“A houseboat?”

“Well, I went there to go over paperwork. It was more like a yacht, in my opinion. Between you and me, I don’t know where he got all that money. He’s still paying a mortgage on this until it sells. Can’t be free to tie up at Del Rey every day. I think he just likes being able to say he lives in Tahiti.” She winked.

I had an idea where he’d gotten all that money. Luna. She was all that was left of her family. She must have figured out how to get her hands on the Hollis family fortune. Knowing them, they had an illegal stash hidden somewhere, and she knew exactly where it was.

“Just him?” I asked. I bent low to look at the underside of the counter so I would look disinterested in her answer.

“Not sure, actually.” I stood; she was still aiming that dorky smile at me. “So what do you think?”

I sighed, trying to look torn. “I wish my husband could be here. I would feel so much better if we could talk to the owner, you know? Get his take on the pros and cons of this place. I don’t suppose you could hook us up?”

For the first time, her smile fell. She looked floored that I would even ask such thing. Apparently, asking to speak to the owner was not something people usually did. I tried to save it. “You make him sound like such a personable guy. I figured he probably wouldn’t mind.”

“I can’t—” Her phone rang, one of those loud, old-fashioned rings that all old people have on their phones. She checked the screen. “Speak of the devil!” My heart skipped a beat. I had to resist wrestling it out of her hand and answering it myself. “He must be wondering how the showing went.” She looked at me pointedly, then pressed a button to silence the ring. The phone went dark. Damn it. “Hopefully I’ll have good news to call him back with. I’ll just let him know I’m still with you.” Back with the smile. She keyed in her passcode and sent a text, then returned her phone to the counter. “So what do you say?”