jiffy-"
But Clate said, "Piper found some things missing in her house. She received a threatening call right before the fire. It's possible someone intended the fire not only to terrorize her, but to cover up for an earlier theft."
The place erupted. What precisely was missing? When did Piper last see it in her office? Could one of the fire fighters have destroyed it because it was on fire? Misplaced it? Mistakenly tossed it? Questions and theories abounded, and Piper was shoved onto a chair, a bowl of chowder planted in front of her, orders given from all around for her to eat. And talk. Of course she'd have to be comatose before they'd let her off the hook.
And she had to go through it all over again, several times, when Ernie arrived with his notepad and a long, long list of skeptical questions. He'd at least kicked everyone out of the front parlor while she talked.
When they finished, and he'd put away his notepad and was just Ernie, friend of the Macintosh family, he settled back against a musty wingbacked chair. "I'm going to have to talk to Hannah."
"I expected as much."
"You should have come to me with this sooner."
"Yes, I should have. If I'd had a crystal ball, I would have." There was no sarcasm in her tone; she meant what she said.
"There's not any more I could have done then than I can do now, but at least word'd be out and this character maybe wouldn't have been so bold as to steal these notes and things right out from under your nose, maybe even set your house on fire."
She nodded, glum. He was making a lot of sense. "I guess this is a case of hindsight being twenty-twenty."
"Or it's a case of a niece trying to protect her elderly aunt." His tone was surprisingly gentle, and he leaned over his paunch. "She means well, Piper. I'm not saying she doesn't. But when we sort this thing out, we still might find her at the bottom of it. She'll have her reasons. Some spell, some potion. Who knows?"
Piper sank back in her chair. She'd spent countless evenings in this room, talking with Hannah, knitting, reading, just watching the fire.
Ernie got heavily to his feet. "If she thinks this Clate Jackson character's the love of your life, I wouldn't put much past her to get you two together. You know, she's eighty-seven. She might not care if she scares the living shit out of you and burns your house down, provided it works and you end up with this guy."
"That doesn't explain the treasure."
"Sure it does. All part of her little game to get you to the altar."
Piper sighed. If Clate had been in the room, he'd at least have understood why she'd been reluctant to go to Frye's Cove's chief of police. "Ernie, you don't understand at all. She believed—don't ask me why—that the only way the love of my life and I would ever find each other was if she sold her house. So she sold it. It's got nothing to do with wanting to get me married off. It's got to do with wanting to bring two people together."
"If you believe her."
"True. She could have just used this spell thing as a way to get her off the hook with people in town who're ticked at her for selling to an outsider."
"Yeah, well, from what I hear, she's lucked out on this one. Think she knew Jackson wasn't a troll before she claimed she'd conjured him up?"
Gathering together her last shreds of patience, Piper rose. "I have no idea. Thanks for coming by, Ernie."
"There's not much I can do, you understand."
She nodded. "Can you wait and talk to Hannah tomorrow?"
"Sure." His gaze softened, and he cuffed her on the shoulder. "Buck up, kid. You'll get through this."
"Thanks."
She received similar encouragement from her father and brothers as they and Liddy and Hannah finished cleaning Clate's kitchen. They'd told him to sit down and leave them to it because he didn't know where anything went. He watched silently from the table as Piper said her good-nights to her family.
"You'll be all right here?" her father asked.
She nodded. "Yes, fine."
"I'm leaving the tea for you," Hannah said. "A half cup before bed will make all the difference."
"I'll try to choke some down." She felt her eyes fill with tears as she gave her aunt a quick hug and squeeze. "Ernie's coming by tomorrow. He needs to talk to you."
Hannah gave an irreverent grin. "I'll have my broomstick ready."
Piper laughed. "Oh, Hannah."
"You and I need to talk."
"I know. Tomorrow."
Hannah nodded, looking troubled. Piper kissed her on her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning. Promise."
Liddy offered to bring more clothes if needed, Benjamin said he'd help clean up her house, and their boys made off with a stack of cookies someone had dropped off while Piper was in talking with Ernie. Andrew, however, couldn't shed his concern. Instead of expressing it to his sister, he addressed Clate. "You'll see to her, right?"
Clate nodded. "Absolutely."