Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by J. D. Winters Page A

decorated like the rest of the house anyway. In fact, it isn’t much more than storage space the way he uses it. He does sell so much, mostly on the internet.”
    Lance’s phone rang and he looked at the tiny cell phone window. “It’s my mother,” he told me softly. “I’m going to have to go outside to take this.” And he left.  
    Lucky timing, because I was over the Victorians and definitely into the story behind the rented room. Could this really be where Bobby kept his supplies?  
    “Are you talking about that Australian surfer guy?” I asked her as soon as Lance was out of earshot. “Bobby?”
    She smiled. “Oh, you know him. Yes, he’s been renting from us for about six months now.”
    “Really?” How was I going to get in to see what his operation looked like? “Is he here right now?”
    “Oh no. He’s hardly ever here. He has so many friends and contacts and so much work to do….”
    “Oh.” I thought for a moment. “Is the door locked?”
    Ellie looked startled. “I don’t know.”
    I hesitated. “Do you mind…could I just take a peek? Really, I’m so interested in the architecture of this house and I’d like to see what the window looks out on. Is it the porch, or is there another structure….?”
    I didn’t know what the heck I was talking about so I didn’t want to get too specific. Ellie looked concerned.  
    “Well,” she said. “I don’t suppose it would be too much to just let you look. I mean, I go in there all the time to clean and take in his packages, unless they’re very large. Those go into the garage.” She pulled out some keys. “Here. Just a quick look, now.”
    I did just that, and there was a lot to see. The room was filled to the gills with boxes and display racks. There were t-shirts and teddy bears with banners proclaiming “Victorian Village Days!” and boxes of candies and simple toys—everything you would think a hustler like Bobby would be preparing for the pageant crowds.  
    “Thank you so much,” I said as I pulled back. “I see now.”
    And Ellie closed the door and locked it just in time as Lance came back in.  
    “Everything okay?” I asked him brightly, and he nodded, but I could tell there was some problem that was going to be occupying his mind for awhile.  
    He had some things to talk to Ellie about so I skulked about, wishing I could get into the garage as well. I got close and even looked in through the dusty window, but it looked like a storage area again, with boxes stacked to the ceiling.  
    As I was coming back in, I passed a stack of magazines, obviously ready for the recycle bin, and on top was a flyer that seemed to be aimed at Victorian Village residents. I’d noticed the same flyer at other houses we’d looked at. Curious, I grabbed this one, folded it and put it into a pocket for later perusal. I had a feeling it had something to do with the offer to buy people out. Funny how Lance hadn’t told me anything about that.  
    There had been some talk of going to lunch, but Lance begged off without explaining his reasons very fully. But I forgave him. Maybe his mother wasn’t feeling well. And to tell you the truth, I was relieved. I had other things on my mind, too. As soon as I got back to my car, after waving to Lance, I pulled out the brochure I’d picked up at the Chang household and took a look. Sure enough, it was all about the benefits of handing over control to a development company named “Green Acres”. No specific numbers were listed, but they were sure implied. Want to get rich? Sell out to Green Acres. The first twenty to do so would get an extra bonus in the thousands. Who wouldn’t look twice? But who was behind it? I mulled these things over for awhile.  
    Then I called Bebe.

Chapter Seven

    “Did Silver ever show up?” I asked her.
    “No,” she said. “I haven’t seen him since right after we got back from the meeting last night.”
    “Me too. Oh darn. I hope the little guy is