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you’re a librarian,” Stuart said, “I’d love to have you join us for a meeting tomorrow to discuss where the bookstore is heading. I suspect you’ll be able to contribute some interesting insight into the importance of The Destiny of Superstitions having a primary location from which it’s known to be available, not just from book distributors.” The smile he leveled on her suggested they’d been talking a lot together and getting to know each other a bit more since I’d left them at the B&B. Interesting. Were they forming some kind of alliance—some kind of relationship?
    I knew Gemma was interested in meeting more men now, but this seemed too much, too fast. Maybe I didn’t know her as well as I thought I did.
    Lou, who’d also been flirting with Gemma, seemed to notice it too. He edged closer to her. “I agree. And maybe with your knowledge you could hang around here for a while, help the new owners learn more about books, including their bestseller.”
    Did Gemma actually have men fighting over her affections already? She was certainly a pretty lady and, from my perspective, very intelligent and very nice too.
    And if—
    Uh-oh. What I’d anticipated was about to come to pass.
    Frank Shorester had found Gemma and was moving his way through the now-dwindling crowd toward us.
    Surely, with all these people around he wouldn’t create a scene.
    But if he tried to assert his possessiveness over Gemma around these two other men who apparently liked her, too, what was about to happen?
    I decided it was time for me to edge my way toward Justin, who was still near the door. So was Detective Alice Numa.
    â€œHi,” I said softly, looking at Justin.
    He was a tall man, muscular enough that it showed despite his usual informal uniform of blue button-down shirt over black trousers. And handsome? Yes. He had angular features and, at this hour, a five o’clock shadow that emphasized those features. His hair was dark and his eyes a penetrating blue. Like many people in Destiny, he, too, wore an amulet—his was a small bronze acorn.
    â€œI’m really glad you could make it and that you heard my talk tonight,” I told him. “But right now I’m a little concerned about the people I was just speaking with and the guy who’s about to join them.”
    Justin shook his head slowly as he smiled at me. “You do seem to have a predilection for getting into difficult situations. We need to figure out if there’s some kind of superstition involved with a person who seems to invite trouble just by being around.” He glanced at Alice. “You can leave if you’d like, or join me in seeing whether there’s a fracas in the making here.”
    â€œI’m in,” she said. She was a bit older than I, her skin a deep tan shade, her personality apparently dedicated to the seriousness of her cop job. She glanced at me with the humorless grin I’d gotten to know. “Let’s go.”

four
    To my surprise, when we reached the potentially contentious group all was calm.
    Apparently that was because Director Lou had issued an invitation. “We’re having a post-presentation party. A great one.” He turned to the wall beside him and once again knocked on wood. “We’re all heading to the Clinking Glass Saloon for a little nightcap. Care to join us?”
    I glanced toward Gemma. Sure enough, Frank was beside her.
    â€œMaybe it’s not—” I began, catching her eye.
    â€œIt’s a wonderful idea,” she said firmly. She looked up toward Frank. “There’s still a lot I don’t know about Destiny, and having drinks with people with insight might help to remedy that—for me, and for my good friend Frank who’s also come to check the place out.”
    His face seemed to whiten as he merely nodded at the implied invitation—possibly because he’d been described as