Absolutely, Positively

stay at his place after I was nearly scared out of my wits by that stupid goblin prank.”

    “Kind? He doesn't look like the kindly type to me.” Tessa narrowed her eyes. “And why do I have this feeling that you did not sleep on the couch?”

    “Now, Tessa, you know I don't believe in discussing my personal life.”

    “That's because you haven't had a personal life to discuss for ages,” Tessa retorted. “What's going on here? Are you and Trevelyan having an affair?”

    “I'd hardly call it that.”

    “Damn. You are having an affair.” Tessa looked at her with worried eyes. “Do you think that's smart? You said yourself that the two of you have absolutely nothing in common. You said he's stubborn and difficult and arrogant. You said—”

    “I'll be in my office if anyone needs me.” Molly strode through the opening and slammed the door behind her.

    She dropped into her desk chair. The door promptly opened again, and Tessa stuck her head around the corner. “All right, forget the juicy personal stuff. I'll worm the truth out of you later. What's Trevelyan going to do about that goblin thing that someone put under your bed?”

    “I'm not sure. He seems to think he recognizes the guy's work. He says it's sloppy. He's sure that he can identify the same style of design in one of the grant proposals.”

    Tessa's eyes widened. “He thinks that whoever is behind this is one of the inventors you rejected?”

    “Uh-huh.”

    “Shouldn't you be talking to the police?”

    “We will, as soon as Harry gets a lead on a likely suspect. At this point all we've got are a couple of nasty pranks and an unlimited pool of possible perpetrators.”

    “I see what you mean. No one's been hurt. There's no evidence of forced entry. So far they're just pranks.”

    “Right. I'm afraid that if we go to the cops now they'll think one of Kelsey's friends is responsible, just as I did. Lord only knows where that assumption would take the police. Assuming they have time to investigate such a minor event in the first place.”

    Tessa looked troubled. “What are you going to do?”

    “There's nothing I can do at the moment. We'll have to wait and see if Harry can come up with anything useful. In the meantime, I've got a business to run. Let's get to work.”

    Gordon Brooke strode into Abberwick Tea & Spice at five minutes before noon. Molly was in the process of measuring out a half pound of Keemun tea for a customer. She stifled a groan of dismay.

    Gordon had a file folder tucked under one arm. Stylish as always, he was clad in a pair of loose-fitting, multipleated stone-colored trousers and an open-throated coffee-colored shirt with wide, billowing sleeves. A rakish embroidered vest completed the ensemble. He would have looked at home sitting in a sidewalk café in Paris or Rome.

    Molly made a show of being very busy with a flurry of new customers who wandered into the shop at that moment. Tessa did the same. Gordon lounged against a display of gift-boxed spice sets and waited. Molly hoped that he would become bored and leave before the rush of customers did, but her luck was out. Gordon did not budge.

    Tessa exchanged a commiserating glance with Molly as the crowd gradually dwindled.

    When the customer base was down to two, both of whom were still browsing the shelves, Molly reluctantly turned to Gordon. He gave her his most endearing grin, the one that put a dimple in his cheeks.

    “Got something to show you, Molly.” He held up the folder he had brought with him.

    Molly eyed the folder with deep suspicion. “What?”

    Gordon straightened and started forward. “Let's go into your office.”

    He disappeared inside before Molly could think of a polite excuse. She trailed slowly after him. Tessa rolled her eyes.

    When Molly reached the door of her office, she saw that Gordon had already made himself at home. He was sitting in the chair behind her desk. He had the folder open in front of him.

    “I want you to see my projections for the next three years, Molly.”

    “Gordon, if this is about a loan, you're wasting your time. We went through this three months ago.”

    “Just take a look at these numbers. That's all I'm asking. They're solid as a rock. The only thing I need to make it come together is a little infusion of cash.”

    “I told you, I'm not going to finance your expansion plans, Gordon.”

    He looked up from the papers he had spread out on her desk. “Think of it as an