Gina Cresse - Devonie Lace 05 - A Deadly Change of Luck by Gina Cresse

you made a funny little face whenever a waitress walked by with a greasy old plate of sausage or bacon.”
    “Really?   I make a face?” I said.
    “Oh, don’t worry.  It’s very subtle.  Probably nobody else would ever even notice.  But, like I say, I’m a people person.  Sort of like a sixth sense with me.”   
    I took a bite of my sandwich and washed it down with a swig of lemonade.  “You’ll never in a million years guess what Craig and I found here last night.”
    Fiona studied my face and grinned.  “Oh, I love a mystery.  What’d you find?”
    I leaned over the table closer to Fiona so I could speak softly.  “A lottery ticket worth fifty-eight million dollars.”
    Fiona nearly choked on her sandwich.  She coughed and hacked as I jumped to my feet to slap her on the back.  “Are you okay?” I asked, patting her firmly between her shoulder blades.
    She took small sips of her soda until she was finally able to speak.  “You have got to be kidding me,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
    “No.  Really.   Someone taped it to the top of a ceiling fan.  We took it home and checked the numbers.  It’s a winner,” I assured her.
    “Well, what the heck are you doing here with a broom and rubber gloves?  I’d be out sp ending some of that dough .”
    I frowned.  “We had a slight problem.”
    Fiona’s smile faded.  “Problem?   God, no.   Tell me you didn’t accidentally flush it down the toilet.  Or your dog ate it?”
    I shook my head.  “It was stolen.”
    “Stolen?  How?  When?”
    “Early this morning.   Bob from next door called to tell us someone was in the house.  We locked the ticket in our desk and hid the key, then came over here.  When we got home, the ticket was gone,” I explained.
    “Oh—my —God,” she gasped.  “I thought this sort of thing only happens in the movies.”
    “Apparently, it happens in real life, too,” I said.
    “Who else did you tell about the ticket?  Someone had to know about it.”
    I shook my head.  “No one.   We found it and came right home.  We checked the numbers on the Internet.  We didn’t call anyone.”
    “So how did they know?” she asked.
    “I think they followed us from here and watched me hide the ticket through our windows.  That’s the only logical explanation.”
    “But how did they know you had it in the first place?”
    “That’s a good question.  My g uess is they did the same thing —watched us through the windows here.  Whoever has been breaking in here must be looking for the ticket.  They’d probably been watching me the whole time.”
    “You did call the police, didn’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    “And?”
    “They weren’t too encouraging.  They didn’t find any fingerprints other than ours.”
    “So if someone shows up to claim the ticket ?“
    “It’s our word against theirs.  As they explained to us, possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
    “Well, doesn’t that just frost your apple cart!   There’s got to be something you can do.”
    “I don’t know what.”  I paused and watched a hummingbird dart from flower to flower on a trumpet vine that had crept over the fence from a neighboring yard.  “Was there anyone who seemed very interested in the house when it first came on the market?”
    “Well, sure.  Like I say, I thought I had it sold a couple times, but they all backed out.”
    “What abou t other people who looked at it?   Any of them want to see it more than once?” I asked.
    Fiona searched her memory.  “Let’s see.  I can’t think of anyone.  Like I said, most people were scared off by all the work it needed.  I don’t think anyone came back more than once.”
    I finished my sandwich and drank my last swallow of lemonade.  “Well, it doesn’t really matter anyhow.  Craig and I talked about it.  We were happy before we found the ticket, and we’re still just as happy now.”
    “But to have come so close, and have it taken away