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

Stella’s number just rings and rings. After ten times, I leave a voice mail and then dial Mica’s number. Same thing. No answer. “I wonder if they’re in the air right now and have their phones off?”

“Probably.” Dylan takes the piece of paper from me and inputs the numbers into his phone. “It’s too soon to panic.”

“You’re probably right.” I sink onto the couch. “Maybe Brittany realized her phone was missing, but there was no time to come back for it. Mica said he’d moved up their flight. And that they’d be late if they didn’t leave right away.” I’m trying to convince myself things are all right, but I’m not doing a very good job.

Dylan studies his phone. “It’s an hour and a half flight plus time to check in and load. I’d give it two hours and then try again. If you still don’t hear, let me know and I’ll see what I can do on my end. But no freaking out in the meantime, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.” I drop my head into my hands. It’s going to be the longest two hours of my life. “Did Madge tell you about my trust too?”

“Yeah.” Dylan sits beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

I lay my head on his shoulder. “At the end of the day, even if Uncle Frank takes it all, I’m no worse off than I was before. I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will, but I’d still like to punch that…” Dylan stops himself. “I have to get back. I’ll send Meg and your dad home. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“You aren’t going to arrest Dad?” I sit up and face Dylan. “Does that mean the cup came back clean?”

“Can’t discuss that.” He stands to leave. “But I think we’re getting closer to the truth. Call me if you need help finding Brittany.”

“I will. Thanks.” I reach down to pet Cooper as Dylan closes the door behind him. “I don’t know if Dylan getting closer to the truth is good or bad news for us, Coop. But I can’t sit here and do nothing for the next two hours. Want to go for a ride to the golf course?”

Coop’s tail wags his agreement at the word “go.” He’s always ready for adventure.

I scribble out a note telling my sister and Dad where I went and then grab the car keys. My mom’s old car needs to be driven anyway. Living in such a small town, where the weather is pretty much excellent all the time, I walk most places. I’d miss that if I had to move.

As I start out on the short drive to the new course located just outside town, I try to put my worry for Brittany aside for a moment and think about what we learned earlier in Monterey. Something Pattie said during my haircut comes back to me. We talked about my uncle cheating on my aunt, and Pattie said something about no one believing their husband played that much golf. Was she referring to my Uncle Frank or her own mystery man?

There are a few empty spots right in front of the clubhouse, so I slip the Honda into one of them and then release Cooper from his seat belt in the back. “Let’s hope John can help us.”

Cooper bounces out of the car and leads the way to the clubhouse. Chlorine from the indoor pool stings my nose as we head the opposite way to the pro shop. Burgers grilling nearby in the restaurant remind me I only had half a lunch, and I’m starving. But first things first.

I yank on the glass door and step inside the shop. John’s ringing up a customer, so Cooper and I check out the merchandise. Sure enough, there’s a whole rack filled with polo shirts with the golf course’s logo on it, just as Nat described earlier.

John glances my way and holds up a finger to indicate he’ll be right with me. John is my age, has dark hair that’s a tad too long, and glasses that must be too big because they always slip down his nose. I’m tempted to push them up myself before he does whenever I talk to him.

I’m still shifting through the shirts when John appears by my side. “No dogs allowed. It’s on the sign in front of the building.” He grins. “Unless, of course, your cute pooch is a service animal.”

I stop my perusing and smile. “He’s not. You can report my serious infraction to my uncle later. For now, I have a huge favor to ask.”

“Sure.” John pushes up his glasses. “What do you need?”

“A peek at your reservation software? And I’d rather not tell you why.”

John chuckles. “Dylan said the same thing yesterday when he stopped by. I just finished printing out the data for the last three months for him.”

Now I know I’m on to something if Dylan is looking at the same information. “Would you like me to drop the pages off at the station for you?” After I look through it all, but I won’t say that to John.

“Better not. Dylan asked me to keep it on the down-low. I figured you’re okay to tell because you’re his girlfriend. Let me pull up the history, and you can look at it while I pretend to be busy stocking shelves.”

“Perfect!” That’s what I like about John. He works here because he loves to golf and can play for free, but he can’t stand my uncle, so we get along just fine.

Cooper and I follow John behind the counter, where he sets up his computer for me. While he’s pressing keys, I ask, “Are there foursomes who play together often, or do most people mix up who they play with?”

John shrugs. “Some of both. Lots of people look for groups that need a fourth