Page 25 of Fire Harbor

When her cell phone rang, she glanced up at the clock on the wall and realized it was almost lunchtime. She looked down at her phone to see Linus’s number come up on the display. She swiped left to answer. “Hey, do I have news for you?”

“That was my line,” Linus said. “I need to show you something before I turn it over to the cops.”

“Really? You’ve piqued my interest. But we have a problem. Word’s out. Every female in town is in panic mode thinking a serial killer could be responsible for murdering Gabby Moreland. I know I said one o’clock, but do you think we could push that up to twelve forty-five?”

“Now you’re talking. I’ll meet you out front then. I hope you brought a raincoat because it’s pouring out here.”

“I have my trusty umbrella. See you in fifteen minutes.” After ending the call, she picked up her tote bag and headed toward the service desk where Greta stood with Jill Campbell, stamping her books. Jill and her husband Ross owned Coastal Pharmacy. She already knew that Jill had a fondness for reading romance novels and could devour seven or eight in one week.

“Did you find everything you were looking for today?” Lake asked Jill.

Jill smiled. “Of course, I did. You and your staff are amazingly organized and helpful. Today of all days, I need something to take my mind off the news. It’s such a shame about Gabby. Her mother said from day one, that she wouldn’t just run off. Now, we know she likely met with foul play. We should do something for Betty Moreland.”

“We will,” Lake promised. “You should be getting an email from me about a town meeting we’ve planned for Sunday to discuss safety issues and what we can do to prevent this from happening to anyone else. Details are in the email.”

Jill nodded. “Ross and I will be there, Geniece, too. I’ll also pass along the information to everyone who comes into the drugstore.”

“We should have a good turnout then, which means we might have to hold the meeting at the annex building next door. I hope you’re planning to be there, Greta.”

Greta, who considered herself an activist of sorts, smiled. “Count on it. We all need to take extra precautions until this guy is in custody. I could wait around in the evening and walk you out.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay. It’s you I’m worried about. You’re the one making that trip back and forth to Santa Cruz. Just so you know, once you get around that bridge, don’t stop for anyone. I don’t care who it is. Okay? You make sure you get home safe.”

“Daylight trips,” Greta muttered. “I’m only going back and forth to school during daylight hours.”

“Don’t even make the trip to the university library, not at night. I probably have all the books you need at the house anyway. You could always study there if you want.”

Surprised by the offer, Greta nodded. “I might do that.”

“See you, Jill. Greta, I’m headed to lunch. If you need me, just text.”

“Will do.”

After Lake had strolled toward the front door out of earshot, Greta turned to Jill. “That’s the first time she’s ever invited me over to her place to study. Or for any reason.”

“These are unusual times,” Jill replied, gathering up her haul of romance novels. “It sounds to me like we should all take this serial killer business seriously. She’s worried about you. Probably because you fit the age group.”

Greta’s eyes grew wide. “What? Really? That’s not helping, Mrs. Campbell.”

“I’m sorry, Greta. But you need to be scared. We all do. From what I heard, this man’s been targeting women on or near that bridge for years. Lake is right about going over there at night. Stay home if you can.”

The storm had dropped the temperature a good fifteen degrees as the wind gusts shot out of the northwest. The gale force smacked Lake in the face as she stood under the canopy listening to the wind flap the canvas awning in all directions. Her teeth began to chatter as she watched for any sign of Linus’s white truck. But she smiled in spite of the wait. Her excitement at having a lunch date seemed to outweigh the chilly wind biting at her cheeks.

After a few minutes went by, he rolled up at the entrance to the building and leaned over to open the passenger door for her. “Sorry, I’m a little late. But work called. I’ll need to check in at three, so I went ahead and dropped Farley off at daycare. Sorry about dinner tonight. They want a full crew on hand in case the storm gets worse and we’re looking at more emergency calls than usual.”

“No problem. I understand. You didn’t have to drop Farley at daycare, I would’ve taken care of him. I could still go by after work and pick him up. And maybe you could take your supper break at some point, and we could still eat together. If you want to, that is.”

“Sure. I’d like that. I’ll give Ellie a call and tell her you’ll be by to get Farley after six.”

As she settled into the front seat, clutching her tote bag, he told her about how he’d spent his morning.

“You did what? In this weather?”

“I took Farley and went out to the bridge. Before you say anything about how crazy that was, I want to show you what I found before I hand it over to Brent. I thought we could go up to the lighthouse and eat our lunch overlooking the cliffs.”

“That’s fine. I hope you like egg salad and sweet tea—and pickles.”

“Pickles? Sure. You grew these?”

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