Page 48 of A Spot of Trouble
Violet scanned the photos, which included a lovely shot of the town Christmas tree in the gazebo by the boardwalk, where it had been placed every year for as long as Violet could remember. There was a cute picture of a group of kids surrounding a “snowman” made from sand on the beach side of the island, topped with a Santa hat, along with a shot of a group of surfers dressed in Santa suits riding a wave. Violet felt herself smile, and then her gaze drifted further and her breath caught in her throat.
“It’s my mother.” The newspaper shook in Violet’s hand. “And Polkadot! I’ve never seen this picture before.”
“I didn’t think you had, and I knew you’d like it.” Mavis’s eyes twinkled. “Polkadot was just a tiny puppy, see?”
The dog’s tiny black-and-white spotted form was curled into the crook of Adeline March’s elbow—except Violet’s parents hadn’t gotten married until the following year, 1983, so she’d still been Adeline Sterling back then. She looked so young, smiling up at Violet from the faded newspaper. So happy.
“Look.” Violet squinted at the picture. “Polkadot has a big bow around her neck. Do you think she was a Christmas gift?”
Violet had always assumed her mother had adopted Polkadot, the way that Violet had rescued Sprinkles. From what her brothers had told her, Adeline was a big animal lover. She was one of the founding members of the Turtle Beach Sea Turtle Rescue Project and helped babysit turtle nests on autumn nights in order to help turtle hatchlings make it safely from the sand to the water’s edge. It had never occurred to her that someone may have given her Polkadot as a present.
“Maybe.” Mavis shrugged. Did she seriously not remember, or was she simply reluctant to talk about it, just like Violet’s dad? “I should probably go join Ethel and Opal. You keep that, dear. Just don’t tell anyone where it came from.”
Violet pressed the newspaper to her heart. “Are you sure? Don’t you need it for the binders at the senior center library?”
“I don’t think that one small section of a single day of theGazetteis going to make much of a difference. Besides, something tells me you need it more than the library does.” Mavis flashed Violet a wink before steering her walker in the direction of the bleachers.
Violet’s chest filled with warmth. Part of her thought she should return the photo to the senior center, but another part—the sweet, sentimental part that was constantly trying to drag more information about Adeline out of her father—was already planning on framing it and hanging it in a place of honor in her wing of the beach house.
She took a closer look at the black-and-white picture. Her mother wore jeans and an oversized fuzzy sweater that draped off one shoulder, the epitome of ’80s fashion. The smile on her face was so huge that it stretched from ear to ear. Polkadot couldn’t have been more than eight or nine weeks old. The bow tied around the baby Dalmatian’s neck looked comically huge in comparison.
The doghadto be a Christmas gift. Was it possible her mother had just been given the dog right before the picture was taken?
Violet was dying to know. She was mesmerized by the photo—so mesmerized that when someone greeted her from the other side of the order window in a familiar masculine voice, she jumped.
“Hello.” It was Sam, at long last. Cinder stood loyally by his side, as usual.
Violet accidentally smiled at him.Ugh. “Good morning. I haven’t seen you around much the past few days. I was beginning to think you’d scooted back to Chicago.”
A girl could dream, right?
Although the thought of Sam moving away didn’t give her the jolt of elation that she might have expected it would. In fact, the prospect made her feel slightly sick to her stomach for some inexplicable reason. The wordsno more kissingswirled in her head, and it took superhuman effort not to stare directly at his mouth.
“No.” He shook his head, his expression a perfect blank, as usual. “I’ve just been busy getting the team in shape for today’s game.”
Oh.Violet blinked.Look who suddenly cares about softball.
Sam’s unprecedented enthusiasm for the game was her fault, of course. Nothing like a friendly wager and the prospect of dressing up like a cupcake to light a fire under a man—figuratively speaking of course. (This time.)
“That’s…great.”No need to worry. The police department will win. Theyhaveto win.“Can I get you a cupcake?”
“No, thanks. I was just walking past and you seemed like you might need someone to talk to…” His voice drifted off and he cast a glance at the newspaper still clutched tightly in her hands.
Violet practically had to bite her tongue to keep from telling Sam about Mavis’s find. She was desperate to share the picture with someone, and Sam had seemed genuinely interested when she’d told him about the other photographs she’d found of Adeline and Polkadot.
But she didn’t want to get Mavis in any sort of trouble, and Sam was the absolute last person she should be confiding in. They were adversaries. Competitors. Sworn enemies.
“I’m fine.” She slid the newspaper out of sight. “Everything is great.”
“Great,” Sam echoed. His gaze drifted over her shoulder for a second, and his brow furrowed.
Violet tilted her head. “What?”
“Nothing,” Sam said.
“No, really. I can tell you want to say something else.” She crossed her arms over her ruffled apron. “Go ahead.”
He frowned and said nothing for a prolonged moment before finally shaking his head. “Nope. Never mind. I think it’s best if I just drop it.”
