4 Cupids Curse by Kathi Daley

thought Blythe was someone named Adriana?” Pappy asked.
    “Yeah . How did you know?”
    “ Your dad mentioned it. He was telling me about your lunch, and it came up.”
    “Can you believe Dad’s actually thinking of moving in with th at woman?”
    “I wouldn’t worry too much. I get the impression he’s just toying with the idea, that he’s far from being committed to a course of action.”
    “I hope you’re right. It’s much too soon . Besides, I’m pretty much convinced Dad’s new girlfriend is evil.”
    “Evil?” Pappy laughed. “Why would you say that?”
    “For one thing, I’m certain she recognized the guy in the café, in spite of the fact that she flat-out lied about it.”
    “I don’t know,” Pappy countered. “T hese things happen. There are a surprisingly large number of people walking around who look like people we know.”
    “I suppose.” I had to admit I’d had similar experiences , when I’d thought I recognized someone I knew but it had turned out the two individuals simply had similar features.
    “Wha t happened after the man called Blythe Adriana?” Pappy asked.
    “ Dad made a comment about the guy interrupting our meal, and he apologized and left.”
    “And Blythe?”
    “She said she was ready to go. She didn’t want to be late for the movie they planned to see, even though it didn’t start for another two hours. She got up, and Dad followed her out of the door.”
    “The encounter doesn’t really sound all that suspicious to me.”
    “What about the button I found? What if the guy from the diner is mixed up in Trent’s death? Oh God.” I paled. “What if Blythe is somehow mixed up in Trent’s death? I have to call Dad.”
    “Why would Blythe kill Trent ?” Pappy asked.
    “ I don’t know, but what if the guy in the restaurant wasn’t mistaken? The witch only recently moved to Ashton Falls. What if her real name is Adriana and she changed her name when she moved? What if she’s really a serial killer or a foreign spy?”
    “Foreign spy?” Pappy raised an eyebrow.
    “Okay, she’s probably not a spy, but the fact that this random guy spoke to her in the restaurant and then I found a button from his shirt at the scene of a murder can’t be a coincidence. I need to warn Dad that he might be shacking up with a killer or, at the very least, a killer assistant.”
    “You’ll do nothing of the kind,” Pappy warned me. “If you start throwing around unsubstantiated allegations , you’re only going to make your dad mad. He’s already pretty exasperated about the fact that you don’t like the woman he seems to have fallen for.”
    “But what if she ax murders him in his sleep?”
    “You’ve been watching too many movies.”
    “Re ally? My contractor is shot at a facility I run and partially own and the man I saw approach Blythe just happened to lose a button at that very site on the very day I ran into him?”
    “Okay, how about this,” Pappy suggested. “I’ll stop by your dad’s house after book club. I’ll tell him about the button, then let him draw his own conclusions.”
    I really would have preferred to talk to my dad myself , but Pappy’s plan wasn’t a bad one. My dad would just think I was being Jealous Zoe if I brought it up, but if Pappy approached him with the information, he might be more apt to take it into consideration.
    “Okay,” I finally conceded . “But be sure to mention that I found a brass button. The shirt the guy wore was so far out of style, I’m certain Dad must have noticed.”
     
    After book club, I called Zak, who informed me that he was still working and would see me in the morning. I told him about the encounter in the restaurant, and he promised to do some snooping if he had the chance. I then called Ellie, who was out with Rob and some of the other single parents. So I tried Levi, who agreed to meet me at Mulligan’s for a drink.
    “I’m glad you called ,” Levi said as I slipped into the booth next to