The Bookstore at Holiday Bay: Once Upon a Spy Game

Book 7: The Bookstore at Holiday Bay

by Kathi Daley

Genres: Mystery; Animal Cozy Mysteries; Amateur Sleuth; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

The Bookstore at Holiday Bay - where books, friends, and mysteries collide.

When Lou Prescott bought the bookstore in Holiday Bay, she dreamed of more than a charming seaside shop. She wanted a place that felt like home—a welcoming haven where friends could gather, share stories, and lean on one another through life's challenges and triumphs.

But when Lou inherits a vast collection of books from Gia, a woman she barely knew, she discovers far more than dusty shelves and forgotten titles. Hidden among the volumes are photo albums and journals that hint at a secret life no one in town ever suspected. Gia wasn't just an avid reader—she was a relentless snoop, and her carefully tucked-away notes may hold the key to solving not one, but four long-forgotten cases.

Now Lou and her friends must follow the trail Gia left behind, unraveling secrets that refuse to stay buried. The biggest mystery of all, however, may be the most personal—did Gia leave behind the one clue that could reveal her own killer?

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Release date: March 10, 2026

Publisher: Kathi Daley Books

Sample

Chapter 1

Change is inevitable. It’s one of the few aspects of our lives that can truly be counted on.
Change can be the catalyst needed to propel us to new heights, or it can come in the form of a
loss, which, at times, seems almost impossible to bear.
And then there’s the sort of change, which, on the surface, appears as nothing more than a
slight modification to the usual ebb and flow of our established routine. These types of changes
can seep into our lives as a constant trickle, which we barely notice until, over time, it has
formed a lake.
“Hey, Lou,” Eden Halliwell, my only full-time employee at Firehouse Books, called out as I
stood staring out the window that overlooked the courtyard behind the two-story structure I
called home. “Do you want me to shelve the books that were delivered this morning?”
“That would be helpful,” I said, turning to offer a smile.
“I know Joy’s off today,” Eden referred to my part-time employee, Joy Christenson. “Do you
know if Velma will be in?”
Velma Crawford was my good friend and business partner. Generally speaking, she managed
the coffee and pastry bar, and I oversaw the bookstore. During the slow season, however, when
our part-time help only came in on Saturdays, we both filled in where needed.
“Velma took today off to go to Bar Harbor with Royce. I guess one of Royce’s cousins is in
town for a few days.”
Royce Crawford was Velma’s husband.
“You know, I’ve never heard either Velma or Royce mention family. I was beginning to
wonder if they had any.”
“I don’t think they have family they’re close to, but according to Velma, when Royce ran into
a distant cousin the other day, they decided to take the time to visit with him while he’s in the
area.”
“That’s nice. Family is important. Sometimes it takes a random act like running into someone
while on vacation to remind us of that.”
In general, I agreed, although I wasn’t close to what was left of family.

“Speaking of running into people,” Eden looked over my shoulder out toward the empty
courtyard. “I ran into Cricket this morning, and she told me that two women are interested in the
vacant storefront across the courtyard where A Bit of This and That had been located. I guess
they’ll be on site today for a walk-through.”
A Bit of This and That had been a craft store owned by my good friend Ethel Covington
before she made the decision to retire and sell her lease and her inventory to a woman named
Bristol Cunningham. Bristol, a young woman with a secret past, had an ulterior motive for
wanting the space that had nothing to do with crafts. Her plan went badly. After Bristol was
forced to leave, the courtyard’s owner needed to find a new tenant for the space. By the sound of
it, it appeared he might have a prospect on the line. The last time I’d heard, the property owner
had been considering an arcade owner as a tenant. I hoped that was an idea that hadn’t panned
out.
“I heard that the landlord was taking applications,” I responded to Eden. “Did Cricket know
anything more about the prospective tenants?”
“Cricket was in a hurry when I ran into her, and she didn’t say anything more than that, but
you know Cricket. If there is something to know, chances are she’ll be the one to know it.”
Cricket Abernathy owned and operated All About Bluebells, a flower shop across the
courtyard from Firehouse Books, along with her sister, Marnie Abernathy. The sisters, women in
their mid-thirties, had been a valued addition to the courtyard family when they’d moved in not
long after I’d bought the bookstore from my niece, Vanessa Blackstone.
“I may wander to the flower shop to see if Cricket has more information to share.” I had to
admit that I was more than just a little interested in the new tenants. The family that had been
created by the merchants who shared the courtyard was precious to me, and I was anxious to find
out if the prospective neighbors would be a good fit. Ethel had been a valued member of our
group, and we all missed her dearly. Bristol had valued her independence and privacy, however,
and had never really connected with the family.
“You should go check it out,” Eden suggested. “I’m interested in finding out more about the
women as well. I’ll keep an eye on things here.”
I assured Eden that I’d be quick, crossed the room, grabbed my jacket, and then headed
toward the back door leading out onto the courtyard. The open space that was shared by five
businesses was alive with people sharing a meal from the deli or a treat from the bakeshop
during the summer months. But once the first snow fell, the usually busy patio was deserted
more often than not. As I crossed the courtyard from the bookstore to the flower shop, which was
situated beside the new bakeshop, I reflected on the past year, the transformations in the
courtyard, and the impact those changes had on my life. I can’t say that the changes were
necessarily bad, although I did feel as though I’d lost something important along the way.
“Morning, y’all,” I greeted Marnie and the woman she was talking to after entering the
flower shop through the back door.
“Morning, Lou,” Marnie greeted me in return. She turned toward the woman standing next to
her. “Lou Prescott, this here is Desiree Sebastian. Desiree is here to do a walk-through with Judy
Gladstone and Jacqui Quinby, the prospective tenants for the vacant storefront.”

