now I felt like a jerk, since all I'd thought about was how my aunt was deserting me. "Aunt Jackie wanted to live on cruise ships when she retired the first time. Before she lost her first retirement stash."

"Scammers prey on the elderly. It's not fair, but I guess sometimes it's easy. I think people like that should rot in hell." He grinned as he put the cheesecake away. "And not after they die, but before."

"Spoken like a true member of the local law enforcement community." I rolled my shoulders, forcing off the bad mood. "Speaking of, where's your boss? I want to see if he wants to grab something at Lille's."

"He's in Bakerstown for some big powwow with the college on this professor's death. The administration wants to make sure campus is safe." He glanced at his watch. "He should be back around five. Of course, I don't know what's on the rest of his schedule. You could call Esmeralda to find out."

"Waiting until five won't work. Anyway, I need to go to campus and work on my paper." I handed him the clipboard with my closing list. Then I put yesterday's forgotten book in my tote. "And I'm out of here. Say hi to Judith when she comes in."

I accidentally went out the front door by habit, but instead of going back inside the shop, where Toby would probably have some sort of snide comment about my Swiss cheese memory, I headed to the walkway between my shop and the antique store. It led directly behind the two buildings, and as I walked, I heard voices ahead.

The man who was talking, I knew, but couldn't place the voice.

"I'm telling you it's going to be a major find, I know it." His voice raised a bit, and I thought I could hear some anger or excitement. Was he talking about the caves?

As I came out of the narrow walkway, I saw Tank sitting at the picnic table behind Josh's shop. He was on the phone. When he saw me, he waved and ended his call.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation." I stepped closer. "I'm heading over to the university to work. I'm getting the work for this degree finished this month if it kills me."

"I had to just plow through. I knew if I took off a semester or just did part-time, I'd never get done." He tucked his phone into his jeans.

"Well, you can see I took the long way. I'm determined to get this done." I kept walking.

"No worries, I was just talking to my new boss about my actual start date. He's anxious to get me there." Tank stood and headed to the antique store. "I'm spending the rest of the day with Josh, trying to figure out the cave location. Are you sure you don't want to stay here and work with us?"

"Don't tempt me. I've had too many ‘fun' days lately. Right now, I've got to focus on school and my business." I didn't remember Tank being so pushy. But maybe I was just overreacting. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, worrying about Mandy. "Maybe we can do dinner before you leave. I'd love for you to meet Greg outside of the police station."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear us talk about California history all night." Tank shrugged. "But if you really want to, just let me know. I'm staying at the Castle. Or I'll probably be here, hanging out with Josh and trying to decipher the journal."

"I'll check with Greg. I know he's busy right now with Mandy missing, but we might be able to carve out a night." I unlocked my Jeep and climbed in, watching him go through the narrow passageway to Main Street. What was his plan? Was he just here like he said as a student of history? I was seeing plot holes and twists in my real life now. I didn't trust anyone. Especially an old friend who just happened to show up after a disappearance and a murder.

I decided to put my investigator hat away and work on my paper. I had a lot left to write, but I wanted my conclusions to be solid, so I wanted a few more studies or interviews to cite, so I needed more library time. It was the part I always put off, since it meant driving to the university. I probably could have signed up for some online research tool through the school, but it frustrated me to read on the laptop instead of on paper. I tended to skim rather than sink into the material. The inherent issue with owning a bookstore. I loved reading in print. Deek had set us up an online book sales page. It was bringing in money, and we could highlight our local charm books. The books that talked about coastal California history or novels that were set in the area. I loved the way he'd made a South Cove page, highlighting those books. And it seemed to work. Even some of my commuters asked about books they'd found on the website, but they wanted to buy in person.

Bookselling was a changing profession, but the best thing I could do was to stay current with my stock.

As I drove, I thought about Aunt Jackie's letter. My aunt had retired early before and had come back to work after her savings had been lost. Now she was in her early sixties and deserved to be traveling like she'd always wanted to do. I was the problem. I hadn't called her because I didn't know what to say. I didn't want her to disappear from my life. And right now, with our planning meetings and staff discussions, I saw her at least twice a week. But as I thought about it, I hadn't seen her for over a week. She'd been starting to ease out for a few weeks now. Maybe to get me ready to take over? Whatever her plan had been, I didn't like it.

I'd call her tonight and schedule a meeting where we could talk about this. Maybe I could talk her into just decreasing her hours. I didn't want it to be all about the money or the plan she'd set in place. I needed her at the bookstore. She was the bumper rails for my wild ideas. And I hated to think she might not be there when I needed her.

I felt better as I got out of the Jeep and locked the doors. Heading to the library, I realized I didn't recognize most of the students walking through campus. They had transitioned to a new younger crop while I'd been inching my way to my degree. Deek would disagree with me, but it was time for me to be an adult and step away from campus life.

The library was quiet. Even with so many students milling around the quad area, the library was still almost empty. Maybe it was the time of year, or more likely, everyone else had done their research earlier than me. I emptied out my laptop and notebook on my favorite table and went to work.

