dropped the list and the card on the counter. I wasn’t quite sure what his idea of “working something out” was, but I didn’t want to broach the subject here. And it wouldn’t do to make a scene, but the mayor was going to get an earful as soon as I got him cornered. Glancing around the room, I realized I was too late to grab him after the meeting. The only people left were helping Sasha set the dining room back up. Which meant the mayor was long gone, since he didn’t do manual labor.
Sasha glanced at me as she walked back to the counter. “Uh-oh. You look steamed. Did our esteemed fire chief insult you too?”
I held up the paper. “Actually, he gave me a list that is impossible to complete by the end of the week. Which means I’ll have to be shut down over the fourth.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Darla snapped up the list and read through it. “Most of these things aren’t real violations. I think he made some of this up.”
“Well, look out, he’s on his way down the street and should hit the winery by midweek.” I wondered if Amy had the skinny on what power this guy really had. Amy ran most of city hall and served as the mayor’s go-to girl for whatever he needed. “I’m calling Amy to see if she’ll have lunch with me.”
“You could just call her and ask about the regulations,” Darla said as she put a stack of flyers on the counter. “Hand these out to your customers. We need to get the word out about this festival. I want it to be the biggest one ever. The council spent enough on the entertainment, including bands and fireworks. I need to be able to show some ROI for their generosity.”
When Darla left, Sasha picked up a flyer. “I know ROI is a business term, but what does it mean again?”
“Return on investment,” Aunt Jackie said, answering the question from the back office. “Basically, the money or value you get from spending money. Like our advertisements that bring in people for the book signing. We spend $100 on ads, we get at least $100 in sales from the event. More if we have a good ROI.”
My aunt was trying to teach someone the basics behind the business part of the store. She’d tried with me, but I really would rather be reading. Sasha was her next victim. One of these days I was going to feel sorry for my aunt and do something really stupid, like listen.
“I thought you’d be watching your shows.” My aunt worked the late shift, but you never knew when she would pop down from the second-floor apartment over the coffee shop.
“I wanted to check in and see how the meeting went. Anything I need to know about?” Aunt Jackie poured herself a coffee as Sasha looked at me wide-eyed.
“How did she know?” Sasha whispered.
“She has the place bugged.” I laughed as Sasha’s eyes went even wider. “I’m kidding.”
But there was a part of me that totally believed my aunt had a camera set up somewhere in the shop. I glanced upward toward the corners to see if I could see any flashing lights. When my gaze lowered, I realized my aunt was watching me.
“Okay, fine, there is a problem.” I pushed the list of infractions toward her. “We’re supposed to get all these done and have the place reinspected before June thirtieth. Or we’ll be shut down.”
“That’s the only option?” my aunt said as she studied the list.
“Well . . .”
Now she looked up at me, her eyes narrowing. “Jill, what else did he say?”
“He insinuated that I could make it go away by calling him.”
Aunt Jackie looked confused. “Why would calling him make these things go away? I’m not sure some of them are even possible to correct.”
“I think he meant . . .” I glanced at Sasha, who was grinning.
“He wants Jill to be his love muffin,” Sasha said, finishing my thought. “And can I say, EWWW!”
“That’s what I said.” I held my hand up for a high five.
My aunt watched us. When we were finished, she sipped her coffee. “This is a serious problem and I’d appreciate it if you treated it as such.”
“I am.” I sat next to her. “First thing, I’m reaching out to Amy to see what recourse we have on this whole thing. I can’t believe the council gave him carte blanche to harass South Cove businesses. And then, if she doesn’t know, I’m going to talk to Bill Sullivan. He should know what regulations the council put in place. And, if none of that fixes it, I have a few attorney contacts from my past career who would be happy to take on an overbearing fire department. We might even be able to get a cash settlement for pain and suffering.”
“Which will mean our tax rate will increase. No one gets anything for nothing.” My aunt shook her head. “Let me make a copy of this and I’ll call an electrician to see what’s really necessary and what’s just this guy’s opinion.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I waited for my aunt to disappear into the back office before I picked up my phone. “Hey, Amy, want to hit Diamond Lille’s in about ten minutes?”
I listened to her tell me how hungry she was when I knew she’d eaten three cookies at the business-to-business meeting and probably had a three-egg omelet for breakfast. I would kill for her metabolism.
I’d already tucked my phone away when my aunt returned to the front. I took the copy she handed me and folded it into my tote. “Don’t worry, we’ll get this handled. No one’s going to bully us.”
“Government entities can do what they want in the name of safety for all. I would have thought you would have picked up on that by now.” My aunt peered at Sasha. “Are you here by yourself this afternoon? Maybe I should come down and help.”
“Toby’s coming in at noon. There’s no reason Sasha can’t handle the shop by herself for thirty minutes,” I said, stepping into the discussion before my aunt got Sasha to believe she wasn’t trusted.
“Well, if you need me, I’m just watching television and working on an afghan. I like to get my Christmas gifts done early.”
Sasha waited for Aunt Jackie to leave and didn’t speak until we heard the door close at the top of the stairs. “Does she realize it’s June?”
“I guess early is early.” I grinned at my newest barista. “Be good or you’ll get a knitted hat for Christmas instead of a bonus.”
“I think a hat would be sweet.” Sasha wiped the counter with a damp rag. “My granny is always making things like that for Olivia and me.”
“You haven’t seen Aunt Jackie’s work yet.” I tucked a new advanced reader copy of a local mystery author into my tote and then headed out the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
By the time I power walked to Diamond Lille’s, the place was already busy. Tuesdays seemed to be when the locals hit the diner, mostly to avoid the weekends full of tourists. Of course, a lot of locals worked weekends so eating out early in the week was more convenient. Amy had already snagged our favorite booth.
“What did you want to gossip about? Did you see Darla blush when
