Page 41 of The Last Grift
CASEY
Thursday
“Thanks again, Chenda.”
Chenda Wall was in her late forties and had been Casey’s liaison since he started working for the state. He liked her, which, since he didn’t like many people, meant he looked forward to seeing her even under the current circumstances.
“No problem. Gourmets of the world thank you for your service. But, obviously, not the poachers.”
“Yeah, it gets worse every year,” Casey said heavily.
“Yeah, it does. Sorry for not making it out sooner.” Chenda heaved the last of the harvest into the back of her minivan. “Lunch rush ended up being out of control, but I’ll take care of these beauties ASAP and get the paperwork over to you. And hey, don’t be a stranger. Come to ours for a meal soon?”
When she wasn’t at work for the Department of Agriculture, Chenda and her brother helped their parents run the best noodle house on the peninsula. And she had two kids in college as well. Chenda was a busy person.
“I’ll make amok…” she teased. “I know how much you like it.”
Casey’s stomach rumbled its agreement. The Cambodian coconut fish curry was one of his favorite dishes.
“Fine, twist my arm. I’ll give you a call in a week or so.”
“You have my number. Bring a friend, there’s always enough.” With a last wave, Chenda rolled up her window and drove off toward Westfort, taking the thousands of dollars’ worth of wild fungi with her. At least they wouldn’t go to waste.
Beside him, Bowie harrumphed impatiently.
Casey looked down at his dog. “Yeah, I’m antsy too. Let’s go see what happened at the Point.”
Casey often thought he wouldn’t talk to anyone at all, especially at this time of year, and if it weren’t for Bowie, he might not speak all day. The exception was Elton Cox, who checked in with Casey as regularly as Casey checked in on him. Over the years, Casey had learned that if he didn’t stop by Elton’s place, Elton would eventually come find him at the marina or the office.
Oh, he’d claim to be out on errands, but Casey knew better.
His parents had moved off Heartstone when Casey went to college, unable to stand the gossipmongers any longer. Casey had understood they needed a change. But he knew Mickie was innocent and the only way to prove it was to return and keep looking. And once he had, Elton had unofficially become his family still on the island.
“He’s always taking strays under his wing, isn’t he? And now he’s worried about Gordon. Which means I should be too.”
Bowie leaned against his leg as if he understood.
On their wayto the niche in the split wood fence that counted as a public parking spot, Casey spotted Mercy Dawson,one of the residents of the Paulson Point neighborhood, piling brush into the back of her truck. Her husband must have been working the grocery store right now.
Casey rolled down his window. “Need a hand?”
Mercy looked up and smiled at him. “Nah, you’re just in time—this is the last of it.”
“Perfect timing, then,” he responded with a laugh.
“Yep, you and my kid.” Mercy’s high-school-aged daughter was nowhere in sight. Casey thought he remembered she played on the high school soccer team.
“Did you hear about the fire last night?” Casey was sure she had, as tight-knit as the neighborhood was.
“Yeah, but not much of a fire. I kind of thought it was someone using one of the grills, maybe used too much lighter fluid.”
“The park is officially closed to camping for the season,” Casey pointed out, feeling a bit like a record with a skip. Again, an image of the infuriating Gabriel Karne popped into his head. Clear green eyes and a smile that skated between impish and sly. Charismatic but in that borderline used-car salesman way.
Not. His. Type.
He dropped the picture into the mental lock box it belonged in and visualized locking it. He did not need to be thinking about exactly where on his personal checklist Gabriel Karne deviated from his type. Because dammit, Casey didn’t have a type.
He reminded himself that Karne was less trustworthy than most people. Casey’d run a background check on the guy and while there were no glaring red flags like a convenient arrest, Karne had huge gaps in his employment record and many,manychanges of address. Casey knew the signs. Either the man was not reliable or he’d moved around a lot to avoid being tapped forfraud of some kind. He’d bet his tiny 401k that Charming Fucker was a scammer.
