“You are still having difficulties understanding my gift.” She held up a hand when I tried to argue. “Again, not woo-woo, but I see it on your face. You still think I’m a whack job.”

  I shook my head. “Actually, I am trying to respect your talents. Deek has some of the same traits, but I think he’s just very talented in reading people. Me especially.”

  “Deek is very special. Did you know he was my godson?”

  We talked for a while about my newest employee, but when the phone rang, I made my escape without telling Esmeralda what was really bothering me. I wanted to talk to Greg and Aunt Jackie first. Get my role tied down in both of those relationships. I could only hope that my directness wouldn’t be seen as aggressive. Sometimes I could be like Emma with a bone. Especially if something was bothering me.

  Instead of going outside, I went down the hallway to where the mayor’s office and the community meeting rooms were situated. I could ask Amy if she wanted to go to lunch, but I’d probably be turned down. She had a rule that she limited her eating out to one or two days a week. Which I thought was just silly. Sometimes, I ate at Lille’s every day, especially if Greg was out of town or I was out of ice cream at the house.

  She was at one of the long tables near the front window and talking to a tall, good-looking man I didn’t know. I hesitated. I didn’t want to interrupt, but I really didn’t want to go back to the police station and go out that way. Esmeralda would probably be off the phone and would corner me about what I was upset about. At this point, all I wanted was a way out of the building. One where I didn’t have to talk to people.

  Amy must have sensed my presence as she looked up and smiled. “Hey, Jill, what a coincidence. Aaron and I were just going over land areas open for development. He mentioned the area around your house. I told him you weren’t interested in selling.” She studied me. “That’s correct, right? You wouldn’t sell Miss Emily’s house to be torn down, would you?”

  “Not my plan.” I stepped forward to greet the developer. I might as well take care of this issue; the guy wasn’t just going to let me get away with ignoring his letter. “Hi, I’m Jill. I should have called when I got your letter, but things have been crazy here. Like Amy said, I’m not interested in selling the house.”

  “Aaron Presley. Yeah, Mom had a wicked sense of humor and a devotion to fifties music. I think she married Dad based on his last name alone.” His blue eyes twinkled and when he smiled, he had a dimple that made his square jaw even more attractive. “I’m afraid I was led to believe you might be interested in looking at an offer.

  “Not sure who would have said that.” I shrugged. “I love my house. I can see the ocean from the front porch. It’s relaxing.”

  He chuckled. “I get that. Your little town has been just outside the crazy California build zone for years. I’m afraid that’s not going to be the case soon. I know several other developments that are looking at your area. In fact, your mayor has been attending a lot of development conferences that are calling your area the next Malibu.”

  I wanted to tell him that Mayor Baylor rarely spoke for the town. Most of the time, he was selling his own interests. I was pretty sure he’d been buying up property in the area and holding it just for the big development offer. Me, I like the small tourist town feel South Cove had developed over the years. Adding in high-rise condos and blocking off beach access would change the entire feel of the area.

  “Yeah, sometimes he has a different vision of South Cove.” I tried not to add the criticism of our city leader to the comment. Time to get off this subject before I put my foot in my mouth. “What are you interested in building? Maybe Amy could suggest some different areas?”

  “He’s bringing in a water park. One with all the crazy slides.” Amy’s false cheerfulness told me everything I needed to know about what she thought of the idea. Being a surfer, she liked her beaches remote and accessible to all. “I’ve mentioned the fact that Bakerstown has a large amount of land near the coast just north of here.”

  He shook his head. “Too far for the city visitor. We already built a park just north of San Francisco. The weekend visitor rates are through the roof. People want a safe place to have a little fun. And there are just too many issues with wildlife near the shoreline for the ocean to be a viable, kid-friendly area.”

  I saw Amy’s mouth open and I kicked her leg, just a bit. She was going to go off on this guy. She believed in having kids out in the real world. And if they understood how to share an area with wildlife, like the sea lions who liked to sun themselves just down from our community beach, that was even better. This guy wanted to isolate kids with plastic slides and chlorinated water for their safety.

  I didn’t like water parks. It felt too artificial. Especially with the Pacific just minutes away from where we stood. But my aunt had always taught me to be nice to strangers. Especially those who didn’t pose a threat. “Well, I hope you find a suitable area. I’m sorry I had to be the one to give you the bad news about my house.”

  He studied me, probably wondering if I was just holding out for a really good offer. “Well, at least I know now. Are you sure I can’t just give you a ballpark figure of what we’d be prepared to offer? I’m sure we’d be able come to an agreement that would be beneficial for both of us.”

  I shook my head. Even if the wall didn’t get approved, I loved my house. Okay, so maybe especially if the wall area didn’t get approved. I hated the idea that I might lose a part of my remote sanctuary to history buffs. Of course, there might not be that many visitors who wanted to see a three-foot-high remnant of a mission that was long gone. “Seriously, I have no plans to sell. If I did, I’d just have to buy or build another house, which would be a hassle.”

  He considered me. “You may reconsider. Here’s my card. I’m in town for the next week or so while I finalize a spot. I’ll be at the Castle, so don’t hesitate to call, even if you just want to grab a drink or dinner and talk about the piles of money I have to spend on just the right spot.”

