Free A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) by J A Whiting Page A

the table. “We met your daughter. Mary.”
    “Did you? At the museum?” Lacey bent over her work. “Or at the breakfast shop?”
    “At the museum,” Lin replied. “We didn’t know she worked at a breakfast place.”
    “Mary works at the shop over on Newcomb Street. She’s as busy as a bee, that girl. It’s nice to have her on-island in the summers. She works with me some evenings and we weave together.”
    “We took a class with her last night out at her friend’s place.” Viv leaned forward to watch Lacey as she fiddled with a piece of the wood.
    “Mary’s a good teacher.” Lacey nodded.
    Lin decided that now would be a good time to bring up the stolen basket. “I was at the cultural museum the night they discovered that the antique basket was missing.”
    “Were you?” Lacey slowly raised her face to make eye contact with Lin. “Did you notice anything amiss when you were there?”
    “Not really. We’d only just arrived when one of the workers rushed over to the man I was with to tell him the basket was missing.”
    “Who were you with?”
    “Anton Wilson, a local historian.”
    “I know who he is.” Lacey gave a nod. Her expression seemed to imply a favorable impression of Anton. The woman’s brown eyes narrowed. “Who reported the issue to Anton?”
    “Martha Hillman.”
    A scowl pulled Lacey’s facial muscles down.
    “Do you know her?” Lin hoped to get Lacey to say something about Martha.
    “I know her,” Lacey said, her voice was tight. “She shouldn’t have that job.”
    “No?” Lin cocked her head.
    Lacey ignored Lin’s question. “What room were you in when they noticed the missing object?”
    “The first exhibition room. Your daughter was in that room as well.”
    “What did Martha say to Anton?”
    Lin thought that Lacey would make a great detective. “She whispered, so I couldn’t hear what she said, but Anton blurted out a question. Well, it was more like an exclamation about the basket being missing. We hurried into the next room and the pedestal was empty. I suggested that Martha call the police right away.”
    Lacey seemed to be pondering the information.
    Lin said, “Your daughter told me that the employees use the rear entrance during working hours to enter the museum. It’s a staff entrance, I guess. It seems it might be easy enough for someone to come in that way and make off with the basket. I’m sure the police must think the same thing.”
    “Yes.” Lacey’s brow furrowed. “That door should have been locked when such a valuable piece as the basket was present in the museum. They’ll never be able to acquire something like that again. It won’t happen if the sending institution feels security in the museum is lax.”
    Viv had been listening to the conversation, but now asked a question. She looked at Lacey. “Why do you think it was stolen? To sell it and get the money?”
    Lacey put her materials down and wiped her hand on a small towel. “I’m sure the police think the basket was stolen for the money which has them running down the wrong path and barking up an imaginary tree.”
    The door to the shop opened and three women entered and began admiring the baskets on the store shelves.
    “You don’t think it was taken to sell it off?” Lin kept her voice soft.
    The older woman’s face clouded. “I do not.” When one of the customers asked her a question, Lacey rose from her seat and crossed the space to where the customers stood looking over a large woven tray. “Nice talking with you girls.”
    As Lin and Viv left the shop, a cold breeze blew over Lin’s skin and she shuddered. “Wow, the ocean breeze must have changed direction. It’s really cold.”
    “You’re cold?” Viv was surprised that her cousin felt cold in the heat of the day. She stopped short and turned to Lin. “ I’m not cold. It isn’t cold out.”
    “Oh.” Lin took in a breath and then shifted her gaze across the cobblestone street.
    On the opposite sidewalk,