That Thing You Do (Whispering Bay Romance Book 1) (Volume 1) by Maria Geraci Page B

out,I really appreciate it.”
    “I can’t believe Steve is being so stubborn.” Kitty shook her head. “ Men ,” she said in a way that made Allie smile. “But we’re not done yet. I want you to meet some friends of mine that might be able to help.” She led Allie to a table in the back of the restaurant where four seniors were in the middle of a lively discussion. Allie immediately recognized one of thewomen as Buela’s old friend, Viola Pantini.
    There were three types of senior citizens living in Florida. There were the natives, those born and bred Floridians who’d lived here all their lives. The Snow Birds who came from up north for the winter to avoid the cold. And the Retirees, those who decided to live out their golden years in the Sunshine state.
    Viola was a native. Kitty reachedout and placed a hand on the older lady’s arm in a gesture of affection. “Allie, I’d like you to meet the executive board of the Gray Flamingos.”
    “Executive flock ,” corrected a woman wearing a visor with a Tampa Bay Rays logo. Her accent, however, hinted at a previous Boston Red Sox affiliation. Definitely not a native.
    Viola stood and hugged Allie. “Sweetie! I haven’t seen you inages. You look fabulous! How’s the writing going?” She turned to the other members of the table and went through a swift round of introductions. “Allie was Barbara Alvarez’s granddaughter. She’s the one who wrote the Perky the Duck article.”
    The table erupted in murmurs of appreciation.
    “I love that article,” said the woman with the Rays visor, whose name was Betty. “How is Perky,anyway?”
    Allie plastered the well-worn smile she used whenever Perky came up in a conversation. “Thank you, and Perky is still alive and well and living at the Tallahassee Junior Museum.”
    Betty nodded. “Good to hear.” She looked Allie up and down. “So, you’re the chief’s sister, huh?” She let out a predatory growl. “Good looking man, if you ask me.”
    Okay, that was definitelyweird.
    “Uh, yep, Zeke’s my older brother.” Not sure what else to say, Allie turned to an attractive older man who’d been introduced as Gus Pappas. “Any relation to Steve Pappas?”
    “My nephew. But I don’t hold much influence over his business decisions. If Kitty here can’t convince him to let you investigate that old building, then no one can.”
    “Yes, apparently the whole thingis up to his grumpy foreman,” Allie said.
    Gus smiled sympathetically. “We heard you got kicked out of the senior center last night.”
    “ What ? How did you hear that?”
    “Got one of those police scanners,” said the last member of the table, a gentleman with an impressive set of eyebrows who’d been introduced as Roger Van Cleave. “Also heard how your license was suspended.” He tsked.“Same thing happened to my grandniece. Of course, she’s barely eighteen and doesn’t know any better.”
    Allie smiled weakly.
    “Kitty called me this morning and said you had an urgent situation,” Viola said, her blue eyes curious. “So I called an emergency meeting of the flock.”
    Allie reached into her tote and pulled out a copy of the email from Concerned Citizen, then passed itaround the table. “Do any of you know who might have written this?”
    All four seniors began talking at once.
    “A ghost?” Betty said. “ That’s why you broke into the building?”
    “Who’s this Concerned Citizen?” Gus asked.
    “That’s the million dollar question,” Allie said.
    Viola frowned. “You really have no idea who wrote this?”
    “I was kind of hoping one of you wouldknow.”
    “If it had been someone from our group, I’m sure the rest of us would have heard about it,” Viola said. “There’s about fifty of us active Flamingoes, but honestly, I just don’t see any of us writing this anonymously.”
    Roger glanced around the restaurant. “Who else have you shown this to?” he asked in a hushed voice.
    “Just the four of you, and my