  I laughed and reached for the card. “I can’t see me changing my mind in the next couple of weeks, but if I do, I’ll call.”

  His eyes turned smoldering, and he held on to the card just a second longer than necessary. “You could just call because you wanted the drink or dinner. No strings attached.”

  Greg’s voice came from behind me, and I felt his arm going around my waist. “She already has someone to eat with, but we appreciate your offer.”

  Aaron’s gaze left my face and focused upward on Greg’s face. “Sorry, man. No ring, so I didn’t know.”

  “No harm. She would have turned you down anyway.” Greg held out a hand. “Greg King, lead detective for South Cove Police.”

  “Aaron Presley. I’m a developer looking for land for a new water park here in town. Jill’s house is in the perfect spot and meets all our requirements.” He shook Greg’s hand, all friendly and salesmanlike.

  “Except it’s not for sale.” Greg amended Aaron’s statement.

  Aaron let his gaze drop to mine, then he nodded. “That’s what I’ve been told.”

  The silence held for a long minute, then Greg stepped around me and took my hand. “I’m ready for lunch if you are.”

  I nodded and looked at Amy. “We’ll catch up later. Nice to meet you, Mr. Presley.”

  “Aaron, please. And it was very nice to meet you both.” He nodded at me and Greg as we walked out of the building.

  “That was weird,” I said after the door closed and we were on the sidewalk heading to Lille’s. “Thanks for extracting me. You don’t have to take me to lunch if you don’t want to.”

  “Esmeralda said you needed to talk to me. That something was wrong.” He glanced behind us at City Hall. “Then I find Mr. Slime hitting on you. I guess she has a good sense about things.”

  “Mr. Presley,” I corrected him, “wants me to sell my house. He had no interest in me besides that.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true.” Greg shrugged. “But I’ll let my caveman attitude drop if you say so.”

  “He would have taken me out, I’m sure of that, but the house would have been behind it.” I ran the conversation through my mind. “He said someone had told him I’d be interested in selling. Do you think it was Mayor Baylor?”

  “Probably. The guy wants to turn this town into North LA, just so he can make money on the real estate holdings he has. He has no clue how special South Cove is.”

  “That’s the truth.” As we walked into Diamond Lille’s, Carrie handed us menus and pointed us to our favorite booth. I tried to put the conversation behind me, but something was nagging at me. “Don’t you think it’s weird that I’ve had three contacts about the house, two on the wall and one to sell, in less than three days?”

  “I didn’t say South Cove wasn’t a desirable real estate market. Everyone wants to enjoy the laid-back lifestyle.” Greg studied the menu, then closed it. “But I don’t want to talk about the house anymore. What’s going on in your world that Esmeralda thinks you’re so upset about?”

  I set the menu down and sighed. “Amy got me worrying about the future last night. And I realized that if something happens between us, things needed to be said.”

  “I know, you love me. And nothing’s going to happen to either me or you. You really need to get over not being able to say the words, though.” He smiled up at Carrie, who had delivered two iced teas. “Carrie, you read my mind. Thanks.”

  “No problem. I suspect you’re having the stuffed meat loaf plate? Even though it’s beautiful outside. I only crave meatloaf when it’s raining.” Carrie arched an eyebrow.

  “You do know me. And, because I’m probably not eating a ‘good’ dinner, I need something with some staying power. Besides, Tiny makes the best meat loaf I’ve ever had.” Greg glanced at me. “What about you, cupcake?”

  I snorted at the nickname. “I’m having baked tilapia with a side salad and Thousand Island on the side. I think I ate my weight in sugar this morning.”

  “So no milkshakes?” Carrie asked.

  We both shook our heads, and she took the menus. “I’ll have that right out. You’re early for the lunch rush, so you should be able to get back to making South Cove safe soon.”

  After she left, I shook my head. “I’d be offended if my afternoon plans didn’t surround me on the swing, finishing a book.”

  “No party planning? Or solving Frank’s murder on the investigation?” He put a hand over his heart. “Who is this woman and what did you do with Jill?”

  “Funny. I’m waiting for quotes and availability on the party venues. And I didn’t realize you’d classified the hit-and-run as a murder.” I sipped my tea, watching him.

  “You and I both know it was. I just can’t figure out why.” He leaned back as Carrie set a plate in front of him and then a salad in front of me. “That was quick.”

  She shrugged. “Apparently, Tiny has the two of you figured out as well. Jill, the rest of your meal will be out soon. Do you need anything right now?”

  “We’re good, thanks.” Greg waited for Carrie to leave. “One thing, though: Did Frank ever talk about an ex-wife?”

  “Frank was married? Wow, I didn’t see that coming. The guy seemed so rigid and devoted to the work.” I took a bite of my salad. Not fried fish or french fries, but good. And exactly what I needed.

  “Yeah. Apparently, he was married five times. And dating someone currently. His landlord told me about the new blonde that started staying the night about a month ago. Of course, he didn’t mention a name to his landlord. But he did blush beet red when the guy brought her up when Frank dropped off his rent check.” Greg took a large bite of the meat loaf and nodded. “Tiny’s on his game today.”

