A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(24)

Elaine looked from Sun to Ruby and back again. “What exactly does my daughter know?”

“That I use my powers for good.”

The entire room gasped. Well, almost the entire room. Quincy sat in a beige recliner, clearly amused. But Darlene had a different take as well.

Sun knew better than to look directly at her, and she studied the woman from her periphery. When Ruby had announced that Sun knew, Darlene went white. But when Ruby commented about using her powers for good, everyone except Darlene gasped. Darlene did just the opposite. She let out a breath, clearly relieved. What did she think Ruby had been talking about?

Quincy cleared his throat, and asked, “So, they’re magic muffins? Is that your power?”

He was covering. He’d noticed Darlene’s behavior as well and let his gaze flit to Sun for the briefest of moments to confirm the fact that she’d noticed too.

As expected, the ladies laughed at his query. Even Darlene, whose laugh stemmed more from nerves than amusement.

“I’m not magic. I just sort of sense things.”

He nodded. “So, you can sense when things in Del Sol are tanking?”

“What did you sense today?” Sun asked, not convinced of Ruby’s abilities in the least. But what could it hurt to ask?

“Two days ago, actually. I knew something bad was going to happen, and I just wanted our finest to enjoy a muffin or two before it all went belly-up.”

Elaine chimed in then. “I promise you, ladies, our secret is safe with my daughter.”

Awww. That was sweet.

She reached over and grabbed a muffin, before adding, “She doesn’t believe a word of any of this.”

Several sets of eyes landed on Sun in horror.

Oh, well. She needed a segue, anyway. “Actually, I need to know what you ladies have heard about the St. Aubins.”

“He’s a handsome thing,” Wanda said, and Sun could only assume she was talking about Mr. St. Aubin.

The fastest way to get the lowdown was to pass the info along to the Book Babes and see what sprang up. It had been a time-honored tradition since Sun was a kid. “Any dirt? I know they’re new, but—”

“There’s always dirt,” Elaine said. “But Marianna genuinely seems to be in love with her husband.”

The others agreed with a nod.

“I think she had a rough life growing up,” a dark-haired Book Babe named Karen said.

Sun nodded. “I only know that she was a waitress when she met Forest St. Aubin in Chicago.”

“Yes, she was.” Karen seemed to know more about the family than the rest. “But before that, well, let’s just say she emancipated herself from her parents when she was sixteen.”

“Do you know why?” Sun’s question took Karen aback, but she needed everything she could get, so she explained, “Their daughter may be missing.”

Every face showed genuine surprise, but Karen seemed to catch on the quickest. “And you think Forest and Mari had something to do with it?”

“Honestly, no, but I can’t afford to form any opinions just yet. I’m trying to stay open to all possibilities.”

When Karen’s expression hardened, Elaine added, “As any good law enforcement officer would.” Her tone was sharp, and Karen reined in her offended posture immediately.

“I don’t know why she emancipated herself,” she said, brushing crumbs off her slacks. “I just know that Mari’s parents were not nice people, and she divorced them at sixteen.”

“Tell her what they’ve been up to lately,” Wanda encouraged, elated with the juicy gossip to which she’d been privy.

“They?” Quincy asked.

Wanda scooted to the edge of her seat. “Mari’s deadbeat parents.”

“Actually, that’s been going on for a while, now,” Karen corrected. “Ever since Marianna married into money, they’ve been trying to get their hands on it.”

Sun tamped down the adrenaline that had spiked within her, and asked calmly, “Trying how?”

“I’m not sure. We’ve had coffee a few times. Mari is really nice, and she adores her daughter. You have to know that.”

“I could tell, hon.”

“All she told me was that her parents were always calling up with one sob story after another, needing money for this or that.”

“Does Marianna give them any?”

“Never,” Karen said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “And why should she? They were horrible people. Not that Forest would let her be taken advantage of, anyway, but still.”

“Have they contacted her lately?”

Karen’s squinted in thought. “The last time we talked was right after New Year’s, but she didn’t mention them. I know they tried to get some serious money out of them last summer right after their big move here.”

“How serious?”

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her father had some new scheme that was going to make them all rich. A sure thing.”

“Like there is such a thing,” Elaine said, her face lined with concern.

“Exactly. Forest refused, of course, but from what I understand, Marianna’s father was furious.”

Furious enough to abduct his granddaughter and demand a ransom? It wouldn’t be the first time such a scenario came to town.