“Hello? Do you need your chimneys cleaned?” Aunt Dee asked in her high-pitched voice. “Winter’s around the corner and you can’t be too careful. You wouldn’t want to light a fire and discover there was an animal stuck inside, would you?” After a short conversation, she set up an appointment and marked it in her calendar.

Ariana was always amazed anyone fell for the scheme. “What are you and Uncle John going to milk these unsuspecting people for once you’re inside?” she asked as she walked over to the coffee machine.

Aunt Dee merely winked at her before moving on to the next number in the book.

In the meantime, her handsome father sat at the rectangular table drawing posters. A smile quirked at her lips as she took in his clean-shaven head. Prostate cancer seven years ago hadn’t sidelined him. Instead, chemotherapy and her father’s resulting baldness had started the family’s biggest moneymaker, The Addams Family Act, derived from the old television show of the same name. Her father had taken on the persona of Uncle Fester, her beautiful mother with her raven hair was Morticia, while the rest of her relatives rallied around. Over the years the show had earned money at the local theater, and her family had become the pride of Ocean Isle, her small coastal hometown, fifteen minutes outside of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ariana was so grateful her father was healthy and still in remission, she kissed his bald head. Over his shoulder, she studied his poster.

“ ‘Earn while you Eat! Join a weight study,’ ” Ariana read aloud. “And how much will this study cost each participant?” she asked her father.

“Only what they want to give. You know that,” Nicholas said without glancing up from his work.

She rolled her eyes. Ariana had seen this scam and ones like it before. Every Costas relative conned their way through life with a wink, a smile, and legendary Greek charm. The only shocking thing was that her family members managed to avoid doing hard time, something Ariana chalked up to luck.