“I’m happy to meet you.” I reached out to shake the woman’s hand. “Do you work for our
landlord?”
“No. I work for the rental agency your landlord hired to handle the new tenant search and
qualification.”
“I’m excited to see who ends up going into the space,” I said.
“Jacqui and Judy have shown real interest in the space, and they’re prequalified. I think they
make excellent candidates. They seem excited about the courtyard access as well as the
proximity to the beach, but I guess you never know what will happen until the deposit check is in
hand. I should know more after I show them the setup.” Desiree turned toward Marnie. “I need to
head to the vacant storefront to make sure that everything is ready. Thank you for your assistance
this morning.”
“I was happy to help,” Marnie responded.
With that, Desiree left.
“So what do you know about the prospective tenants?” I asked Marnie the moment the rental
agent walked out the door.
“Not a lot,” Marnie answered. “Desiree told me that Judy and Jacqui are women in their
sixties who met and became friends back in college. They both recently retired from their jobs
and decided to go into business together. Desiree didn’t really mention any specifics beyond
that.”
“Do you know what sort of business they hope to open?”
“Actually, I’m not really sure. I did ask Desiree about it, but all she said was that the women
had decided to combine their talents to create something that would be perfect for them while at
the same time meeting a need in the community. Beyond that, she seemed intentionally vague
about the exact nature of the business the women are looking to launch.”
Intentionally vague had an arcade or an equally disruptive business written all over it. “Do
you know anything about the women’s former careers?” If the women were going to combine
their talents, then I figured knowing what those talents were might help us to guess at the nature
of their new enterprise.
“I know Judy was a teacher at the local high school before she retired last spring. I don’t
know her personally, and am pretty sure I’ve never even met her, but Desiree indicated that the
woman raised her family here in town. I’m not sure about Jacqui, who I understand currently
lives out of state and is in the process of moving to Maine.”
I guessed it made sense that if the friends wanted to team up and open a new enterprise,
they’d need to live in the same state. “Are they married?”
“Judy is. After college, she met and married a teacher at the local high school. She moved to
Holiday Bay and took a teaching job as well. I really don’t know more than that.”
“Is Judy’s husband likewise retired?”
Marnie nodded. “I don’t have all the details, but it seems that I heard he actually retired from
teaching a few years ago.”
“And Jacqui?”

“I don’t know a thing about Jacqui. Although I think I heard that she has a background in
education as well.”
I laughed. “It seems like you actually know quite a bit about these women.”
Marnie grinned. “I guess I do. It was Cricket who did the snooping and filled me in.”
I looked around the flower shop. “Where is Cricket?”
“She’s picking up our lunch order at the deli.” Marnie looked at her watch. “She’s been gone
quite a while, but it’s early for lunch, so it’s unlikely that Andy and Eli are busy. You know how
Cricket likes to talk.”
Cricket did like to talk, and most of the time she spoke so fast that you could barely follow
what was being said. Andy and Eli Anderson were brothers who owned Surfside Deli and had
struck up a friendship with the sisters.
“I ran into Joel at the Bistro over the weekend. He told me that the Murder on Tuesdays
group planned to discuss the idea of digging into a new cold case. Did they settle on anything?”
Marnie asked.
“The Tuesday night group did discuss the idea of choosing a new case, but we didn’t settle on
anything. Beck and Joel left early this morning and will be out of town for a few days. I’m sure
they’ll talk about the idea while they’re away and have something to present next week.”
“Oh? Where’d they go?”
“To a PI convention in Boston, but they’ll be back on Sunday, and the next group meeting
will be held the following Tuesday.”
Beck Cage was a dear friend with whom I enjoyed spending time. He’d been a detective in
Boston for most of his career, but had since retired and opened a PI firm here in Holiday Bay. He
worked out of a booth in the back of the Bistro at Holiday Bay’s bar. Joel Stafford, another good
friend, was the leader of Murder on Tuesdays, a local group dedicated to revisiting unsolved
cases, which met in the bookstore on Tuesday evenings.
“I know that Joel likes to keep the group small, but you know where to find me if y’all ever
need any help.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised Marnie. “Ultimately, the decision of who should be
involved in any specific case is up to Joel, but we all know how valuable your input has been in
the past.”
While the group had occasionally included nonmembers, the core group consisted of six
individuals: Beck, Joel, Joel’s friend from his teaching days, Savannah Garrison, Velma, Royce,
and me. In addition to the core six, Joel often approved a few others he thought could bring
valuable expertise to the specific case that was being investigated. Marnie and Cricket had both
been included in the mix in the past.
I chatted with Marnie for a few more minutes and then headed back across the courtyard to
the bookstore. It was a chilly day, much too cold for sitting outdoors, but my mind couldn’t help
but drift to the serenity that could be found in the quiet space once the days grew longer as I
passed the now-dormant fountain.

