Cullen chuckled. He was enjoying Chi-Chi’s company and humor more each day. He calculated how many days it would be before they went to dinner without his sister. Two weeks and a few days. He didn’t like to wish his life away, but in this case he was eager to be alone with Chi-Chi in a beautiful, romantic restaurant.

The three of them made small talk as they devoured their lunch. When they were finished, Luna and Chi-Chi helped clear the table of their bags and napkins. Luna announced she would take the diary back to her café and try to get something from it while waiting between clients. She was careful to be sure she wore latex gloves and handled it as if it were something fragile.

Chi-Chi had a box of amethyst she needed to peruse for the jewelry show coming up. Cullen was going to start to work on the trunk. Clean it up, fix the hinges and lock. The biggest obstacle was getting the smell out of |it. For something that had survived a fire, it sure did stink. In the letter, the owner mentioned it being in storage. Maybe it was packed with other fire-related items.

* * *

Tori watched the tall, stunning, honey-toned woman exit the showroom through the main door. She thought she saw a shadowy figure move from the showroom into the café. Shortly, the younger twentysomething woman exited the café, and the hippie type returned to the corner table next to the easel. Tori made a mad dash across the atrium, but before she reached the café, another person walked in. She realized she had been stalking the woman for over two hours and hoped no one else had noticed her odd behavior. Tori decided to write a note and leave it on the counter inside the café. One way or another, Tori was going to connect with her.

She searched her tote bag and pulled out the small pad and pen she always carried with her. Many people use their phones to write lists and take notes, but ever since she was in school for her paralegal certification she discovered there was a lot of note-taking on paper. She printed her name and phone number and jotted, If you have time today, can you please call me? You were highly recommended. There. That made it sound like she knew what she was doing and that someone had referred her. Technically, someone had recommended her but not directly. That was a good enough argument in the legal sense.

Tori folded the piece of paper, made her way across the atrium, and entered the café. She nodded at the hippie and left the note next to the large coffeemaker. The hippie nodded back and smiled.