As I did one last peruse of the stacks that held the history of the area, looking for business co-ops from the past, I found a book that had been put in the wrong section. It was a slim book, and as I pulled it out, pages fell from it. Picking them up, I realized they were notebook sheets, with tight handwriting I recognized from my prior classes. Professor Wellborn had left his notes in the book when it got reshelved.

He didn't need them now. I took the book and the loose pages and set them and the other books I'd gathered on my table.

Four hours later, my stomach growled, and I realized I'd been reading and working straight through. I hadn't even taken a potty break. I saved my document, a habit I'd learned the hard way after losing several thousand words one day. Then I moved the books I'd finished with into a pile and tucked the others into my bag. When I got downstairs, I'd check them out and work from home until I needed more material. But I thought I was close.

I hurried to the bathroom, then to the checkout line, and finally, out to the Jeep. The sun was beginning to set, and I'd have a lovely drive home. Checking my watch, I saw it was after five. The library closed at six on Wednesday, so I'd almost gotten kicked out. The librarians did a callout on the speakers at a quarter till, which usually got me moving. But there had been times when I'd had someone tap on my shoulder, actually kicking me out.

I told the Jeep to call Greg, and it did. The surprising thing was he answered.

"Hey, where are you?" I asked.

"Me? I'm home making dinner. Are you with Josh and Tank looking for lost treasure?" Greg's voice was warm like hot chocolate syrup over ice cream. He could make me smile over the simplest statements.

"No, I was at the library. I'm heading home, so can you make some extra dinner for me?" I was at a stoplight and took the time to pull my hair up into a clip. My green eyes looked tired in the rearview mirror, but I felt accomplished. Looking at myself reminded me of Aunt Jackie's announcement. "I need to talk to you if you're going to be around."

"I'm home for the evening. Unless something happens. You know the drill. But yes, I think we can carve out some talking time. Anything urgent?"

"No, I just need your take on something before I respond. You always seem to have good advice." I turned the Jeep onto the highway and headed home.

"That's me, Advisor to the Stars. Or maybe that's Esmeralda. Are you sure you don't need any advice from the other side? Maybe you should ask her."

I laughed a little. "No, this is normal, everyday world questions. Not where Santiago stored his gold. Although Josh might want to take advantage of Esmeralda's gifts."

Greg groaned. "Believe me, he's tried. Esmeralda told him that Mandy wasn't on the other side, so there wasn't anyone she could talk to about her disappearance."

"At least he got that." Seagulls floated over the shore as I drove home. The waves were crashing on the beach in places, and the people had abandoned the beaches for the night. The ocean was alone, and I thought maybe it liked it that way.

"Yeah, I just hope she's not wrong." He paused a moment, and I could feel that we both were worrying about Mandy. "Anyway, I pulled out some cod for you, and I'm making an Italian pasta salad, if that will work. I'm having a steak."

"Honey, you could make tuna casserole, and I'd be happy." I heard his phone click. Someone was trying to call. "I'll see you in twenty. Love you."

"Love you more." Greg hung up and must have taken the incoming call. My audiobook came back on, and I spent the rest of the drive thinking about book banning in the World War II era.

When I pulled up, his truck was still in the driveway, but Toby's truck was gone. I'd expected since he'd worked a shift for me this afternoon that he wouldn't be working for Greg tonight, but who knew? Toby liked stacking Benjamins. He was always trying to save more money.

I grabbed my tote, locked my Jeep, and headed to the porch, where Emma burst out of the front door when Greg opened it for her. She gave me an excited puppy hug, then ran down to the yard to do her business.

Greg gave me a kiss and handed me a beer. "I waited for you so we could sit and talk before dinner. I'm only having one tonight, just in case I get called out."

Greg didn't drink a lot, but when he was in the middle of an investigation, he limited it even more. Like he said, just in case.

"So you didn't get called in?" I took the beer and put my laptop bag on the coffee table. "Do you want to sit out on the front porch and watch the sunset?"

"I already put the meat on the grill, so it's back porch relaxing." He snapped his fingers, and Emma came inside. He shut and locked the door. He'd trained me to lock my doors after he'd moved in. Mostly out of habit, but he also didn't like how close the house was to a major highway. Like he always said, you never knew.

After we got settled, he turned toward me, focusing all his time and energy just on me. "So what do you need to say? We're not getting married?"

"No, what?" I reached for his hand. "Look, I have no idea where we're getting married in October, but I know we are. I wanted to talk about something Aunt Jackie did."

I told him about the retirement plan and the letter. I told him my fears about her leaving, then I stared into his eyes and asked, "So what do you think I should do?"

He surprised me by leaning into me and kissing me. Then he stood up and went to check the grill.

I watched him, confused. "Greg? What do you think?"

He finished checking dinner, then sat back down and smiled at me. "I think your aunt wants to retire. We should throw her a party."