Page 28 of Bait and Switch
Gabe madehis way back across the road, unreasonably irritated that Casey and Bowie were still not home, as evidenced by the lack of Casey’s Wagoneer.
Their absence made the marina feel more desolate than it was normally. Gabe wasn’t made for desolate—he could admit that without losing his man-card. He liked being around people; this wholehiding out from the Colavito familything was cramping his style.
You have no idea, Chance. Why do you think we moved states and not just towns?
More than once, Heidi had complained that Gabe made friends wherever they landed—even in the middle of the desert, where no other children lived. It was a superpower.
Hanging the bag with the ice cream, notebook, and pen on one arm, he dug into his coat pocket with his other hand for the gate key. Even though he’d only been across the street for a short time, he’d made sure to lock everything up. Gabe wasn’t going to be responsible for, say, someone dumping a dead body on one of the boats while he was gone.
The gate opened with a raspy squeak, and Gabe angled his body so he could squeeze through the gap. No reason to open the thing all the way when it screeched like the back gate to hell. Someone needed to oil the hinges, which probably meant Gabriel should step the fuck up.
Before he could push the door shut again, something small, fuzzy, and wet streaked past his feet and shot down the dock.
“What the fuck?”
Whatever it was, it darted past theShangri-Laand the fluttering crime scene tape looped around it. Pausing for a second, the critter seemed to look back over its shoulder and stare directly at Gabe. Then it scurried across the pier, leaped onto theTicket, and disappeared from view.
“Seriously,what the fuck?” Was he going to have to call animal control or whatever passed for that out here to evict a stray cat? What was a cat doing out in this weather anyway? Atleast, it sort of resembled a cat. He hoped to fuck it wasn’t a raccoon.
Making sure the fence was closed and locked behind him, Gabe hurried down to theTicketand climbed aboard. The boat rocked under his weight, and he half expected the cat to panic and abandon ship, but the creature seemed to have found a place to hide. He glanced around but couldn’t see anything in the dark, not even glowing eyes.
With a sigh, he stepped down and opened the cabin door. There were more pressing things for him to worry about than a stray cat, like melting ice cream and trying to make sense of what was going on around Heartstone. Maybe Casey knew something about the cat; he seemed like the type to have a soft spot for strays.
Except when it came to Gabriel.
Not everyone who meets you is going to like you, Chance. And you’re not going to like everyone you meet. Sometimes you’ll just have to fake it ’til you make it.
Ugh. He hated when Heidi was right.
Settlingon one of the benches at his retractable dining table with the heat turned up again, Gabe snagged a spoon and pried the lid off the ice cream. He’d already decided he might as well eat it out of the container. To save on dishes, of course. Setting his dessert to one side to soften up, he flipped open the garish notebook and began making a list.
TheTicketrocked a bit as the wind blew and waves rolled in, the movement almost comforting. Gabe was starting to get used to the sounds the boat made, so very different from what he was used to. The creaking of the mast. The way the boat rubbed against the rubber thingies that protected the dock. Or maybe they protected the boat? It was probably something he shouldknow, but his learning curve had been steep over the last few weeks.
He hadn’t gotten much past writingPeter Vale/Stevens, why?on the first page of the notebookwhen a vibration or something alerted him that someone was on the pier. Half crouching, half standing, he lifted himself to look out the window behind him, the one that opened out onto the dock.
Backlit by the single security light fixed to the shed, Gabe recognized the form of Ranger Man moving slowly. His shoulders were slumped as if he were exhausted—or worse, defeated by his day. Bowie, on the other hand, practically skipped down the planking, his nose pressed against the boards to follow a scent. Or the trail of a cat. The dog came to an abrupt stop at theTicket, pointing his snout at the deck.
“Not tonight, Bowie.”
Even Ranger Man’s voice sounded different to Gabe’s ears. Tired. Gabe glanced at the tub of ice cream he hadn’t dug into yet and tapped on the glass. Ice cream wasn’t the top of the food pyramid, but in his experience, it went a long way toward fixing a tiresome day. And, truthfully, Jewel Creamery’s stuff was real-life magic.
He tugged the window ajar and called out, “Lundin, you’re out late tonight.”
Casey stopped walking. Gabe could see muddy boots and the bottom of his Carhartt work pants. Bowie trotted over and stuck his whole face into the open window, his entire body wiggling back and forth. At least the dog was happy to see him.
“It was a long day, Karne. And I just had a run-in with the sheriff. Do you need something?”
A run-in with the sheriff? What had happened? Was that why he was so much later than usual?
“I have some dark cherry chocolate ice cream from across the way. You look like you might need it more than I do.” It was onlyafter the words were out of his mouth that Gabe realized how ridiculous he sounded.
For fuck’s sake, Chance.
“Never mind,” Gabe said hastily when Casey didn’t immediately reply. “But just so you know, we learned something interesting about Peter. Stop by tomorrow if you can.”
Gabe could interrogate him about the sheriff then too.
“Did it come with a wooden spoon?”
