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Chapters (26)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay’s Hat Shop Mysteries
  3. Titles by Jenn McKinlay
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter 1
  6. Chapter 2
  7. Chapter 3
  8. Chapter 4
  9. Chapter 5
  10. Chapter 6
  11. Chapter 7
  12. Chapter 8
  13. Chapter 9
  14. Chapter 10
  15. Chapter 11
  16. Chapter 12
  17. Chapter 13
  18. Chapter 14
  19. Chapter 15
  20. Chapter 16
  21. Chapter 17
  22. Chapter 18
  23. Acknowledgments
  24. Excerpt from SUMMER READING
  25. About the Author
  26. What’s next onyour reading list?

“She’s scared,” I said. “It turns out the baby is Dooney’s.”

Viv gasped and Andre blinked. They took a moment to take it in.

“Well, that’s a game changer,” Andre said. “Where did you find her?”

“The library,” Harry answered.

Both Viv and Andre looked behind us, expecting Sunny to be there, no doubt.

“Small problem,” I said. I took a seat at the table and Harry did, too. “Detective Stewart arrived just after we did and took Sunny to his office for questioning.”

“Not great,” Andre said.

“I’ve called Alistair,” Harry said.

“Oh, is he coming?” Viv asked. She sounded excited and then caught herself and became more composed. “Because that would be fine.”

Harry’s lips twitched just a bit before he said, “No, he can’t leave London but he has a friend in the area who can help.”

“Oh.” Viv sounded disappointed, which I understood completely. She and Alistair had been dating for a while now but she was new at the whole relationship thing, having made nothing but poor choices previously. I wasn’t judging her. I, too, chose poorly before I met Harry.

“What happens now?” Andre asked.

“The only way we can help Sunny is to find out who killed Dooney,” I said.

“No, nope, absolutely not,” Andre said. “I was fine with looking for Sunny, because a young woman shouldn’t be roaming around a castle when there’s a murderer loose. But I do not want to go looking for the murderer myself.”

“He has a point,” Viv said. “I mean, isn’t that why Detective Stewart is here?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t have access to everyone the way we do,” I said. “We can mix and mingle with the guests and use Viv’s celebrity to get them talking about hats and then segue into Dooney’s murder.”

“Because that’s a natural conversational trajectory,” Andre said. “ ‘Like my hat? Seen any murders lately?’ Not suspicious at all.”

I gave him a reproving look and he shrugged. “I’m not saying that we have to risk our lives. I’m just saying that since we’re stuck here for at least another twenty-four hours, we should try and figure out what happened to Dooney and if that helps Sunny, all the better.”

“Ginger and I were discussing possible suspects on our way here, and I think we should start with the bridal party,” Harry said. “Trisha was clearly disturbed by the marriage, and now that Sunny has admitted that the baby is Dooney’s, that gives Piper a motive, too.”

Viv raised one eyebrow. “You might have dated a murderer, Harrison.”

He winced. “Which we will never discuss again if it proves to be true.”

I patted his shoulder. “At least it was only two dates.”

“When Dooney came by here right after we arrived,” I said to Viv, “do you remember how smug he was?”

“That’s his default setting,” she said.