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“No, thank you, dear,” she said. “It’s not that cold. We’re going to walk.”

I turned to Mac, who was pulling on his parka. “What about you? Could I drop you somewhere?”

He smiled. “Thanks, but I think I’ll walk. Rose is right. It’s really not that cold.” He fished his gloves out of his pocket. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

I nodded.

Rose and Mr. P. were ready to go, so the three of them set off down the sidewalk together. I locked the door behind them and walked around shutting off the lights. I found Elvis upstairs, sitting on my desk chair. “That’s not your chair,” I said.

He blinked at me and then lay down on the seat.

“Still not yours,” I said, reaching for my coat.

He looked down at the fabric seat and then up at me as if to say, I’m sitting here and you’re not.

In the back of my mind all day I’d been trying to figure out what to do about Vince. I understood his impulse to protect Asia. But it wouldn’t do her any good if he went to jail for something he didn’t do. And if she’d had anything to do with Lily’s death, it needed to be dealt with, not hidden, as painful as that would be.

“I’m going down to Sam’s,” I said.

Chapter 17

I hadn’t been certain of what I was going to do until I said the words out loud. Elvis jumped down from my chair and went and stood by the office door. “You can come,” I said. I looked around even though the cat and I were the only ones left in the building. I felt odd about what I was about to admit. “I need you to help me figure out if it was really Vince’s daughter who was harassing Lily.”

“Merow,” the cat said. I decided to take that as agreement.

“You have to go in my gym bag,” I said. “I can’t walk into The Black Bear carrying a cat.”

Elvis put a paw over his nose and ducked his head.

“It does not smell,” I said. He did this every time I wanted him to get in the bag. “You spend more time in that bag than my running clothes do. If anything, the bag smells like cat.”

He looked at the bag. He looked at me. What he didn’t do was move.

I crossed my arms. Elvis started washing the fur on his chest.

“Okay, don’t come, then,” I said with an elaborate shrug.

I pulled on my hat and picked up my gloves. Elvis made a squinty face at me. Did he think I was bluffing? I was asking that question about a cat, I realized. Luckily for me, Elvis caved at just that moment. He got up, went over to the empty gym bag sitting on the floor and pawed at the zipper. I bent down, opened the top, and he climbed in.

“Thank you,” I said, giving the top of his head a little scratch.

This wasn’t me getting involved in the Angels’ investigation, I told myself all the way down to The Black Bear. This was just me looking out for a friend.

The pub was busy. No surprise. It was Saturday night, and I knew Sam had a local band playing later. He came across the room to me when I walked in. “Hi,” he said. “Are you meeting Jess?”

“No,” I said. “I was hoping Vince might be here.”

Sam’s expression changed. “He is here. He talked to Michelle Andrews this morning, by the way.”

I sighed softly. “I was hoping he hadn’t.”

He looked confused. “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted Vince to tell her what he did.”

I sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Most things are,” he said. “What’s going on?”

I shifted the gym bag from one shoulder to another, hoping Elvis wouldn’t choose now to meow and give me away. “I just want to talk to him for a minute, Sam. Can you just trust me?”

He nodded slowly. “He’s in my office, but Asia’s with him, Sarah. Think carefully about what you say.”

I nodded. “I promise.”

He inclined his head in the direction of the kitchen. “You want a bowl of sausage and penne soup?” he asked.

“Ummm, thanks. That sounds good,” I said. I kept one hand on the bag as a warning to Elvis that he needed to stay still and quiet if he wanted any of the tiny sausage meatballs that would be in my soup.

Vince and Asia were on the couch in Sam’s office. Vince was playing Sam’s twelve-string. Asia was eating something—the Italian penne and sausage soup, my nose told me.

“Hi,” I said.

“I’m feeding Sarah in here because she has her cat with her,” Sam said.

So much for fooling him.

Vince looked up and nodded in my direction but didn’t say anything.

Asia smiled. “Hi, Sarah,” she said. “Can I see your cat?” She was wearing a Queen T-shirt and skinny jeans, her short blond hair brushed back off her face.

“Sure,” I said. I took off my coat and tossed it over the back of an armless chair Sam had bought from my shop. Then I set the bag on the floor, opened the top, and Elvis poked his head out and looked around.

“Hello,” Asia said, holding out one hand. Elvis walked toward her, nose twitching. After sardines and Tasty Tenders, meatballs were one of his favorite foods. He sniffed Asia’s fingers and then licked her thumb. She laughed. “Is it all right if I give him a meatball?” she asked.

“Go ahead,” I said. I knew I’d have a better chance of wrestling a bobcat away from one of those meatballs than I would Elvis.

She fished one out of her bowl and held it out. Elvis sniffed it delicately, and then the whole thing went in his mouth. He ate it, licked her fingers and then meowed softly.

“You don’t need any more,” I said. He didn’t even look at me. I was on ignore.

Asia patted her lap, and to her delight Elvis jumped up, settled himself and sniffed the air.

I laughed. “He’s not exactly subtle.”

“He so friendly,” she said, stroking his fur.

“That’s because he’s a ham bone for attention,” I said.

Vince continued to play Sam’s guitar, but I’d seen him dart little looks in my direction from time to time.

Sam came back in then with a bowl of soup for me. I could smell the oregano and tomatoes and see slivers of mozzarella and croutons in the bowl.

I thanked him and settled in the chair. Asia snuck Elvis another meatball when she thought I wasn’t looking. I was trying to figure how to start the conversation, let alone steer it to the development, when Asia solved the problem for me.

“Sarah, is it true that you bought the old chandelier from Doran’s that used to be right inside the front doors and the people from North by West want to buy it for their project here?”

“It’s true,” I said, chasing a crouton around the bowl with my spoon.

“So that means they really are going to build it, right?” She was still stroking Elvis’s fur. He was curled up on her lap, front paws tucked up under his body.

“Nothing’s decided yet,” Vince said. “I told you that.” I could hear the tension in his voice.

“Your dad’s right,” I said. “Things are still up in the air.”

“Lily’s . . . dead,” Asia said. “She can’t stop everything anymore.”

I nodded. “I know, but Lily felt pretty strongly about not selling the bakery. Whoever she left it to may decide they want to honor her wishes.” I didn’t want to get into the concept of eminent domain with a teenager.

The color rose in Asia’s cheeks. “But that’s not fair,” she said hotly. “Lily’s reasons were her own, and she’s gone now so . . . so everything’s different now.”

“Don’t,” Vince warned. He stopped playing and put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

“Why?” she said, looking from me to her father. “Lily was the reason we couldn’t sell Gramp’s building. I’m sorry she’s dead, but she is, and now there isn’t any reason to not fix up the harbor front.”