A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) Read Online Free PDF

Viv ran her tongue over her ice cream. “He’s doing great. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to handle it.” Six weeks ago, John, a successful island Realtor, had found a murdered young man in the bathroom of a house he was showing and since that day, he’d been having difficulty going into empty houses with clients.
    When John and Jeff stopped at a small hardware shop to pick up a doorknob that Jeff needed the next day for a customer he was doing some home repairs for, the girls waited outside on the sidewalk. Lin and Viv were making plans about what to bring for lunch when they all went to the beach on Saturday afternoon. As Lin glanced around for a trash receptacle to throw out her ice cream smeared napkin, she stopped short staring down the lane that led to the docks.
    Noticing Lin’s abrupt halt, Viv stepped over to her cousin. “What’s wrong?”
    Lin gave a nod of her head in the direction of the cross street. “Look down there, by the first streetlamp.”
    Viv looked, but couldn’t see what Lin was indicating because a small group of people had walked in front of the objects of interest. Viv was about to ask what Lin meant for her to see, when the group moved away revealing Nathan Long engaged in a serious conversation with someone. The tall man leaned forward almost in a menacing posture and his hand poked the air several times to emphasize whatever he was saying.
    The girls squinted trying to make out who Long was speaking with. A wave of surprise washed over Lin when she realized who it was.
    Lines of concern creased Viv’s forehead as Lin turned to her and spat out the words. “Martha Hillman.”

5
    L in and Viv walked towards the cultural museum for the 10am opening of the exhibit. Viv asked a couple of her employees to stay a little longer at her bookstore-café to cover her absence while she went with her cousin to look at the baskets. Although Viv was eager to see the display, the real reason for the visit was to talk to some of the employees about the night of the theft.
    “Hopefully, some of the employees who were here the other night are working this morning.” Lin climbed the steps with Viv at her side.
    “I can’t wait to see the exhibition.” Viv had a huge smile on her face.
    Lin gave Viv a poke with her elbow. “Remember, you’re really here to sleuth.”
    “Don’t worry, I can do both.”
    The girls stepped into the lobby and paid for their tickets, then entered the first room which held the historical information about the evolution of the baskets. Viv hurried to look at a large timeline hanging on the far wall while Lin moved slowly about the room pretending to view the items. Turning around to head to the next display, Lin bumped shoulders with someone and recognized the young woman as someone who was in the first room the night of the robbery. “Sorry.” Lin apologized for knocking into the girl.
    The short, slim young woman looked to be in her early twenties. She had long, straight black hair, high cheek bones, and dark eyes. She smiled at Lin and stepped to the corner of the room where she stood watching the visitors. The girl had a name tag that said “Mary Frye” on it and Lin thought she must be working as a guide or exhibit educator. She decided to ask a few questions to get the young woman talking with her. The girl politely walked Lin over to the timeline to answer her question about the Lightship baskets. She explained how the crewman on the lightships took the basics of basket weaving that had been learned from the Wampanoags and then made some changes to the design and construction to suit their own needs. Mary Frye was well-spoken and easy to talk to and Lin was impressed with the girl’s extensive historical knowledge of Nantucket and the baskets.
    “Do you weave?” Lin asked.
    The girl nodded her head and her glossy black hair gleamed under the bright overhead lights. “I learned from my mother. We have some Wampanoag blood in our family.