Page 67 of Homecoming

“I already did.”

“Do it again.”

She reached for him and kissed his face off, until he was panting like a teenager in the throes of first lust. “Good?”

“Um, well, I seem to have a whole other problem now.”

“You can work that one out on your own. Your child and I are going to sleep.”

“Wow, that’s super mean. I never knew you were so mean.”

Kara fell asleep smiling, the way she did every night since Dan Torrington had given her no choice but to fall madly in love with him.

Wide awakein every possible way after that kiss from his wife, Dan set up shop on the kitchen table. He helped himself to one of Bertha’s Millers and then got busy digging into the police and autopsy reports.

He was thoroughly engrossed when he sensed a presence behind him. When he turned, he found Buster hovering in the doorway as if he wasn’t sure if it was okay to come into the room.

“Hey, Buster. Hope I didn’t disturb you.”

“No.”

He went to the fridge, withdrew a Miller and twisted the cap off. “Kara?”

“She’s okay and so’s the baby, thankfully.”

Buster nodded as he took a sip of beer. “They didn’t kill that girl.”

“I know.”

“Keith’s a dick, not a murderer.”

Dan nodded, intrigued by Buster’s take since Kara had once described her uncle as the keenest observer of people she’d ever met. “That’s what I hear from others.”

“Can you fix it?”

“I’m trying like hell.”

“Good.” He took his beer and headed for the door, dropping a newspaper on the table as he went.

“Night, Buster.”

“Night.”

Dan picked up the copy of theMount Desert Islanderand glanced at the front page, which bore a banner headline that saidBallard Sons Arrested In Weekend Murder.

Bar Harbor —Keith and Kirby Ballard, sons of Ballard Boat Works owners Chuck and Judith Ballard, were arrested on Saturday in connection with the murder of Tanya Sorenson, 21, who was in town for a bachelorette party. She was the daughter of Mitchell and Deborah Sorenson, longtime summer residents of Bar Harbor. The party was for Jessa Kaul, the fiancée of Tanya’s brother, August Sorenson.

Sources tell the Islander that Keith Ballard, 37, had been seen with Ms. Sorenson at the Barnacle Lounge during theevening. According to onlookers, Ballard and Sorenson danced for most of the evening and disappeared together for about forty-five minutes before returning for last call.

The wedding party was staying at the Sorenson home on West Street. Ms. Kaul and August Sorenson are due to be married at the Sorenson home in October.

Keith Ballard, who’s well known to local police, works as a laborer at Ballard Boat Works. He attended Mount Desert High School, but there’s no record of his graduation. His brother Kirby, 30, is also employed by BBW, as a master craftsman. He’s a graduate of Mount Desert High School and Colby College.

The Sorenson and Kaul families have requested privacy at this difficult time. Calls to the Ballard family went unreturned at press time. Celebrated defense attorney Daniel Torrington, brother-in-law to the Ballards, is representing Kirby Ballard. Torrington is married to the former Kara Ballard, and the two reside on Gansett Island in Rhode Island. Another brother-in-law, local attorney Matthew Gallagher, represented Keith Ballard at today’s arraignment at which the brothers were held without bail pending a preliminary hearing next week.

Dan had no sooner read the article than his phone rang with a call from theMount Desert Islander.

“Dan Torrington.”

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