asked, âWhen was the last time you saw Willie?â
âNot long after the row,â Daisy answered. âJust happened to be adjusting my lace curtains at the exact moment he was leaving.â
Michael said, âThank you,â even as he and Molly urged Dylan down the stairs.
âYou canât comb your hair in Blackpool without someone noticing,â Molly said.
Michael nodded. âEven so, Fotherby got here very quickly.â
âHeâs just doing his duty. Isnât he?â
âDoes his duty involve dancing attendance on Willie Myners?â Dylan asked.
Michael had barely said, âNo,â when Molly pointed toward a garish poster at the bottom of the stairs.
âOther Syde Tours of haunted Blackpool,â she read. âFortunes told and seances conducted by Mademoiselle Fate.â
âMademoiselle Fate?â Michael repeated. âWhere do they get these names?â
âMargaret Coffey gives the McKennas a break on therent for that room over the grocery store,â Molly went on, âand in return Holly reads her fortune.â
âHow do you know that?â
âShe was talking about it with Betsy Sewell when I ran into the grocery store to buy a bottle of balsamic vinegar and some buffalo mozzarella. Items Margaret didnât have, by the way, and seemed to think were some sort of big-city affectation. Betsy made some comment about crossing Hollyâs palm with gold, but then, Betsyâs into occult history, New Age items, that stuff.â
Michael knew. Betsy Sewellâs Curio Shop was a cuckooâs nest, if ever there was one. But Molly found her amusing.
âCrossing Hollyâs palm with silver and paper,â said Dylan, ânever mind that the film version of gypsies are always saying gold.â
âThe McKennas donât half go on about gypsies,â Michael added. âGypsy cursesâ¦thatâs part of their spiel.â
âHolly dresses the part,â said Molly. âShe was wearing a necklace of fake coins earlier today. I wonder if they knew about Willieâs coins? Was he arguing with Liam this afternoon? Liamâs got a loud voice, but I canât imagine why heâd tell Willie he had no choice.â
Dylan tried to peer in the McKennasâ front window, but the curtains were shut tight. âTo hell with Willieâs coins. Itâs Naomi who matters. Iâll start asking about. Someone has to have seen her this afternoon. Or Willie. If I ever get my hands on him againâ¦â His words trailed away.
âIf she doesnât turn up soon,â Michael cautioned, âyouâll be obliged to file a formal missing persons report with Paddington.â
âLet us know what else we can do to help,â added Molly.
âYeah, thanks.â Dylan was already making trackstoward Dockside Avenue. As he hurried past the narrow aperture of Bell Street, a slender shape stirred in the shadows, then slipped away. But not before Michael caught a quick reflection from a pair of glasses, and an even quicker sparkle of police insignia. Luann Krebs.
He looked at Molly. Molly looked at him. With a mutual shrug, they closed ranks, linked their arms around one another, and turned for home.
Â
A S SOON AS THEY STEPPED back into the house, Molly said, âItâs been a long day. Iâm going to treat myself to a bubble bath.â
âIâm going to my office,â Michael replied. âDo a bit of research on those coins.â
âIris would be proud.â Molly blew him a kiss and went on her way to the spacious master bath, one of the first renovations sheâd insisted on Michael and Irwin making after moving to the decaying Victorian pile that was Thorne-Shower Mansion.
Michaelâs long legs took the steps to the third floor two at a time. In his office, he switched on the largest of his computers, and while it booted up, he gazed around the room at his