Page 41 of Bait and Switch
“Do you need a warm-up?” he asked Elton.
“I think I’m fully caffeinated. I’ll pass.”
“That is crazy talk, old man.”
The day was shaping up to be a three- or four-cup day. Hell, maybe even a fiver. In the kitchen, two clean mugs sat next to the coffee pot, so he filled both of them and headed back out to the living room. He was ready to learn what Casey had discovered.
The irritating man had made himself comfortable on the couch, which forced Gabe to sit at the table. He smirked. Gabe shot him a mischievous glance.
“Casey’s got space for us on that big boat of his.”
Casey’d been lifting the full mug to his lips, and Gabe’s outrageous statement had him jerking his arm and splashing some of the liquid onto his hand.
“Gotcha,” Gabe said.
“Am I going to have to separate you two?” Elton chuckled. “Quit screwing around, Gabriel, I want to hear what Casey has to say.”
“Let me get this straight.Your ‘contact,’ who did the background check on me—illegally, I’m just gonna point out—told Peter enough information that he sussed out I was here on Heartstone. On top of that, theShangri-Lais his dad’s boat. Was his dad’s boat.” Gabe frowned. “Or rather, was his mom’s boat that his dad paid for. Boy, that’s really a lot to wrap my head around.”
Gabe sent a raised eyebrow Casey’s direction and was rewarded with a glower and a flicker of guilt. Not undeserved. Gabe could have died last night, maybe Casey too. Whoever firebombed the marina wasn’t fucking around. On the other hand, it wasn’t a target difficult to hit, so maybe it had been a crime of opportunity. But Gabe knew the fire had been a message. To whom was the question.
Gabe was working to process the information Casey had shared with them. Dammit, he’d been concerned that a background check would lead the Colavitos to him, but this was—he didn’t know what this was. An attempt on his life or a message to John Stevens? Maybe both.
“Okay, so who the fuck killed Peter?” Gabe asked. “And why dump his body on a boat they just turned around and burned to the waterline anyway? Seems a bit extreme.”
“Maybe the killer and the arsonist aren’t the same people?” Elton suggested.
“And let’s not forget that Peter’s father is the prosecutor who put your brother behind bars. That might not give you motive to kill Peter, but what about tossing a match on the sailboat? I know you didn’t, Casey, but none of this makes sense, and thecops are surely going to want to find someone for this. We’re missing something important, something big.”
A humming interrupted him, the buzzing of a cell phone. He stared at Casey; it had to be his since Gabe’s newest was at the bottom of the bay along with his car keys, and Elton didn’t have one. Although Gabe was going to take care of that as soon as he could. It was a two-way street, he could take care of Elton too.
With a frown, Casey dug into the pocket of the parka he’d slung over the arm of the couch. “It’s Tor, I have to take this.” Grabbing his phone, Casey stepped into the kitchen.
“Tor?”
“Olympic Rescue,” Elton told him.
Gabe was perfectly happy to eavesdrop on Ranger Man’s conversation, but someone knocked on Elton’s front door.
“Expecting someone?”
“No.” Elton pushed himself to standing and started across the room to open the door.
An older man, probably younger than Elton but not by much, waited on the tiny porch, and it only took one glance for Gabe to know exactly who he was. John Stevens, Peter’s father. Ranger Man’s mortal enemy. He was definitely the man he’d seen in the parking lot at the sheriff’s the day before.
“John, this is a surprise.”
Gabe had never met Peter’s father, had never seen a picture, had no idea he existed. But Peter had looked just like him.
Stevens was saturated in grief. A man who wished he was the one who’d died. As if it had taken almost the last vestige of his strength to curl his fingers into a fist and bang on Elton’s door.
He looked over Elton’s shoulder to Gabe, who rose to his feet. His mouth opened and closed as if he couldn’t force whatever words he needed to say past his lips.
“Come in.” Elton stepped back. “Casey Lundin is here. He’s in the kitchen talking on the phone.”
“I know, I saw his Jeep. I shouldn’t be here. I’m supposed to be meeting someone, family, but I don’t know where to turn. What to do.”
“Well, come inside, Gabriel won’t bite. But I can’t guarantee Casey’s reaction.”