I really cherished the Friday night fireside chats with the members of my extended family
during the spring, summer, and fall. After my husband died, I’d felt so alone in the world, and
then when I found out that my niece wanted to sell the bookstore she owned in Holiday Bay, I
decided to buy it since I was in desperate need of a new start.
“Oh, good, you’re back,” Eden said to me the moment I walked into the bookstore from the
courtyard. “Reese White called for you. I guess she tried your cell phone, but you didn’t answer,
so she called the bookstore’s landline. She wanted you to call her back as soon as possible.”
Reese White was a local attorney who handled trusts, probates, and other financial planning
services. I’d used her to work out the details of my trust after moving to Holiday Bay.
I took my cell phone out of my pocket and noticed the missed call. It was likely that I’d
turned my ringer off before going to bed last night. “I’m not sure what she wants, but I think I’ll
head upstairs to make the call. Is anything else going on?”
“No. Except for a couple who stopped by to spend time in the cat lounge and the call from
Reese, it’s been quiet.”
“Okay. Then I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
I lived in a converted apartment above the bookstore, which made it easy to move between
my home and my business as needed. My apartment was small, but it was a comfortable and
cozy space for my cats and me to hang out, and it featured an unobstructed view of the sea,
which was breathtaking except on the foggiest of days.
“Reese White’s office,” a cheery receptionist greeted me when I called the number Eden had
jotted down for me.
“This is Lou Prescot returning Reese’s call.”
“Of course. Hold just a moment, and I’ll connect you.”
After about thirty seconds of elevator music, Reese came on the line. “Thank you for getting
back to me so quickly, Lou.”
“Is there a problem with my trust?”
“No, the trust is fine. I’m calling to inform you that you have been named a beneficiary in
Giabella Glazier’s will.”
“Gia’s dead?” I’d just seen her on Thursday of the previous week. Thursday was book club,
and Gia had become a regular member over the past couple of years.
“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, I guess I assumed that you’d heard.”
“When? How?”
“Gia’s rideshare driver was concerned when Gia didn’t come out for her usual Monday
morning pick up, so she went to the door and knocked. When Gia didn’t answer and didn’t
respond to a text, the rideshare driver decided to call the police and ask for a wellness check.
Brax showed up to handle the request and found her dead,” she said, referring to Officer Braxton
Baker, the newest member of the Holiday Bay Police Department. “Gia didn’t have family, at
least not any that she ever mentioned or I was told about. When Officer Baker realized that Gia
had passed away, he called the coroner and had the body picked up. It was the coroner who
found the instructions on the refrigerator.”