  “Why did the landlord bring her up to him?” I reached over with my fork and took a small bite of the meat loaf. It was good. I should have ordered that.

  “My guess is he told him he’d have to raise the rent. That Frank’s cost was based on single occupancy.” Greg moved his plate closer to him and out of my reach. “Tonight, I’ll be reaching out to the ex-Mrs. Gleasons and trying to find who was auditioning for the role of number six.”

  “You’re saying I shouldn’t wait up.” I smiled at Carrie as she took away my empty salad plate and exchanged it with the fish. Tiny had added cauliflower mashed potatoes to the plate, as well as a side of green beans. I guess he didn’t want me going away hungry.

  “Probably not.” He studied me. “Are you sure you’re not getting into the investigation? Are you holding back on me?”

  “Yes, I did start a paper list, but I haven’t talked to anyone besides you and Toby, and no one has told me anything. Except what you just did. I still can’t believe he was married once, not to mention five times. I guess you never know about someone’s private life. Is the working theory that one of the wives drove over him due to late alimony? Do judges even assign alimony anymore?”

  “Not usually, unless there’s a large discrepancy in individual funds.” He finished his real mashed potatoes before I could do a taste test with my fake ones.

  Individual funds: that’s what I wanted to talk to Greg about. I set down my fork, wiping my mouth with my napkin. “Greg, there’s something I want to get straight.”

  He frowned and set down his own fork. “Is this going to ruin my appetite?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged and looked at the half-eaten lunch. “Should we wait until we’re done eating? I don’t want you to be late for an interview or something.”

  “Now I’ve got to know. Tell me you’re not kicking me out because I work too much. You knew who I was when we got together.” His phone went off and he groaned. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

  I nibbled on my food while he talked to who I thought was Doc Ames on the other end of the phone. Luckily, they didn’t talk much about the specific details of the autopsy or I wouldn’t have been eating either.

  “Sure, I’ll drive in. See you in thirty.” He hung up the phone and wolfed down the meat loaf.

  “Look, it’s not about…”

  He held up a finger, stopping me. “I can’t take the time to talk. Just put a pin in this and I’ll wake you up before I go into the station tomorrow and we can talk. If you don’t want me out tonight.”

  “I don’t want you out tonight.” I felt frustrated. “Look, you need to know what I’m asking, so you won’t…”

  “Think the worst? Honey, that ship’s already left the harbor.” He stood and kissed me on the head. “I won’t think the worst until we can talk. That way I can still pretend everything’s all right and I can focus on this investigation.”

  He threw two twenties on the table. “See you tomorrow.”

  Carrie stepped over, and we both watched Greg hustle out of the restaurant. She picked up his plate. “If I didn’t know better, I would have said you two must have had a fight.”

  I wasn’t sure we hadn’t.

  Chapter 7

  I pulled out the notebook when I got home. I’d screwed up the conversation with Greg badly and I wanted a chance to fix that one before I talked to my aunt. Who knows, if I didn’t, by the time the night was over, I might not have a boyfriend or even any relatives who talked to me anymore. Instead of worrying about what might happen in the future, I decided to worry about what happened to Frank.

  Yeah, I know, I told Greg I wasn’t investigating, but that was before I also told him that we needed to talk and, somehow, he’d taken that as I was kicking him out. I shook the idea out of my head. He was stressed, I was stressed, it probably hadn’t been the best time to open up a conversation about setting up a prenuptial even before he’d asked me to marry him. I paused at that thought. Maybe I was chasing mice here instead of antelopes. But the door had been opened, so I had to tell him what I’d really wanted to talk about so his mind didn’t fill in the blanks.

  I made a note on my calendar to talk to Greg in the morning, then turned to the notebook. What had I found out since Frank had been killed? I had the description of the truck and the plate number already in my notes. I hadn’t asked Greg if that plate had been tracked down yet. So I put a question mark in the margin. Then I added Greg’s information about five ex-wives. What did a historical expert make a year? It couldn’t be much. I quickly sent my question to Justin via email. As a history professor, he might know. My feeling was, the position wasn’t well paid. I put a star by that note and listed off two questions on a second sheet: the one I’d sent to Justin and a second one, how did California deal with alimony now? I’d been out of family law for several years, so things could have changed. And digging into legal work would help me keep my mind off Greg and our minifight.

  I went back to the main page. Was there anything else I knew? Then it hit me. Frank had okayed kicking the Mission Wall off the upcoming list of projects to review, but he’d changed his mind and was going to put it back on. That I knew from his own statement to me.

  The real question was why he had been so quick to take the wall off the list. And what had changed his mind? Had the wall been part of the motivation behind the killing? Maybe there was someone who didn’t want the historical certification of the wall to go through.

  Like a developer who wanted to buy the place. Or the mayor, who wanted to get a kickback from the developer? Or Greg, who wanted to set up the area as a barbeque pit? Of course, Greg was off the list because he was, well, Greg. But he’d actually been relieved when I had a reason for Frank to stay alive. Did that mean I wouldn’t have been off the list just because I was Jill? I pondered that question some more as I went to the fridge and got out a quart of rocky road.