Page 39 of Bait and Switch
“In that case, I won’t bother giving you my card,” Peter had responded with a sneer. “Thanks for nothing.” Less than a minute later, the man had driven off, going too fast down the road like most BMW drivers did. Casey had resisted shaking his fist; he wasn’t really an angry old man. Not yet anyway. Then he’d let himself onto the dock and immediately called Karne.
Shaking off the memory, Casey took a last swallow of his coffee and scowled at the mug’s contents, which were no longer tepid but in fact stone cold.
“Gross.”
Standing up and crossing to the sink, he rinsed out the mug and set it in the drainer.
“Come on, everybody,” Casey said to Bowie and the as-yet-to-be-named cat. Bowie jumped up in excitement. The cat narrowed its eyes in suspicion. “Yep, you’re coming too.” He grabbed his parka and slipped it on, then made sure his gloves were in the pocket.
A tangled knotwas starting to break up and reveal secrets, or at least some of them. For undefined reasons, this was not a comforting thought. Maybe it was more like a giant iceberg calving and sending the consequences out into the universe—no control, no steering, just crushing everything in its path.
“All fucking hell is going to break loose,” he said to Bowie as he tugged his toque onto his head. “Come on, might as well get the day started.”
Casey left the rowboat pulled high up onto the shore and turned to examine the pier, analyzing the damage he could see. The fire department had cordoned it off with DO NOT CROSS tape, which didn’t do anything except add to the general air of despair lingering around the marina.
He made a mental note to check in with Greery. The two sailboats were a loss; he didn’t need to be an inspector to know that. Even though the weather was cold and damp, the flames had fulfilled their purpose. What Casey needed to know was how severely the dock had been affected by the fire. Would he have to search for a new berth? As it was, getting through the red tape to get the dock repaired—if repairs were needed—was likely going to be a fucking nightmare. He sent a little prayer up to the yellow-tinged clouds that the pier was relatively undamaged.
With that last thought, he scooped up the cat, tucked it under one arm, and started toward the parking lot with Bowie, as usual, trotting along at his side.
“Before anything,we need to drop the cat at Pedro’s. He has time right now,” he told Elton and Charming not too much later. “Then we have things to talk about.”
“I’m impressed you managed to get both Bowie and the cat to shore,” Elton said.
“The cat must have had some experience as a boat cat because it didn’t try and jump out, even stuck around when we bumped onto the beach.” Maybe it had been because the air still smelled like smoke. Or maybe the creature recognized a good setup when Gabe had wrapped it in a blanket and saved it from flames.
“I have cash,” said Gabe, patting his back pocket. “I’ll pay for the exam.”
They’d decided to meet in the Norskland parking lot. Casey had hoped to grab more coffee, but Pedro Morales, the island’s only veterinarian, had returned his call sooner than Casey’d expected.
“All right, let’s get going, moneybags.”
“I’m gonna let you two go on your own. There’s no reason to take two vehicles.”
Casey decided to ignore the smirk accompanying Elton’s statement.
FIFTEEN
Gabriel
Wednesday
“It tooktwo of you human brutes to bring this beautiful gal in?”
The veterinarian, Pedro Morales, was adorable. He was probably in his late thirties and was Gabe’s height but slender. And unless Gabe’s radar was broken beyond repair, he was gay. Bi at the very least, considering the way he caught Gabe’s amused glance and shot him a flirty grin in return.
Gabe smiled back even harder and added a wink. Next to him, Casey cleared his throat, and Gabe knew without looking that he was rolling his eyes. Didn’t the man know there was nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting? Apparently not. Could he be jealous? Food for thought.
“She’s a survivor, that’s for sure. I love the orange girls. I think they control the shared brain cell.” The vet continued running first the electronic wand and then his hand across thecat’s body. He glanced at the wand and frowned up at them. “No chip.”
“Good. That means Keith is meant for me,” Gabe said. Until that moment, he hadn’t known he wanted to give the cat a home or a name. But now that he’d said the words, he wasn’t taking them back.
“Keith?” Casey sputtered and coughed.
“Yep.” If Casey’s reaction was anything to go by, it made Gabe even more certain that Keith was the right name. “Look at Keith Richards, he’s still hanging around after all these years. If Keith is good enough for him, it’s good enough for the cat that saved my life. Besides, your dog is Bowie. They can both be rock stars.”
“And how is my best doggo?” Pedro asked, forestalling the inevitable bickering that would normally follow Casey and Gabe’s exchange. Gabe was just a tiny bit sad about that.
“Good, he’s good,” grumbled Casey.