“Instructions?” I asked.
“Gia felt she had lived a full life. When the time came, she didn’t want to prolong things, so
she left a DNR on the refrigerator in plain sight as well as instructions to call me upon her
demise.”
It was true that Gia was well into her golden years. While I didn’t know her precise age, she
appeared to be in her mid-to-late eighties. Still, even given her age, I was having the hardest time
reconciling things in my mind. Gia was the energetic sort who lived independently and used the
senior van to get around town. On the surface, she seemed to manage just fine.
“Anyway,” Reese continued. “I’m going to need you to come down to my office to sign some
paperwork. I have a busy day today, and then I’m heading out of town for a long weekend, but I
can squeeze you in this afternoon at five o’clock if you can come by then.”
“I can do that,” I agreed.
“Excellent. Even though I know you, you’ll still need to bring two forms of ID. One needs to
have a photo, such as a driver’s license or passport.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“I understand that Velma is off today.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“If you have a way to contact her, I would appreciate it if you’d ask her to call me. She’s
been mentioned in the will as well.”
“I’m sure I can get hold of her. She went to lunch in Bar Harbor, but she isn’t staying over. In
fact, I know she planned to be back by midafternoon.”
“If you see her, perhaps you can ask her if it would work for her to come to my office with
you this afternoon.”
“I’ll ask her.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you at five.” With that, she disconnected the call.
Once the call ended, I sat down in my reading chair. While I really did need to get back
downstairs to help Eden, I also needed a moment to gather my thoughts. Toby jumped up onto
my lap and began to purr. I recognized his attempt to comfort me. I wasn’t sure where Houdini
was. Unlike Toby, who was more of an indoor cat who stayed close to home, Houdini liked to
spend time with all the tenants in the courtyard.
“Gia is gone,” I said to Toby as he rubbed his head against my cheek. “This whole thing just
doesn’t seem real. I just saw her a few days ago. She was so alive and vibrant. How could she
have just drifted away like that?”
Toby rolled into a ball on my lap.
As I looked at my cell phone, I decided to text Velma to bring her up to speed on the
situation.
My cell phone rang just a few seconds later.
“Gia’s dead?” she asked once I’d shared the news.

“According to Reese, she was found dead in her home on Monday.”
“Wow. I can’t believe it. We just saw Gia on Thursday of last week. She seemed fine.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“You said that Reese wanted to meet with us. Do you know why?” Velma asked.
“Reese said Gia left us something in her will. Reese didn’t say what was left to us, but she
did want us to come by her office to sign some papers. We have an appointment at five if that
works for you. She said that we need to bring two forms of ID, one of which needs to have a
photo, such as a driver’s license or passport.”
“That works fine for me. I’ll be there in plenty of time.”
After I hung up with Velma, I returned to the bookstore. Eden was in the cat lounge speaking
to Hazel Hawthorn, a frequent visitor who ran the local cat sanctuary and supplied the cats we
featured for adoption.
“Hazel was just telling me about Gia,” Eden said once I’d joined the women. “I assume that
it was Gia’s death that led to the phone call from Reese.”
I nodded.
“We just saw her last week. I can’t believe she’s gone,” Eden added.
“The whole thing did come as quite a shock,” I agreed. “Not that Gia’s passing should have
been a shock. I’m not sure how old she was exactly, but she had to be well into her eighties.”
“I think she mentioned that she was born in nineteen thirty-nine,” Hazel said.
“She was so energetic and lively,” Eden said. “She didn’t seem that old.”
Hazel and I both agreed with that.
“Did Reese mention a service?” Eden asked.
I shook my head. “Not when I spoke to her. In fact, all Reese said was that Gia had passed
away and that she had mentioned me in her will. She asked that I come by this afternoon to sign
some paperwork.” I looked at Hazel. “Did she mention a service to you?”
“No. When Reese called me, she just said that Gia left a donation for the cat sanctuary in her
will and that she was still working out the total amount of the donation, but would let me know
when she had those numbers.”
“I’ll ask Reese about a service when I see her,” I offered. “I’m sure that there are book club
members who will want to attend if a service has been planned.”
“Does anyone know if Gia had family nearby?” Eden asked.
Hazel and I both agreed that we’d never heard Gia speak of family. In fact, she seemed to be
alone in the world. She attended the book club every week, but I didn’t sense that she’d struck up
personal relationships with any of the book club members. She never spoke about her life outside
of book club, but I didn’t sense that she spent a lot of time socializing with others in the
community. If I had to guess, she was the sort of person who preferred her own company. She
certainly liked to read, which I suppose was why she attended book club, even if interacting with
other people really wasn’t her thing. Beyond participating in a discussion related to the book of

the week, she rarely spoke to anyone. As far as I knew, she hadn’t shared the personal aspects of
her life with anyone.
Hazel bent down and picked up a Siamese cat who’d wandered over. “Not to change the
subject, but the reason I stopped by in the first place is to ask if the young couple who were
looking at this little cutie came back and filled out an application.”
“They came back, but they decided on the black long-haired cat,” I replied.
Hazel puckered her lips. “That’s too bad. I’d really like to place the Siamese.”
“Have you spoken to Alice about her?” I asked. Alice Farthington was a book club member
in her twenties who’d taught kindergarten at the local elementary school. She’d moved away
after losing her husband and becoming a widow at the age of twenty-four, but then decided to
move back to the area two years ago. She still taught at the elementary school and seemed to
have a fulfilling life, but I sensed that her nights at home alone were lonely. She was away a lot,
so she’d need an independent sort of feline who wouldn’t mind being on her own much of the
time, and given my limited exposure to the cat, I’d say the two would get along just fine.
Hazel took a moment to think about my suggestion before answering. “I think Alice might be
the perfect match for the Siamese. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of her before.” She smiled.
“Thank you, Lou. I’ll stop by the school and speak to her about it.”
I really hoped the match worked well for both Alice and the cat. I knew that not every cat
could be matched with every person, and not every potential cat owner would make a good
match for every cat, but in my opinion, Alice and the Siamese really might be perfect for each
other.

