Page 34 of Light of Day
Heather? She was different. He felt alive around her, for the first time in a long time. The sight of her leaning on a post at the dock, watching the seagulls wheel overhead, brought a quickness to his pulse. He sternly dismissed it. As soon as they found Gabby, Heather would be off like a rocket. Finding Gabby came first, before anything else.
It would be safest to keep his distance.
He tied up his dinghy on the float. At high tide, he’d come back and haul it onto the shore, but at the moment the tide was at dead low.
“How did it go?” Heather asked as he reached the dock, panting a little. When the tide was this low, the ramp was so steep it felt like climbing a mountain.
“Smooth. We’ll get the report in a couple of days. How are things here?” He scanned her up and down. “You survived your meeting with my father. Are you still single?”
She laughed and cocked her head, the late-afternoon sun turning her hair a warm cinnamon color. “What makes you so sure I was single before?”
Oh shit. Why hadn’t he thought that? Maybe wishful thinking?
“Don’t look like that, I was and am. I don’t think I’m exactly what your father is looking for. Besides, his wife was there.”
“Celine, really? She’s on the island? She’s not a fan.”
“Well, she’s here, and she didn’t like me much. I asked some awkward questions. You might even say rude. She shut me down fast.”
If anything could make him like her even more, it would be that. “Damn, sorry I missed that.” They walked across the wharf toward his truck, which was parked on the gravel up top. He caught a few speculative glances coming their way, and knew the rumor mill would be shifting into high gear. “Did you learn anything?”
“Nothing really specific, but Gabby and your dad definitely had a conversation. He said it was about the hotel’s history.”
“That sounds like him.”
“Yes, but I think they’re something more. He said Gabby knew something. Add that to the text that he sent her, and I think it’s worth following up.” She shot him a glance. “Something seemed off with him. Like he wasn’t operating on all cylinders. Is he okay?”
“I don’t see him enough to say.” Knowing his father, he’d just cleverly avoided answering direct questions.
“Do you think if you questioned him you’d get further? I mean, as constable?” Heather asked.
He thought about it. Encounters with his father never went well, but he had a job to do. “I can try. Hey, I haven’t eaten all day. The line at my favorite taco shop in town was too long. Want to grab a bite before we go to Denton’s?”
She hesitated before nodding, and knew the urgency of finding Gabby was weighing on her. “Sure.”
“Fuel for the investigation,” he assured her. “We’ll take it to go.”
“No, let’s sit. You’ve been running all day. A little break won’t do any harm. Sometimes when I’m stalled out on a story, the best thing is to go for a run or take a shower or something. Just clear your head and think about something completely different for a minute.”
They walked past his truck and headed toward the Clambake Grill, with its several sets of wooden stairs climbing the ledge overlooking the harbor.
It was an awkward time, well past lunch, not dinnertime yet, and of the customers already seated, he didn’t recognize any of them. That was a relief, because usually, as soon as people saw him, they remembered some issue or complaint they needed to discuss. Being constable on a small island was exhausting. But he loved it, he knew in his bones.
“So you like to run?” he asked her, picking up on her last comment.
“Just for exercise. I injured my knee in college and had to quit soccer. It starts to hurt again after about two miles, so that’s my limit.”
He nodded as the waiter brought them water glasses. Their table looked out over the dock, where a group of kids were goofing around with fishing rods. He’d better keep an eye on them.
“I had my share of hockey injuries. I know the drill. Do you like living in Boston?”
“Here’s my thing.” She propped her elbows on the table. “I really don’t care where I live. I know it sounds strange, but I’ve lived here, I’ve lived in Orono for college, I spent my junior year in England, and I now live in Boston, and it genuinely makes no difference to me. I need work that’s interesting to me, and I need people I can talk to and I need my independence. That’s it. As long as I have those things, I’m extremely adaptable.”
“Okay then. Sounds like you know who you are.”
“I suppose. I can be kind of a bitch, full disclosure.”
He let out a surprised bark of a laugh. “Tell me more.”
