Page 90 of Eclipse Bay

“Very. There’s some stuff I need to tell you before this conversation goes any further.” Rafe gave Mitchell a brief summary of events, including the talk with Dell Sadler.

When he had finished, Mitchell whistled softly. “You realize what you’re saying?”

“That it’s possible Kaitlin Sadler really was killed, just as Dell Sadler has always believed. And that the reason she was murdered was because she tried to blackmail someone here in Eclipse Bay.”

“Well, shoot and damn.” Mitchell sounded thoughtful now. “Yates was so damn sure it was an accident.”

“Maybe not quite so certain as he let everyone think,” Rafe said. “In addition to asking a lot of questions, he did a thorough search of Kaitlin’s house and car that night. He must have had a few suspicions.”

Mitchell shrugged. “Yates was a good cop in his time.”

Hannah sipped coffee from a small cup. She regarded Mitchell very steadily. “We need a little help.”

“From me? Now, see here, just what are you two thinking of doing?”

“We’re going to try to find out who Kaitlin was blackmailing,” Rafe said.

Mitchell frowned. “You want my advice? Don’t go poking a stick in a hole. There might be a real nasty varmint inside.”

“The problem,” Rafe said deliberately, “is that the varmint has already crawled out of the hole. I don’t think Winston was the real target last night. I have a hunch that whoever put him out there on that finger may have intended for Hannah to get caught by the incoming tide.”

Hannah snapped her head around in surprise. “Rafe, what are you saying? You never told me you thought that someone had tried to—” She broke off.

“I’m not sure that someone did try to hurt you last night. Winston may have been just a warning. But I’m not taking any chances.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. We’ll deal with that later.”

“Deal with what later?” She slammed her coffee cup down onto the saucer. “Now just one damn minute. I want an explanation.”

Rafe met Mitchell’s gaze and talked over the top of Hannah’s simmering words. “If I said to you ladies’ underwear in sizes big enough to fit a man, big high heels, Kaitlin Sadler, and some compromising videotapes that were bad enough to serve as blackmail material, what would you say?”

Mitchell’s face worked. For a moment Rafe thought that he was going to explode with outrage. But abruptly the ire metamorphosed into something else. Curiosity, or reluctant interest, Rafe decided.

“We’re talking eight years ago, aren’t we?” Mitchell said thoughtfully.

Rafe watched him. “One way or another, you’ve been connected to this town for more than fifty years. Any names come to mind?”

“No,” Mitchell said immediately. “But that’s no big surprise. I never paid much attention to other people’s sex lives. The only one that ever interested me was my own.” He paused. “But there was someone who did keep track of that kind of thing, along with every other damn secret in this town.”

Hannah groaned. “I hope you’re not going to tell us that person was Arizona Snow. It’s hopeless trying to get anything out of her. She might know some secrets, but she filters them all through her conspiracy theories.”

“Wasn’t thinking of Arizona,” Mitchell said. “I was talking about Ed Bolton. Owned theEclipse Bay Journalfor more than forty years until he sold out to Jed Steadman. Ed knew everything about everyone in this town.”

Disappointment coursed through Rafe. “I heard that Ed Bolton died four or five years ago.”

“He did,” Mitchell said in an oddly neutral voice. “Heart attack. But his widow, Bev, is still around. Lives in Portland now.”

“Do you think that Bev Bolton would know the secrets that Ed knew?” Hannah asked.

Mitchell nodded slowly. “Bev and Ed were together for a long time. Fine woman. Good marriage, from all accounts. Yeah, I reckon she’d know what Ed knew.”

Somewhere in the back of Rafe’s brain something wentclick.

“How do you know so much about Bev Bolton’s marriage?” he asked Mitchell.

“Bev and I get together once in a while,” Mitchell said very casually. “Talk over old times. You know how it is.”

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