Chapter 2

Reese was ready for us when Velma and I arrived at her office later that afternoon. She had a
file with a thick document tucked inside. After greeting us and offering us water or coffee, Reese
began to speak.
“Since Gia had no family to leave her assets to, she elected to divide her estate between the
people and causes who meant the most to her. The apartment she lived in was leased, and has
been paid up until the end of the month. The contents of the apartment have been left to the two
of you.”
Wow. I had to admit that I was shocked by this. Sure, Velma and I knew Gia casually through
book club, but we certainly didn’t know her well. Gia rarely spoke to anyone, including us. If I
were honest with myself, I actually knew very little about her.
Reese continued. “While the entire contents of the apartment are yours to do with as you
please, she did ask that you find a way to use her book collection for the good of the bookstore
and its patrons.”
“So what does all of this mean?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around the whole thing.
“It means that you have until the end of the month to take anything you might want from the
interior of the apartment. Anything that hasn’t been removed by the end of the month will be
hauled away by the owner of the complex where Gia lived.”
I glanced at Velma, who looked as shocked as I felt.
“So we can take anything we find inside the apartment,” I clarified.
Reese nodded. “I’m not sure that there’s much of value. Probably some furniture and
housewares. Gia did specifically mention her book collection, so there may be something of
value there.”
It was January twenty-eighth, so we only had three days, in addition to today, to move
whatever we wanted from the apartment. That seemed like a tall order, but Gia was a single

woman who’d only lived in the area for a few years, so really, how much stuff could she have
accumulated?
“What about Gia’s car?” Velma asked. “She hasn’t driven it for over a year, but I think it still
runs. Are we responsible for liquidating that as well?”
“No,” Reese answered. “The car will be sold, and the cash received from its sale, as well as
Gia’s other cash assets, will be divided equally between Hazel’s cat rescue and Leo and Alex’s
dog rescue. Both Hazel and Leo have been notified.” Leo Atwell was Alex Weston’s boyfriend,
and Alex was the town’s temporary Police Chief.
I realized that the notification was likely how Hazel had obtained the news she’d shared with
Eden even before I’d spoken to Reese. “Is there anything else we need to know before we begin
removing items from the apartment?”
“Not really. Gia left the decision about what to keep and what to trash up to you, but she did
specifically mention her journals, scrapbooks, and photo albums. She hoped that you’d look at
them before you dispose of them if disposing of them is your decision.”
“It was so nice of her to think of us,” I said. “And we will look at everything before deciding
what to do with it.”
“Although three days isn’t a lot of time,” Velma added.
“It is unfortunate the way things worked out,” Reese agreed. “I suppose I can try to negotiate
a few extra days with the landlord, but he isn’t obligated to store Gia’s belongings beyond the
termination of the lease.”
I supposed that the first thing Velma and I needed to do was to head to Gia’s apartment to see
what we were actually looking at. We could ask Reese to speak to the landlord if the job looked
like it would require additional time beyond the three days, although she had mentioned that
she’d be out of town for a long weekend. Velma must have been thinking the same thing since
she asked if Reese would be available by phone, should we need more time, or have any other
questions. She assured us that we could call her on her cell phone at any time.
“Gia spoke of you both quite fondly,” Reese added as both Velma and I began to gather our
things. “During our time together as we worked out her last will and testament, Gia commented
on many occasions how much the whole gang at the bookstore meant to her. You were like a
family to her. A refuge, if you will. A place she could go where she would always feel welcome.
She loved to go to the bookstore and read, but she loved the Thursday evening book club most of
all.”
Gia had spent a lot of time with us there at the end. She’d come by just before lunch, play
with the cats in the cat lounge for a while, and then head to the deli for a meal. After she’d eaten,
she’d select a book to purchase, which, depending on the weather, she’d either read near the
fireplace in the bookstore or out in the courtyard. When she’d begun to tire, she’d head to the
bakeshop for a sweet treat to go, then she’d take her sweet treat and her book and head home.
“Will there be a service?” Velma asked.
“No,” Reese answered. “As I said, Gia didn’t have family, so she simply requested that I
oversee her cremation and burial in the local cemetery.”
“Did she specifically instruct you not to have a service?”

