Then I whistled and looked up at him. "Otis. This is a serious coin, I think. I'm not a particular expert, but I've learned a bit over the years from all the coins Shelley dug up with her metal detector. But I think this is Spanish gold. Where did you find it?"
He put his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels, not meeting my eyes. "Oh, you know, Tess. I'm always wandering about. Serious coin, huh?"
I nodded, examining it. "You'd be better off contacting—"
I froze. I'd been about to mention Dr. Parrish, the coin expert I'd used in the past. But she was dead. Another Dead End murder.
There'd been a lot of that going around this year.
I sighed. "I need to find a new expert. Or you can take it to a shop that specializes in coins. I'm not—"
He shook his head. Vigorously. "No way. I don't trust them people in the big cities. You've always given me a fair shake. I want you to do it."
It was nice to hear he trusted me, but I'd need to do some research. "Okay, then. How about I take pictures of it and—"
"Nah." He scratched Beauty's ears, and she looked up at him with total adoration. "You keep it. Just let me know what you find out. I've got enough for Christmas presents."
An uncomfortable feeling squeezed my heart. "Otis? Do you have plans for Christmas dinner? If you're on your own, you're more than welcome to come have dinner with me and my family."
He grinned at me. "Tess, that's awfully sweet of you, but I'm going to my cousin's in Orlando. They always have everybody over and make a huge spaghetti for Christmas dinner with tons of meatballs. It's like the true meaning of Christmas."
"Family?"
"Meatballs."
"Sure. Okay, I'll give you a receipt for the coin—"
"Don't need one."
"Ineed one. I have to be sure to keep all my records in tip-top shape, or I get in trouble."
He shrugged, his attention on the bin of Dead End Pawn hats. "Okay. Hey, how much for a hat? I sure like that picture of Fluffy."
"No charge for you, Otis. I wouldn't have Fluffy without you."
He glanced at his former alligator, who was sitting on a high shelf behind the counter overseeing the store.
"Thanks, Tess. I kinda miss her."
"Shelley really loves her, too," I told him, hoping to head off any chance of him asking to buy her back. Now that she starred in my shop logo and merchandise, I'd grown kind of fond of the old girl.
I took digital photos of the coin and a few Polaroids, too, and attached two of them to Otis's receipt. We signed the paperwork to make everything official. I just needed to lock the coin in my vault until I had time to have it appraised.
"Do you—would you like an advance on funds?" I didn't want to embarrass him, but Otis had needed cash more often than not in the past.
"Nope." He raised his chin and squared his thin shoulders. "Got a part-time job out at the nursery. The plant kind, not the little kid kind. I don't know much about kids."
I pressed my lips together to hold in the grin. "That's great! How do you like working with the goblins?"
Folk-singing goblins owned and operated the Dead End Nursery. They were super nice people and Dead End's only hippies.
"Oh, they're great. They're always trying to feed me up, though. And they sing. Lots and lots of singing." He shook his head. "Least they got nice voices."
I narrowed my eyes. "What are you trying to say?"
My … less than optimal … singing voice was well known in Dead End.
He blinked and then seemed to realize what I was asking. His cheeks flooded with pink. "No! No, I wasn't saying anything about you. I heard you're getting better, even. Singing at church and all. Emeril Peterson was saying he hardly had to stock ear plugs at the hardware shop anymore."
