Free The Legend of Tabby Hollow (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 5) by Kathi Daley Page A

she feels pretty alone.”
    “And I’m sure it’s hard on her not to have her mother’s support,” I agreed.
    The conversation paused when two women came in and ordered pumpkin lattes. It had been Tara’s idea to feature a different specialty each month at a discounted price, and so far the idea had paid off in spades. Most customers wanted a muffin or scone to go with their beverage, so although the coffee was discounted we ended up making a nice profit on each order.
    “By the way, I forgot to tell you that I called Lacy this morning,” Tara said after the women left.
    “And?” I asked.
    “And there was definitely something going on. Lacy said Grover had cut back her hours a while back after telling her that he needed to deal with some financial problems.”
    “So Bradley and Grover both had financial concerns. Do you think they were gambling?”
    Tara frowned. “I guess they could have been. They were both found with a poker chip and they were both suffering from a financial shortfall. You should definitely mention that to Finn.”
    “I will. Did Lacy say anything else?”
    “She said that, like Bradley, Grover and his wife were having marital issues. Lacy thought it was due to the strain the money problems had put on the marriage, but she couldn’t be sure. She did say that Grover had been sleeping in the guest room for months.”
    I’d been certain the men were killed as a result of their position on the Island Council, but now I wasn’t so sure. It seemed just a bit too coincidental that both men were having financial and marital issues.
    “The only other thing she mentioned was that she’d overheard Grover arguing with one of the men who hang out at the lodge. She seemed to think the answer to the question of who killed the men most likely would be found among the fishermen who frequented the place.”
    I frowned. “Really? That seemed like a long shot to me.”
    “I’m just sharing what she said. I have to agree with you, though. I don’t see any of the guys from the lodge as being the sort to kill two men in cold blood.”
    “I don’t know,” I countered. “A couple of those guys are downright scary.”
    Our conversation was interrupted when the noon ferry arrived. Although our business tended to be slower now that summer was over, Fridays were as busy as ever because tourists from the mainland still came in droves for the weekend. I was supposed to pick Siobhan up at three so we could go to the bank, so our chat would have to be put on hold until later that evening.
     
    “Is that what you’re going to wear?” Siobhan asked me when I went by Maggie’s to pick her up for our afternoon of sleuthing.
    I looked down at my jeans and pink Coffee Cat Books T-shirt. “What’s wrong with it?”
    Granted, Siobhan looked elegant and sophisticated in her dark brown slacks, matching heels, and burnt orange sweater. Her blond hair hung perfectly straight to her waist and her makeup had been applied expertly, giving her a polished look, while I looked somewhat less pulled together. Still, we were going to be sleuthing at the local bank, not attending a fancy seminar in the city.
    “If you’re going to ask a man you’ve never met to invest in your idea you’re going to need to look the part,” Siobhan argued.
    “What man and what investment? We’re going to the bank to dig up some dirt on Mayor Bradley and Grover Cloverdale, not take out a loan.”
    Siobhan took me by the hand and led me up to the bedroom she’d been using. “You can’t just waltz into the bank and ask for information on them straight out. You need a reason to be there, thus the loan.”
    Once we arrived in her room she opened the closet and began sorting through the contents.
    “But I don’t need a loan,” I argued.
    “The loan isn’t for you personally; it’s for the bookstore.”
    “But we already have a loan.”
    Siobhan tossed me a pair of camel-colored slacks and told me to put them on. While I changed she