Stranger Danger (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 4)

“Tape it?” he croaks.

“Sure! Think about it. It could be awesome publicity for your books. Not that you need publicity, but it could definitely be useful in court.”

“I don’t know, Lucy. Isn’t it enough that I’m going to expose the guy? Do we have to have it on tape?”

Yes. But I suppose after all this time hiding his real identity, it’s hard for Will to fathom going so public.

“Okay, no tape,” I concede, “but I definitely think we need a police presence. What if this guy gets violent? Or tries to escape? I’ll let Travis know that he needs to be at the book club meeting. He might already have the guy’s ID by then. I bet he’s wanted all over the place for a bunch of different scams.”

Will doesn’t say anything. I wonder if this is a good time to tell him that yes, we’re together now. Nah. That’s something we should talk about in person.

We say our goodbyes, then Paco and I head up the stairs to bed. I wiggle my way out of the black dress and carefully hang it back up in my closet when my cell phone pings. Probably Will with something he forgot to tell me about tomorrow night.

Only when I swipe open my screen, it’s not Will. It’s Travis. But instead of a text, he’s sent a photo of himself wearing a woman’s dress, high heels, and a red wig. He looks … awful.

I burst out laughing. What?? I text, then add a smiley face for good measure.

His response: This was taken at a Halloween party a few years back.

I want to know more about this Halloween party where Travis dressed in drag. And I should definitely let him know that tonight was our first and last “date.” But that also seems like more of a face-to-face conversation.

I love it, I text back.

Good, cause now we’re even. You don’t show anyone mine and I won’t show anyone yours.

I can’t help but go to bed with a smile on my face.

Chapter Seven

I wake up at 3 a.m., too wound up to go back to sleep. Not only do I need to bake fresh muffins for The Bistro’s regular breakfast crowd, I have to come up with a special batch for the big book club meeting. And these can’t be just any old muffins. They must be spectacular because the events of tonight will be talked about for years to come. Tonight, Whispering Bay will find out that the real J.W. Quicksilver has been living among us all this time, and a con man will be hauled off to jail.

I can see everyone now, giddy with excitement over the news, getting the real J.W. to sign their books, sipping wine, and munching on my muffins, which will be forever linked to one of the greatest nights in Whispering Bay history. Ha! Take that, Heidi.

I spend the next couple of hours ba

king myself into a tizzy. At exactly five, Jill, who works for us, arrives and starts prepping for breakfast. Sarah comes flying through the back door fifteen minutes later. “Sorry! I overslept.” Which is unusual, because Sarah never oversleeps, as opposed to myself, who’s been known to hit my snooze button more than a couple of times.

“No big deal,” I say. “Everything’s good to go.”

Her gaze sweeps over the mountain of baked goods on the kitchen counter. “Looks like someone didn’t get much sleep last night.” She gives me a sly look. “So how was your date with Travis? Did you pull off the dress? Never mind, of course you pulled it off.”

“It wasn’t a date. And … I think I looked okay.”

“I’m sure you looked way better than okay,” says Sarah.

Jill picks up a muffin and studies it. “Is this a new flavor?”

“Kind of. I was waiting to unveil it next month, but I couldn’t wait. It’s a raspberry white chocolate muffin.”

Jill takes a bite and makes an I-just-died-and-went-to-heaven face. “Oh, Lucy, this is fabulous.”

This is exactly the reaction I’m looking for. “Thanks. They’re for Betty Jean’s book club tonight.”

Jill finishes off the muffin in three bites. “So, what was J.W. Quicksilver like?”

“He’s something else.” I wish I could tell them the truth, but they’ll find out soon enough.

We finish prepping, and the café opens at exactly six. Paco takes his place by my feet as I stand behind the counter and take orders. The first couple of hours go by quickly. The early morning crowd is mostly people on their way to work. Once it hits eight, we cater to an older crowd sprinkled with younger stay-at-home mom and dad types or people who work from home but need to get away from their desk. Since we provide excellent coffee, free Wi-Fi, and a killer view of the gulf, I don’t blame them.