The Sayers Swindle (A Book Collector Mystery) by Victoria Abbott Page B

first editions. I hope the cameras didn’t pick up me taking a shot of the house earlier.”
    Kevin grinned. “So should we come back looking very different?” As his mustache was half flopping off, the answer was easy.
    “Yes. Different. But first I’ll have to try the address, the name Adams and show the picture of the house to Karen, to see if any of it strikes a chord. I am betting that they have that security for some good reason. Did you find out anything about them during your gardening chat?”
    “Don’t knock the gardening, Jordan. People melt when they talk about their gardens. You can get anything out of them.”
    “And did you?”
    “There are three people in the family, an older man who is either the husband or the father of a very pretty woman, and an adolescent who is either the son or grandchild of the older man. The woman is definitely the mother, as the kid calls her ‘Mama.’”
    “The older man sounds right, and Karen remembers a woman when she delivered the books. Anything else?”
    “They’ve lived there about three years and they did a lot of interior remodeling when they first moved in. Harry says they’re well-off, driving an Audi, and he thinks they sunk a ton of money into the inside of that house, even though they have pretty well destroyed the landscaping and the foundation plantings. I gotta say I agree with him on that. And he suggests that you warn your client they will probably expect to recoup their investment when they sell.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind. My imaginary client thanks you.”
    “Anything I can do to help, just ask,” Kevin said, stepping on the gas. It would have been a perfect getaway if we hadn’t passed a police cruiser idling by the curb as we shot by. I tensed, waiting for sirens and flashing lights before my brain processed the visual information. We were in the town of Burton. So what possible reason could there be for a Harrison Falls police officer to be—and there is only one way to describe it—lurking around so far from home.
    Sure enough. Kevin pulled over. But only after giving me his well-known “Should we make a break for it?” look.
    “There won’t be any way to trace this Kia, will there?” he said.
    “It’s a valuable asset to Uncle Mick and Uncle Lucky. I’m pretty sure the documents will be in order,” I said. “And for the record, we haven’t done anything wrong.”
    “Impersonating a real estate agent.”
    “Not sure that’s a felony,” I said. We both jumped at the knock on the window. Uncle Kevin turned the color of boiled rice.
    What do you know? The tall, slightly pudgy yet adorable Officer Tyler Dekker smiled his innocent smile as a serious blush raced from his neck to the top of his wavy blond hair.
    “Did you take a wrong turn, Officer?” I said.
    “Just taking a drive for my break,” he said. “You?”
    “Funny thing, I had the same idea. Just drive around. See the sights.”
    He nodded. “Nice way to try out the new hairdo.” That smile of his with the small chip in the left incisor always gets me.
    “What?”
    “Of course, I did like you as a brunette. A lot.” His ears were practically glowing at this point.
    “Thank you. It’s just a wig. I thought I’d try it before making a drastic color switch.”
    “Good thinking. And will you keep it?”
    “The wig?”
    “The red.”
    This wig had cost me some serious dollars and I hated the idea that I’d have to get rid of it because the law was onto me. On the other hand, I hadn’t done anything wrong. But talking to cops is something that no one in my family is comfortable with. Especially Uncle Kevin. I figured he was near death sitting next to me. I didn’t dare look at him, and I certainly didn’t intend to introduce him to Officer Smiley.
    He leaned in. “So, who’s your friend?”
    Even though I knew CPR, I hoped Uncle Kevin didn’t have an undiagnosed heart condition.
    “Friend?”
    He pointed to Uncle Kevin.
    “The one in the