Page 44 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
A few minutes later, the detectives arrived. They were a man-and-woman team that filled up his office with their imposingpresence. If he hadn’t known better, Liam would’ve pegged them more for the FBI than police detectives.
“We’ve gone over the guest list for the past two weeks, and your employee list,” Detective Pauline Winslow told him. “No one jumps out at us as they’re all clean.” She frowned. “What do you know about your newest guests?”
“Are you referring to the captain and crew of the Black Ocean Two?” Liam asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes,” Detective John Rickshaw nodded. “Did you know two of them have criminal records?”
Liam felt they were testing him and trying to fish information from him. “Oh?” He feigned ignorance. “No, I did not.” That was the truth, as Dawn had hinted that her brother had been in trouble, and Liam had a feeling he was one of the two the detectives were referring to. “Are you going to tell me which guests you are referring to from the Black Ocean Two?”
“We’re waiting for their juvenile records to be unsealed,” Detective Winslow said, putting two files in front of him. “Obviously, what we tell you about them stays between us.” She indicated toward the folders. “They are from very prominent families.” She tapped the top folder labeledHardy, B. “His father is a supreme court judge.”
“And his mother is also a judge,” Detective Rickshaw informed Liam. “Then there’s this guy.” He moved the top folder, and Liam’s eyes fell on the nameVanderbilt, W. “I think you already know just how powerful this family is.”
“They only arrived here late last night,” Liam told the detectives, pushing the folders back towards them. “It couldn’t have been them.”
“Actually…” Detective Winslow put another folder on the desk that she’d had on her lap. “They docked at the Newbury Port Harbor Marina a week before you reported the first theft happened.”
Liam’s brows creased, and he leaned over to look at the folder. In it was a copy of all the information Liam now knew a yacht had to submit to the dock, including payment information, which listed the yacht’s arrival and departure date. The yacht had been docked in Newbury Port for a week and left late yesterday to arrive at his dock.
Liam’s jaw clamped as a nerve ticked at the side. This was not good. The interaction between Dawn and Wade flashed through his mind, along with the wound on her brother’s hand.
“Do you know that Judge Hardy has a holiday home in Newbury Port?” Detective Winslow asked. “If you look at a photograph in the file, you’ll see that a vehicle registered to the judge has beenseen on Plum Island on both nights of the thefts here in your hotel.”
Liam’s heart jolted as he thought it made some sort of weird sense as the items that were still missing belonged to Dawn. His brow creased some more as he thought about Lila’s locket and wondered if it was Wade and his crew, why would he keep the locket? Something Dawn had said earlier flashed through his mind:Now that Harper and Lila are friends, I’m afraid that your family now falls under the protection of Vanderbilt security.
Wade could believe that Liam and Dawn were more than just friends. Liam swallowed, trying to make sense of what he was looking at. His eyes fell on the other two folders.
“Who is B. Hardy?” Liam asked.
Detective Winslow pushed the folder toward Liam and turned around, then opened it for him to see. “Ben Hardy.”
“He and Wade Vanderbilt have been best friends since they were teenagers,” Detective Rickshaw told Liam. “They’ve been causing trouble ever since they met as well.”
“Including…” Detective Winslow turned a page in front of Liam and tapped the criminal record. “Kidnapping, for which he spent nine years in prison. He was released early last year. Guess who was there to pick him up from prison?” She pushed Wade’s filetoward him. “His long-time pal, Wade Vanderbilt. The black sheep of the Vanderbilt family.”
“This file is redacted,” Liam pointed out, noting that the only visible charge against Ben was for kidnapping before the text was blacked out. His eyes then caught another entry: a charge of attempted murder had been downgraded to grievous bodily harm.
“I’m sorry, we’re not allowed to reveal more than that,” Detective Winslow told him.
“Was Wade involved in the kidnapping?” Liam’s chest started to feel tight.
She pushed the other file toward him and opened it. “See for yourself.”
Liam skimmed the file, which was heavily redacted. From the visible information, it was clear that Wade Vanderbilt had been charged with withholding evidence and aiding and abetting the kidnapper, identified as Ben Hardy, who had assaulted a bodyguard. Although the bodyguard refused to press charges, witnesses reported that Mr. Wade Vanderbilt had helped disarm the bodyguard. Consequently, Mr. Wade Vanderbilt was placed under house arrest for a year under the supervision of Mr. Scott Vanderbilt.
Liam looked up at the detectives. “Just because they have criminal records and were in the vicinity doesn’t mean they had anything to do with what’s going on at my hotel.”
“We realize that,” Detective Winslow said. “But Wade Vanderbilt is a master of disguise as he’s had a fascination with magic, he is a gold medalist gymnast, has an IQ that’s not normal, and a grudge against his siblings.” She glanced at Ben’s file. “Ben was also a champion gymnast.”
“So?” He shook his head. “Just because they’re good at a sport that I would think most cat burglars are, it doesn’t mean they’ve turned into thieves.” He shrugged. “We all hold grudges against our family members at some time or another.”
While his mind was now reeling, doubt was starting to creep in. Liam wasn’t one to judge a person on past mistakes. Okay, maybe he’d judged his father and his father’s family that way, but that was because of his personal childhood grudge.
“Yes, but did your family try to put you into jail and were then instrumental in locking up your best friend, which led to your fiancée leaving you?” Detective Rickshaw looked at him with raised brows.
“Oh, and to make matters worse, Wade’s fiancée left him and walked straight into the arms of one of Wade’s and Ben’s worst rivals,” she gave him a smug smile. “The same rival that testifiedagainst them and was the cherry on top of the evidence cake that put Ben away.”
“Why would they be targeting my hotel?” Liam asked.
