Probable Paws (Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) by Leighann Dobbs Page A

clanked against whatever else was in there. She turned, pressing her index finger to her lips, her eyes lighting up as she spied something on the other side of the room. I ducked back behind the curtain as she made a beeline in that direction.
    “What are you doing?” A male voice sounded from the direction of the doorway.
    “Nothing.” Lisa, defiant. “Not that it’s any of your business anyway, Brian.”
    “It looks like you’re stealing stuff,” Brian said.
    “I’m not stealing. I’m collecting things to sell. We have too much stuff, the house is loaded, and we need to pare down a bit, don’t you think?”
    “No. I don’t. This stuff isn’t yours to sell off at some auction.”
    “I’m not taking it to some auction . Felicity Bates has expressed an interest in buying some of our family things. She’s especially interested in these books here. She’s a collector.”
    “I don’t care what she is. I don’t think you should be selling anything. This is for the family to decide on.”
    Lisa snorted. “Well, since you aren’t family, I guess you can butt out.”
    Lisa and Brian continued arguing, but I had stopped listening as soon as I’d heard the name Felicity Bates. The mere mention of the woman made me shudder. She was bad news, as I’d found out quite painfully when I’d first moved to Mystic Notch. Rumor had it she was some kind of a witch, and witches used spell books. She was no book collector. She was after Betty’s Recipes .
    Marion’s harsh voice interrupted my thoughts. “What are you people doing in here?”
    I shrank back farther into the nook.
    “Lisa was stealing things and putting them in this bag,” Brian said.
    “Stealing? You put those back.” I heard scraping and clanking sounds, which I assumed was Lisa putting the things back, and then Marion said, “Now get out of here, both of you. There’ll be no more stealing or appropriating of goods. These are all Hamilton family heirlooms, and neither one of you is welcome to them.”
    I could hear the sounds of Marion herding Lisa and Brian out of the room. I wanted to go back over to the painting and look for the book. I was sure it must still be here somewhere. Otherwise Felicity Bates wouldn’t be trying to get Lisa to sell the books to her. But I didn’t dare stay in the room any longer. I’d already been gone for quite some time, and I was afraid that even with the droning charm Josie might notice how long I’d been missing. I couldn’t run the risk of the Hamiltons becoming more suspicious of me. I might need them to answer questions later on.
    As I slipped out of the library, a dark figure at the end of the hall caught my eye. Evie. She narrowed her eyes in an accusatory glare.
    I waved cheerfully. “I was just looking for the bathroom. Wrong turn.”
    I scurried back to the drawing room to collect Pepper and get the heck out of there.

15
    “ D id you find what you were looking for?” Pepper asked as we pulled out of the Hamilton driveway.
    “No, but I discovered something disturbing.”
    “What?”
    “Felicity Bates approached Lisa Hamilton, wanting to buy things from the house—including books.”
    “Oh boy, this can’t be good.”
    “Tell me about it. Felicity is bad news.”
    “No, not that.” Pepper nodded her chin toward the side-view mirror. “That.”
    Striker’s car was coming up the road very quickly behind me.
    Was he pulling me over? He didn’t have his lights on, but by the way he was advancing on me, it sure seemed that way. I pulled to the side of the road, and to my dismay he stopped behind me. I hesitated, watching him open his door.
    Pepper shoved my arm. “Well, get out there and see what he wants.”
    I got out, walking the length of the Jeep to meet him in the middle. My heart did a little two-step at the way his tall, broad-shouldered frame filled out his uniform. I’d seen him in it many times before, but for some reason he still had this effect on me. Guess I’m a sucker for