The Ghost and the Mystery Writer by Anna J. McIntyre

forgot,” Danielle suggested.
    â€œI don’t think Adam would forget buying a three-hundred-dollar bottle of wine.”
    â€œAdam spent three hundred bucks on that wine?” Danielle asked incredulously.
    â€œI’m not sure exactly what he spent, but that was the price I found online.”
    â€œWow, I guess Adam really does want to keep Chris as a client. I suppose I should have told Adam Chris is perfectly happy with Two-Buck Chuck.”
    â€œI think it may be about three bucks now.”
    Danielle grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “Yeah, but still. For that much money, he could have gotten Chris eight cases of wine as a thank you gift. That would have gotten Chris’s attention.”
    MacDonald opened the door for Danielle. “For a rich girl, you sure are cheap.”
    â€œThe term is frugal. If I was cheap, I’d have a much more interesting social life.”

    â€œ D id you really spend three hundred bucks on that wine?” Danielle asked Adam as they sat in the backseat of the squad car on their way to the Gusarov Estate. Brian drove the car while Joe sat in the passenger seat.
    Before he could answer, Joe asked, “Do you need to stop at Marlow House and pick up the keys?”
    â€œNo. I have them in my purse.” She turned her attention back to Adam, waiting for his answer.
    â€œHey, it was a good commission. I couldn’t be cheap,” he said with a shrug.
    â€œKnowing Chris, he would have been thrilled with a couple cases of beer,” Danielle told him.
    â€œThe man is a billionaire,” Adam countered.
    â€œAnd billionaires don’t like beer?”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter now. If my fingerprint really was on that bottle they have, that means someone has broken into the Gusarov Estate and took the wine.”
    â€œUnder normal circumstances, I’d want you to be wrong,” Danielle confessed.
    â€œThat’s the only explanation.” Adam stared out the side window. “Someone broke into the Gusarov Estate.”
    â€œYou know, we’re going to have to stop calling it the Gusarov Estate. It isn’t anymore.” Danielle reminded him. A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the property.

    W hen Danielle started to slip the house key into the lock, Adam looked at Brian and asked, “Shouldn’t one of you be doing this? If someone broke into the house, they could still be in there.”
    Danielle paused and looked over at Brian and Joe.
    â€œI seriously doubt that,” Brian said. “If they stole the wine, they obviously took it down to the beach to drink. It was probably teenagers. I doubt they returned.”
    â€œGreat,” Adam grumbled. “When I was a teenager, I drank Boone’s Farm wine. I just hope whoever stole it enjoyed it!”
    â€œIf it was stolen,” Joe said, taking the key from Danielle and opening the door. He walked in the house first and looked around. With the sunlight streaming in through the high windows, it wasn’t necessary to turn on the overhead lights.
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?” Adam snapped. He and Danielle followed Joe and Brian into the house. “You seriously think I killed Jolene?”
    â€œWhere did you put the wine?” Brian asked.
    Danielle motioned to the living room. “He set it on the mantel.”
    The four walked into the living room. Adam’s eyes fixed on the fireplace mantel first. He pointed across the room to where he had placed the bottle of wine. “See, it’s gone!” They looked to the fireplace. The only thing sitting on the mantel was an envelope containing the thank you card Adam had left with the wine.
    If Brian hadn’t noticed motion out of the corner of his eye, the man sneaking out of the house might have gone unnoticed. Without pause, Brian turned back toward the front door and let out a shout. He took off in pursuit. Joe didn’t wait for an