Cat didn’t seem especially concerned. Cat was happy to have his half can of cat food.
I was a half hour late getting to the bakery, and Clara had already started the yeast dough.
“I’m not up to saving the world after eight o’clock at night,” Clara said. “Just take the keys next time you need the van.”
“I’m hoping there won’t be a next time. It seems to me we’re at a dead end with the Avaritia Stone.”
“Ammon must know where it is.”
“I’m not sure what Ammon knows. I’m told dogs don’t have good short-term memory.”
At eleven o’clock I was finishing the frosting on a batch of cupcakes, and Glo stuck her head in the kitchen.
“He’s here!” Glo said.
“Who?”
“Martin Ammon! He wants to see you.”
I made my way to the counter and tried my best to smile. “Hey,” I said. “How’s it going?”
“I had a concussion. Nothing serious, but they wanted me to stay in the hospital for observation. I’m sure you heard.”
I nodded. “Yup.”
“I’m on my way home, but I wanted to stop by and personally invite you to the house to discuss the cookbook. We’ve gotten behind schedule.”
“You still want to publish my cookbook?”
“Of course. It’s a large part of the campaign. We have decisions to make. We need cover art and an author photo. I was thinking three o’clock. Does that work for you?”
More head nodding. “Three is good.”
We all watched him leave. He walked out on two legs and climbed into the backseat of a black Mercedes sedan. He didn’t bark or lift his leg on the tire. It looked like Rutherford was at the wheel.
“You aren’t going to his house, are you?” Clara asked. “It could be a trap.”
“Yeah,” Glo said. “Mammon could be waiting for you.”
“He didn’t look like Mammon,” I said.
“He didn’t look like a dog, either,” Glo said. “But I wouldn’t wear a rabbit jacket around him.”
“He caught me off guard,” I said. “I’ll send him a text and tell him something came up.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
At one o’clock I tossed my chef coat in the laundry bin, hung my tote bag on my shoulder, and waved goodbye to Clara.
“See you tomorrow,” I said.
“Hope so,” Clara said.
I walked to my car and realized Rutherford was hovering a short distance away.
“A moment?” he said.
“Sure. I guess Ammon understood about the missing treasure.”