Page 70 of Bait and Switch
“But Calvin Perkins is still in the wind,” Casey said, bringing Gabe back to the present. “In the wind and, frankly, not looking so great. He has a den, a hideout somewhere up there, but even in the dark, I could tell he’s been living rough. I’m planning on heading up The Valley early tomorrow morning regardless of Agent Boyd. I can lend a hand, at least provide another set of eyes. I’m sure Greta will go with me.”
“I’ve been thinking, could Rizzi and Stevens have done all this underhanded shit on their own for years?” Gabe mused. “No way. I’d bet my third cell phone in a month that Stevens was just one wing of what Rizzi had been involved in. Possibly not, but I have a gut feeling.”
People like us always listen to our instincts, Chance.
TWENTY-THREE
Gabriel
Late Thursday
Gabe shiveredand hunched into his Casey-jacket to avoid the wind’s chilly fingers. There was a decidedly icy nip to the air, but at least it wasn’t actively raining, a welcome change from the weather of the past few days. Inserting the key he’d borrowed from Elton into the padlock, Gabe twisted it and let himself onto the dock. Closing the gate behind him, he slowly made his way towardTheBarbara. His footsteps echoed hollowly over the dark water of Riddle Bay while he mulled over what he wanted to say to Casey. That in and of itself was out of the ordinary—Gabe wasn’t exactly known for planning conversations. And he just didn’tdorelationship conversations.
Christ, he was exhausted. Bone fucking tired. After stuffing themselves to the point of pain at the Geoduck, they had been quiet on the drive back to the old man’s place. There was too much to think about, especially for Casey and Elton. Gabe’s involvement had been pure chance—which was remarkable.
“I’m heading out,” Casey had announced in a tone that said he wasn’t going to listen to arguments against his decision. “There’s a lot of thinking for me to do.”
Almost before he or Elton could respond, Casey had gathered up Bowie and was gone.
“I don’t think Casey should be alone with his thoughts for long. That boy has a tendency to brood,” Elton had told him after watching Casey drive off. “Keith and I will be fine here, I’m gonna put my feet up and pretend to work on the crossword puzzle. Take the truck.”
He’d been dismissed. Practically ordered to check up on Casey. So here Gabe was, and there wasThe Barbaraat the end of the pier, bobbing in Riddle Bay, back in the spot she belonged. But did Gabe belong here? He didn’t know. Belonging was foreign to him.
Now is not the time to reflect on your upbringing, Chance.
Fine.
Gabe didn’t like that Casey was alone either, it didn’t sit well with him. But why? What was his purpose in coming out here? Was it for Casey or himself? When did Gabe become the cheer-up committee for moody park rangers?
In a flash of brilliance, he’d stopped at Norskland General Store and picked up ice cream, a quart of The Duc and the Earl.A nice touch, he thought. The Earl Grey tea flavor with French madeleines mixed in was incredible, and Casey seemed to have a sweet tooth. And he’d also picked up something else—no one could say Gabe didn’t pay attention.
He couldn’t stop remembering Casey asking Agent Boyd when his brother would be freed. And about how long Casey had been alone, not just tonight. He’d been abandoned by his parents. They’d left him to fight for Mickie on his own—for reasons even Gabe couldn’t imagine justifying. Heidi had hadher faults, but Gabe knew in his heart that she never would’ve left him behind like that.
People on the island were going to be talking about this day for years. Gabe couldn’t begin to imagine the sheer number of cases investigators were going to have to go through. The innocent—and even not-so-innocent—who’d been caught up in the Rizzi-Stevens machine were going to maybe get a chance again.
People like Mickie Lundin, whose twenties and thirties had been stolen from him. The whole thing made Gabe feel sick to his stomach. He realized he’d stopped walking and forced his feet to start moving again. His target was Casey Lundin. What he had to do was get there, he’d ad-lib the rest.
That morning while Gabe, Elton, and Casey had been witnessing history and then answering a million questions, the fire marshal had left a voicemail for Casey saying that, while theTicketandShangri-Lawere losses, the pier itself was declared safe. Thank fuck because Gabe knew he wouldn’t have been up to rowing himself out toThe Barbaratonight. Forty might be the new twenty—maybe it was the new thirty—but at forty-four and counting, he was still closer to fifty, and the past few days had been stressful.
What was he even thinking coming out here? Other than the fact that a bossy old man had told him to.
Put a pin in it.
Christ.
He loathed the phrase “We need to talk,” or anything remotely related to those words, but Casey had been the one to kiss him last night. Casey did not seem like the type of person to casually kiss—Gabe totally was, but never Ranger Man. Therefore, the kiss was important and meant something, and Gabe wanted that. He wanted to be important to Casey. Thus, they needed to talk.
Gabe reasoned that he also wanted to distract his brain from what had gone down at the Twana County Sheriff’s Office today, and Ranger Man would do.
The man is more than a distraction, Chance.
Stevens’s confession and accusations had already set a great deal in motion, including, Gabe hoped, the imminent release of Casey’s brother. But sorting out the fuckery wasn’t going to happen tonight. Another reason Gabe had decided to interrupt Ranger Man’s evening. Surely the man wasn’t asleep.
Before Gabe drew close enough to knock onTheBarbara’shull, Casey emerged from the cabin onto the deck.
“Don’t take up a new career that requires sneakiness.”
“Wasn’t trying to be sneaky. You wouldn’t know I was coming if I was trying to be quiet. Permission to board?”
