Page 7 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
“We’ve only just arrived,” Dawn told him. “We needed to get our rescue settled.”
“Rescue?” Liam’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Yes, Dad,” Lila said. “That’s what I wanted to show you. On our way back to Plum Island, we found an injured cat.”
Lila pulled him into the kitchenette, where he saw a large white and silver striped tabby lying in a cat bed.
“Oh, he’s beautiful,” Liam said.
“Sorry, I wanted to call you and let you know we were asked to foster Tiger,” Dawn said apologetically.
“I told Dawn it would be alright,” Lila told Liam. “It is alright for us to look after him, isn’t it Dad?”
“Yes, of course,” Liam said, looking at the cat. “How badly injured is he?”
“The vet thinks he was thrown out of a car window,” Dawn explained. “He’s badly bruised, and his back legs are injured, but the vet says he’ll make a full recovery.”
“Who would fling a cat out of a car?” Liam shuddered in horror and then listened to what Harper and Lila told him about Tiger.
“Wait, did you say Mrs. Peters?” Liam’s frown deepened. “Wilma Peters?”
“Yes,” Dawn answered. “When I signed the forms to take custody of Tiger so the vet could get his chip updated, I saw the name Wilma Peters.”
“Wilma’s dead?” Liam’s brows rose in shock, and he looked at Tiger. “Yes, of course, that’s her cat. He’s a lot bigger than the last time I saw him when I went to visit Wilma.”
“You knew her?” Dawn asked curiously.
“Yes.” Liam nodded, thinking how weird life was. “Wilma and her husband, Frank, used to own the Summer Inn. They bought it from Caroline’s father many years ago. When Frank died five years ago, Wilma’s son had moved to Boston and wasn’t interested in the hotel, so she sold it to me.”
“Wow, that’s so strange,” Harper said. “What are the chances we’d find her cat? It’s like fate.”
“I know, right?” Lila agreed with Harper as the two teens rallied around Tiger.
“Aunt Dawn, can we take Tiger into my room?” Harper asked. “I can look after him.”
“Sure,” Dawn said with a nod.
As the teenagers excitedly took Tiger to get settled in their room, Dawn turned back to Liam. “Do you want some coffee? It feels like one of those days where I haven’t had enough,” she said, moving towards the small kitchenette of her suite.
“That sounds great, actually,” Liam replied, following her. “I haven’t really stopped since this morning.”
As Dawn prepared the coffee, Liam leaned against the counter, watching her movements. The silence was comfortable, a testament to the easy friendship they’d developed.
“So, how was the rest of your day?” Dawn asked as she handed him a mug of freshly brewed coffee.
They made their way into the living room and took a seat beside each other on the sofa.
“It was... interesting,” Liam started, taking a cautious sip. “Right after I got to the office, Mary handed me a report. It seems your missing watch isn’t an isolated incident. There’ve been other valuables reported missing from several guests’ rooms.”
Dawn raised her eyebrows, “Really? Just like my watch vanished without a trace?”
“Exactly,” Liam confirmed. “No signs of forced entry, nothing on the surveillance cameras. It’s as if the items just disappeared into thin air.”
Dawn laughed lightly, trying to cut through the tension. “Maybe it’s a ghost?” He saw her eyes light up. “The ghost of the Summer Inn.”
She was adorable and had a vivid imagination, as one would expect from a writer, but Liam didn’t smile. “Funny you should say that,” he said, setting his coffee down on his lap as he cradled it in his hands. “There are old stories about the original Summer Inn that stood on this site. Back when Plum Island was first settled, there was an inn here, and over the centuries, it was renovated and expanded. But there were always rumors, stories about things going missing every few years, way back to the late 1800s.”
Dawn’s interest was piqued. “A phantom thief!” Her eyes lit up as her imagination was sparked. “That seems exciting. I’d love to find out more about it.”
