Page 112 of Fairy Godmothers Aren't Cheap

This was what I’d dreamed of. This was the community I’d wanted to help create. Moms talking to each other, kids playing outside and making new friends. It was perfect. Not quite done, but perfect.

And things were coming along at a quick clip even though the park’s bank account was empty. Everstone was so close to having something pretty amazing. We just needed to secure landscaping, a fence, and some benches and the park would be complete.

Samantha, despite her reluctance, had decided to own up to her good deeds to Clarisa, and had asked her to take a pitch to her gardening club to help us put in flower beds.

I had faith that the rest of the project would all happen, even though so much still needed to be done. Top soil and sod. Trees. Benches. A fence. Gardens. Basketball net.

Eyes still closed, and with my head resting against the brick wall behind me, I trusted James to keep the kids and sticks out of the fresh cement. I clutched my ice-cold water bottle, lining it up against the blisters that had formed at the base of each finger from all of the gravel raking and manual labour that my little typist hands were definitely not used to.

“Uh, oh,” James whispered.

I opened my eyes to see what was wrong. I glanced at the curing cement, then at him for hints. His nose was more tanned than the rest of his face in the most endearing way. Slowly, I followed his gaze. Officer Beddoe was walking toward us, and my stomach dropped. If there had been a shred of evidence on the lots regarding the still-open museum’s theft case, we had destroyed it weeks ago.

“Char. James.” The officer gave us a nod as we stood, dusting the dirt from our backsides. “Do you have a moment?” he asked me.

I nodded.

“You’d mentioned you order pottery pieces online.”

“Yes. Not lately, but I have.”

“Have you ever had a piece arrive broken?”

I shook my head.

“Or one that was a fake when it was listed as a verified artifact?”

I shook my head again, and the officer sighed. “We seem to have a shipping insurance scam that could be based out of Calgary. Do you know anyone who could be selling and shipping pieces from the city?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“I was hoping you might have insights.”

“Sorry, I don’t think I do.”

I shot a fake scowl at a kid edging closer to the sidewalk. “I see you, Kendra! Get away from that wet cement with your stick!”

“I want to put my name in it!”

“I know. So do I.”

“But you did already,” she whined.

True. I also added the date. My prerogative. James had wanted to put our initials inside a heart, but I’d stopped him. I probably shouldn’t have. I would have loved to be able to come back later and look at the evidence of our summer romance.

“She owns the park,” James told Kendra. “She’s allowed.”

“Does not!”

I laughed. “I actually do. But once it’s done, I’m giving it to the city so it’ll be everyone’s.”

The girl gave me a look of distinct disbelief and returned to the play structure.

“Sorry.” I turned my attention back to Officer Beddoe, who looked bemused.

“I see your park is coming along.”

“Yeah. We’ve had some amazing support from sponsors and various grants.” I loved the park, but it wasn’t what I wanted to talk about with him. “Do you think this scam is related to the museum theft?”

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