Bound To Be Dead: Cozy Mystery Bookshop Series Book 3 by Tamra Baumann (best historical fiction books of all time txt) 📗

Panic fills me, and I’m not sure what to do. Or say. I turn to Meg and beg with my eyes for her to take over.

Meg clears her throat. “You should talk with your mom on Wednesday, Brittany. Ask her some tough questions. Then judge for yourself if she’s changed.”

I don’t want that irresponsible woman anywhere near Brittany, so I say, “Meg? That’s not what Zoe and Stella agreed to.”

“That’s true.” Brittany looks at Meg. “Zoe helped me hide. And Stella will probably never change. But I still miss her.”

“Of course, you do.” Meg gives Brittany’s shoulders another squeeze. “So, we’ll revisit this after you see your mom again. But for now, we have an important question about your adoption. Do you know how your mom paid for it?”

Brittany’s eyes grow wide. “How could Mom possibly pay for anything? She never had money unless I gave it to her. I thought Zoe paid for it with trust money, or maybe from the wine collection, she left Sawyer.”

I sit beside Brittany on the bed. “That’s what I presumed too. Gage is trying to find out if Uncle Frank gave your mother the money to break the trust without my mom’s knowledge.”

Brittany worries her lower lip. “Do you think Gage told my mom that Zoe died? Would that give my mother the right to get me back?”

“No. But we’d never stand in the way of you seeing her.” Meg runs a hand up and down Brittany’s back. “Zoe left us as your guardians. That part is airtight because Gage drew up those papers. You need to leave the worry and the details to us and go finish your dinner. Sawyer and I need to discuss something, then we’ll be right down.”

Brittany slowly nods. “Okay. Thanks.” She hops up off the bed and pats her leg. “Come on, Coop. Let’s go see if there are any scraps for you downstairs.”

Cooper perks right up and bounds out the door behind Brittany. When I’m sure we’re alone, I turn to Meg. “We’re only her true guardians if that adoption was legal in the first place.”

“I know.” Meg sighs. “Maybe we need to be sure Brittany’s not here when her mother arrives?”

“That’d be the icing on the cake. If the adoption isn’t legal, then you and I could be under suspicion for kidnapping, while Dad is a suspect for Tina’s death. We’d all be fugitives from the law,” I say sarcastically.

“Maybe we’ll all end up camping in the woods to hide out after all.” Meg shivers dramatically.

I smile at her sheer horror at the thought of camping. “Or we figure out what really happened with the adoption money before Stella gets here. And maybe if we’re lucky, Uncle Frank will be in jail so we can finally live in peace.”

“Yes!” My sister raises a hand for a high five. “Operation Defeat Stella and Frank begins now.”

I return the palm smack, but in my heart, I’m not sure how we’re going to achieve our goals in just three days.

On Monday morning, I grab Coop’s leash, and we set out for my bookstore while everyone else in the house is still stirring upstairs. I called the school and left a message that Brittany was sick because I don’t want to risk Stella showing up there. Brittany is a good student. She’ll have no trouble making up the work she misses. And she’ll be safer with my dad and sister in the house to protect her. Dylan even thought it was a good idea when I talked to him last night. He never trusted Brittany’s mother.

As Coop and I head down the hill on this beautiful November day, I draw in a deep breath of cold salty ocean air, trying to convince myself that everything will work out just fine. But the thought of losing everything, including possibly Brittany too now, weighs heavy on me. Maybe I need some chocolate. And my best pal, Renee. They both come hand in hand and always cheer me up.

When we hit the little town square, I press my hands against the glass and peer inside Renee’s ice cream and treat shop, The Daily Scoop. There’s no apparent activity inside. I’ll just call her later.

The barbershop is still closed too, so I’ll have to talk to Pete about the flower switch a bit later as well.

So much for my detective work or my chocolate fix. Maybe my daily croissant delivery will include my favorite fudge-filled ones. Not the worst compromise in the world.

I unlock my mystery bookstore, Cloaks, Daggers, and Croissants, punch in the alarm code, and hit the lights. All the quaint reading nooks my mother designed offer a familiar welcome I hope the customers feel too. One day, it’d be nice if most of our foot traffic became real buyers rather than the locals who come for the free gourmet coffee and croissants we serve each day. My mom started the tradition, and I’m determined to keep it up, but I won’t be able to if my store doesn’t start turning a significant profit soon.

Luckily, Mom left me an extensive wine collection she inherited from one of her customers who loved a good mystery as much as she did. Selling a bottle now and then has helped keep the lights on.

But by now, I’d hoped the trust would have started construction on the restaurant I plan to build. Gage helped me take advantage of a loophole in the trust that will allow me to rent the space and all the equipment and furnishings in the building next door that I inherited too. Not many know it’ll be me I’m renting to. Gage has helped facilitate the plans for his “Mystery Chef” client by showing my uncle the lease and obtaining all the paperwork, all without revealing my name. But because all the assets in my trust are frozen until we fix the Brittany issue, I’m just plodding along at