The Legend of Tabby Hollow (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 5) by Kathi Daley

Books have a tentative offer of a loan to expand into e-distribution should we decide to go ahead with the idea but we’d learned some interesting facts about both Mayor Bradley and Grover Cloverdale as well.
    “It’s all in your approach,” Siobhan informed me. “You have to own the meeting from the moment you walk into any negotiation. It looks like Finn is talking to Danny.”
    I looked toward the parking lot. Danny was standing next to his car waiting for us and Finn had pulled up next to him in his sheriff’s department vehicle.
    “Do I look okay?” Siobhan asked.
    Suddenly, my self-confident sister looked like a scared little girl.
    I took Siobhan’s hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. “You look beautiful.”
    “I’m so nervous.”
    “It’s just Finn,” I reminded her.
    “What if he hates me now?”
    “He doesn’t hate you.”
    Even if he had every reason to, as far as I could tell he was still totally in love with my big sister.
    “They noticed us,” I informed Siobhan. “Danny is waving us over.”
    “I can’t.” Siobhan stood perfectly still.
    “Just take a step forward,” I coached.
    I began to walk toward the parked vehicles with Siobhan at my side.
    “And smile.”
    Siobhan did.
    I looked at her. “And breathe.”
    Siobhan stopped walking. She looked at me and laughed. “You want me to walk and smile and breathe?”
    I laughed back. “I guess that is a lot.”
    Siobhan let out a long breath. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

Chapter 8
     
     
    Later that evening Cody, Tara, Danny, Finn, Siobhan, and I, met at the cabin to continue the investigation. Once Siobhan and Finn got past that first awkward greeting, I could see that things were going to be fine. They’d always been friends and I could see that a broken engagement wasn’t going to change that.
    I was happy to have Finn and Siobhan talking again, but there was no doubt about it: Siobhan and her murder board had taken over the leadership of the sleuthing gang of which I’d previously been the director. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Siobhan was the type who liked to drive the bus. And she was good at it. She managed to demand everyone’s attention as she systematically added new clues to the whiteboard and deleted others.
    “What did you find out at the lodge?” Siobhan asked Danny.
    “Both men were active members and had been there within a week of their deaths. I was able to confirm that both Bradley and Grover were regulars in the backroom poker game that’s held among members who are invited to take part.”
    “Have you ever played?” I asked.
    “No. I don’t hang out at the lodge all that much. I’m a member by birth and profession, but I rarely attend any of the meetings or events. Most of the guys who spend time there are old enough to be my grandfather. And I’ve never participated in the poker games; too rich for my blood. Most of the men who participate come from old money. To be honest, the old farts who play really don’t welcome newcomers even if they have money. They’re pretty set in their ways.”
    “But you know who does play,” Tara coaxed.
    “Sure. I guess.”
    Siobhan got up and flipped the whiteboard over to the other side. She started a new list, beginning with Mayor Bradley and Grover Cloverdale.
    “Okay, who else participates in the gambling?” She looked directly at Danny.
    “Buzz Walton, for one.”
    Buzz was a crusty old fisherman with salty stories and a crabby disposition, but he’d always seemed like a nice enough sort.
    “And Leif Piney, for another.”
    Leif was a retired fisherman who was around seventy. He was equally as crusty as Buzz but not as well liked. Leif was a rugged man who didn’t have much use for women, children, or anyone under forty and wasn’t afraid to let you know it.
    “Jasper Colton, Frank Dakota, and Brian Quinn.”
    All were retired fishermen in their sixties or seventies, and all had lived on the island their entire lives.
    “Dad was a