Reese answered Velma’s question. “While she instructed me not to bother with a service, she
didn’t go so far as to forbid one.”
“We should do something,” I said. “Something small. Something intimate that will allow
Gia’s book club family to say their final goodbyes.”
Velma agreed that the two of us should put something together.
Since we had a limited amount of time to clear out Gia’s apartment, Velma and I decided to
head there to see what we would be dealing with. After a bit of discussion, we decided to pick up
a few empty boxes from the bookstore so that we could grab what we could this evening. While
we were there, we’d look around and decide what to do with Gia’s furniture and personal items.
“I know clearing out an entire apartment in three days sounds impossible, but Gia lived
alone. How much stuff could she have accumulated?” I asked as we drove across town toward
the address Reese had given to us.
“Not a lot,” Velma agreed. “In fact, I’d be willing to bet we can collect Gia’s books, journals,
scrapbooks, and photo albums tonight and then move whatever else we need to move in the
morning.”
I agreed that grabbing what we could tonight sounded like a good plan. When we arrived,
however, what we found made us completely reevaluate our strategy.
“Oh my…,” I said after we’d used the key Reese had given us to unlock the front door of
Gia’s apartment, which was really a two-story townhome. I stepped inside the foyer, only to be
met with piles upon piles of books. I took a step further inside, searching for a place to stand out
of the way of the door so Velma could follow. “We’re going to need a lot more boxes, a lot more
time, and maybe some help.”
The living area at the front of the townhome was filled from front to back and top to bottom
with books. The collection of hardcover and paperback books featured both old and new books
in every genre imaginable.
“Gia must have been collecting these for a lifetime,” I added. “There have to be thousands of
books in this room alone.”
Velma frowned as she looked around the room. “Do you think there are other rooms that Gia
used for storing books?”
I shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”
I gingerly took a step forward. Navigating through the labyrinth created by the towering piles
of books would be challenging, but a makeshift pathway seemed to offer just enough space to
move from one part of the living space to another.
The first floor of the townhome featured a living area, kitchen, half bath, and laundry area.
The living area was packed from wall to wall, but the kitchen was free of books except for a
single bookshelf displaying cookbooks. The bathroom and laundry area appeared to be book-
free. So far, so good. Maybe Gia had confined her books to just the one room.
Velma and I then headed upstairs, where we found three bedrooms and a full bath. The
master bedroom contained bookshelves on every wall and in the closet, but was mostly free of

the piles of books stacked on the floor of the living room. The other two bedrooms, however,
were packed even more tightly with books than the living area had been.
“So what are you thinking?” Velma asked me.
“As I said, I think we’re going to need eerea lot more boxes and a whole lot of help. Maybe
we can close the store tomorrow. If we recruit Eden and Joy to help us, I suspect we can move
most of these books out of here in a single day.”
Velma turned around in a full circle. “And put them where?”
I paused to think this over. “If we move stuff around, I suppose we can fit most of these in
the storeroom at the bookstore.” I picked a book up off the top of a pile on the floor of the closet
in the bedroom. I opened the cover. “This is a first edition of The Hobbit. I don’t know offhand
how much it’s worth, but I’m going to guess a lot.”
“Are you sure?” Velma asked. “If the book is worth that much, I can’t imagine that anyone
would just store it on the floor of a closet.”
“I’m not a rare book expert by any means, but based on what I know about first editions, I’d
say that this book is authentic. Once we get everything moved to the bookstore, I suppose we can
sort through the books and try to pick out all the ones that we feel have value and have an
appraiser in to take a look at what we have.”
Velma frowned as she made her way from room to room, picking up random books, opening
them, and then setting them back where they’d been. “Gia lived a simple life. She didn’t strike
me as the sort of person who would own one first edition, let alone more than one book of any
real value.”
I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t disagree, but based on a cursory glance, it does appear that some
of these volumes are worth a small fortune.”
“Why do you think Gia kept all these books?” Velma asked. “I understand that books were
her friends and she liked to read, but to keep so many books that she was barely able to move
around her living space is crazy.”
I looked around the room as I considered Velma’s question. “I can’t say that I know what
motivated Gia to keep so many books, but I do know that hoarding can be a real problem for
some people. My husband had an uncle who collected old cars. Some cars were valuable, but he
didn’t fix them up so he could enjoy them or even sell them. No, he used them for storage. He
had a five-acre lot where he parked his cars, and every one of those cars was filled to the max
with ‘treasures’ he’d picked up along the way. When the man passed away, his daughter was left
with the task of clearing out all those old cars, selling them, and then selling those ‘treasures’
that had been kept within the cars. The man had a lot of junk that wasn’t good for anything other
than the dump, but items that really would be considered to be a treasure were mixed in with the
garbage.”
Velma looked around the room. “It doesn’t appear that anything other than the books has any
real value, but I guess you never know.”
“The trunk at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom is really nice,” Velma said.
She headed back into the bedroom, and I followed.

Velma opened the lid of the trunk. “It looks like the trunk is filled with journals, scrapbooks,
and photo albums.” She reached in and picked up a photo album on top of the other items in the
trunk. “Oh, look. These are old photos of Gia. These must be the photo albums she wanted us to
look through before discarding.”
“When we come back tomorrow, we’ll be sure to thoroughly search the entire townhome for
potentially valuable books.” I walked over and stood next to Velma. “Let’s take the items in this
trunk with us tonight. We can come back and start sorting through everything else tomorrow.”
“I’ll start packing this stuff up,” Velma offered.
I headed back into the space that most would use as a living room and looked around again.
There were so many piles of books that it was hard to make out the quality of the furniture
beneath them, but a single wingback chair had been placed in front of the window that looked
out on the street. Next to the chair was a small table, and on the table was a pair of quality
binoculars. Carefully crossing the room to avoid tripping on the piles of books, I picked up the
binoculars and looked through them. The powerful binoculars had allowed Gia to see quite
clearly into the windows of the three-story apartment building across the street.
“Why, Gia. You little spy,” I said as I focused in on one of the middle apartments of the
second story, where a man wearing a baseball cap appeared to be watching TV. Since the man’s
back was facing toward me, all I could see was the back of his head, which rested against the
back of his chair. If I had to guess, based on the angle of the man’s head, he’d likely fallen
asleep.
The lights were on, but the blinds were closed in the apartments both above and below the
man wearing a baseball cap, watching TV. I could see a shadow moving around in the apartment
below the man, but I didn’t see any movement in the apartment above him.
“What are you doing?” Velma asked as she entered the living area with the first box filled
with items from the trunk.
“It appears that Gia was spying on her neighbors.”
“She could see in through their windows?”
“Clear as day.” I held the binoculars up so that Velma could get a better look. “These
binoculars are of good quality. If the blinds on a window of any of the twelve apartments facing
the street had been open, Gia would have had a front row view to whatever was going on with
her neighbors.”
Velma laughed. “It looks like the man in the apartment on the first floor to the far right is
playing Wii Tennis. I can’t see the TV to know for sure, but he’s standing in the middle of the
room, swinging a plastic tennis racket. Royce has Wii Tennis, and I recognize the racket.”
“I’ve played that before. It’s actually pretty fun and not a bad workout.”
Velma handed the binoculars back to me. “As interesting as spying on your neighbors might
be, we really need to get the rest of this stuff loaded and head back to the bookstore to regroup.”
“I agree,” I said as I set the binoculars back down on the table.

It took us an additional five trips to the car to empty the trunk, which, at this point, we felt
might be the most important. I also grabbed the first edition of The Hobbit I’d found, along with
a couple of other books that looked old enough to be of real value.
Once we’d grabbed what we could, we headed toward the parking area. I glanced across the
street at the three-story apartment building and noticed that several of the apartments that had
been dark when I’d first looked through the binoculars had lights on now. I imagined that it was
late enough that most folks who had been at work would be getting home. I also noticed that
several of the tenants had closed their blinds, including the man who had been wearing a baseball
cap while he watched TV.
By the time we got to the bookstore, the store was closed, but Eden had hung around and was
still there. When we showed her what we had, she seemed to be as drawn into the mystery of the
whole thing as we were.
“How about I go down the street and pick up some Chinese for us. We can share a meal and
look at these photo albums,” Eden suggested.
Velma and I agreed to her plan. While Eden was getting the food, I called Joy and asked if
she would be free to help us the following day. She indicated that she’d be happy to help and
would meet us at the bookstore at whatever time I decided to meet. I promised to text her with a
time once I’d spoken to the others.
“So was your lunch today a total bust?” I asked Velma about her meeting with Royce’s
cousin as we carried the photo albums upstairs to my apartment above the bookstore, which
would be a much more comfortable place for eating, looking at photos, and talking than the
bookstore downstairs.
“It’s not like the men got into an argument or anything, but the conversation was awkward. It
was obvious halfway through that both men were ready for the meal to end.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It might have been nice if Royce could have reconnected with
family.”
“Maybe. But in my experience, the family you create is much more important than the family
you are born into.”
I wasn’t sure that was necessarily always true, but I had to admit that in my case, Velma’s
statement was spot on.
“Speaking of families that are assembled, the rental agent met with two prospective tenants
for the vacant storefront today,” I said to Velma.
“Please tell me it wasn’t the arcade people we heard rumors about.”
“The prospective tenants are women who are our age with a background in education. I’m
not sure what their plan is exactly, but I didn’t sense they were the sort to have plans to open an
arcade,” I replied.
“Did you meet the women? Were they nice?”
“I didn’t have the opportunity to meet them, but I did manage to find out that one of the
women is a local. Judy, I can’t remember her last name offhand. I know she was a teacher who
just retired from the high school this past spring.”

“You must be talking about Judy Gladstone,” Velma said. “She’s the only teacher I can think
of who retired from the high school this past spring.”
“I guess that must be her.”
Velma frowned. “Odd. I don’t know Judy well, but I know her well enough to know that she
and her husband planned to sell their home after she retired and hit the road as full-time RVers.
They had four children, the youngest of whom recently married and moved away from the area,
so the empty nesters planned to make the most of the next few years. If Judy is looking to start a
new business, those plans must have changed. I wonder what happened.”
“If they move in, I guess we can ask them,” I replied to Velma’s comment. “If Judy and
Jacqui are close to our age, I wonder if they might be interested in joining us for a revival of the
Wednesday night group.”
“You might not want to bring that up right away,” Velma cautioned. “Sitting around drinking
wine and talking about hot flashes, bone loss, and the challenges of having a love life after sixty
might not be something women who don’t know us well would be comfortable with.”
I smiled. “I guess you might be right about that. I’ll wait to mention the idea until Judy and
Jacqui have a chance to settle in a bit, assuming that they even sign a lease for the storefront.”
“I wonder if anyone knows how the walk-through went,” Velma said.
“Marnie and Cricket seemed to have the inside scoop. We can ask them about it tomorrow.”
“I’m back,” Eden called out from downstairs.
“We decided to eat upstairs, so come on up,” I called down to her.
Eden came up the stairs with the food. “Let’s eat it while it’s hot.”
“Did you get chicken fried rice?” Velma asked.
“They were out of chicken, so I got the veggie.”
Velma and I agreed that veggie fried rice would be perfect with the other items Eden had
chosen.
It was really nice sharing a meal with Velma and Eden. While I saw both women at least five
days most weeks, we hadn’t really had much of a chance to merely relax with each other since
the fireside gathering before the first snow of the year. It was nice to share my personal space
with two women who meant so much to me.
“Hey, Toby,” Eden greeted my fluffy orange kitty, who had jumped up onto her lap, likely
looking for a bite of her meal. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I decided on spicy broccoli chicken. It’s
not the sort of thing a kitty should have.”
“I’m afraid I fed Toby more tidbits of people food than I should have over the holidays, and
now he’s looking for it,” I confessed. “I’ll give him a few of his cat treats when we’re done. In
the meantime, push him down. He shouldn’t be at the table anyway.”
Eden gave Toby a gentle push and then returned her attention to her meal. “Have you heard
from Beck?” she asked.
“He called me when they arrived in Boston, but we only spoke a moment,” I responded. “It
sounded as if the men had a full schedule this week, so it’s somewhat unlikely he’ll call again.”

“And when are the men due to be home?” Eden asked.
“The conference runs through Saturday, so I imagine they’ll be home at some point on
Sunday,” I answered.
Once we’d finished eating, I put the leftovers away, gave Toby his kitty treats, and then we
retired to the seating area to look through the photo albums we’d found in the trunk. None of us
had met Gia before her involvement in the book club, which began about two years ago. She was
a quiet woman who usually sat in the same chair and rarely spoke, but she came almost every
week.
“There are photos in this photo album of a much younger Gia taken from a variety of
locations all over the world,” I said.
“I wonder why Gia never talked about her life before Holiday Bay when she obviously lived
a rich one,” Eden said.
Ever since we’d started looking through the photo albums, I’d been wondering that myself.
“Here’s a photo of Gia with a man, who looks vaguely familiar, taken in front of the Louvre.”
Velma removed a photo from the photo album she was looking through and held it up. “She
looks to be in her mid-twenties here, so the photo must have been taken about sixty years ago.”
I reached out and took the photo. Gia certainly was a beautiful young woman. Given her dark
hair and olive complexion, I imagined that she might be of Italian descent, although she didn’t
speak with an accent. I’d found a journal in the trunk that looked to have been penned in French,
so maybe she’d been born in France to at least one Italian parent. It was hard to determine at this
point. I just hoped that we’d find out more about the woman who had suddenly become very
interesting to me as we explored the photo albums and scrapbooks.
“And here’s one of Gia standing in front of what looks to be a major archeological dig with a
group of five men,” Eden added. “I’m not a hundred percent sure where or when it was taken,
but the note on the back says Göbekli Tepe.”
“I guess we can ask Savannah about it when we see her. She knows all about history and
archeology and stuff like that,” Velma suggested.
We found additional photos from Italy, Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Peru, and many other
countries. I imagined we all realized by this point that none of us really knew Gia, but one thing
we could all agree on was that the woman was not the small-town senior with a small-town past
that we all assumed her to be. ...