Page 35 of Last Resort

“It wasn’t cheap, but for people who work long hours or travel a lot—or only are in seasonal residence—it’s a godsend. Good money if you’ve got a knack for it.”

“That describes a lot of people in Cape May,” Susan replied. “I could see that going over with some of our wealthier residents.”

“It wasn’t just corporate types.” Erik winced because he had certainly been very well-off in his former job. “In my apartment building in Atlanta, there were some retirees who hired services like that. I always figured in those cases that the housekeeper helped keep track of appointments, made sure they got to doctor visits, and tracked caregiver schedules. Things a son or daughter might do if people had a family.”

“That would be a fantastic service,” Susan agreed. “And if they charged for what they were worth, they wouldn’t need many clients.”

“Dammit,” Erik muttered. “This opens up a whole new can of worms. Did Dolores work for someone connected to Raines? He was in Maine, so it wasn’t him. She was retired, so there weren’t current customers—a thief wouldn’t be looking for passwords or house keys.”

“Opal died ten years ago.” Susan glanced at her phone. “The business closed five years later, so Dolores has been retired for a while. In that time, I imagine some of her clients passed on as well. Anyone who was that involved in the workings of a household might know some unpleasant secrets about clients, but the longer time goes by, the less valuable those secrets become.”

“It depends on the secret,” Erik countered. “Dolores might not have known anything, but maybe someonethoughtshe did.”

His phone rang, and Jaxon’s name showed up. “Hi! What’s up?”

“Maybe nothing,” Jaxon said. “But you’re the one who doesn’t believe in coincidence, so I’m letting you know about something odd. An old acquaintance from my Broadway days just showed up in town, Holden Carr. We were in a few shows together and palled around at the time, kept in touch online, but I haven’t seen him in years.

“Turns out he’s the nephew of the guy who died in Ben’s rental unit,” Jaxon went on. “The only next-of-kin. He came to collect the dead man’s personal effects and claim the body.”

“That’s…odd,” Erik agreed.

“Right? He stopped in at the Center to chat me up about the town. I told him a lot without telling him anything if you know what I mean. After he left, I got thinking about back in New York City, and how when Holden got drunk—and we all drank a lot back then—he would go on about how some of his family was Mobbed up and that his great-grandfather supposedly pulled off a big heist, but no one ever found the money.”

Erik’s eyes widened. “Did he have details?”

“If he did, he never shared them. We all thought he was blowing smoke out of his ass at the time. Even other theater people thought he was dramatic.”

“Do you think he’s dangerous?” Erik’s mind went into high gear coming up with ominous possibilities.

“Anyone’s dangerous if the stakes are high enough. Holden tagged along sometimes with my group, but he wasn’t really one of us. Acting on Broadway is a brutal business, but my inner circle wasn’t cut-throat. Holden had that edge, like he’d throw someone under the bus to get what he wanted. I never trusted him,” Jaxon said.

“Do you think he’s here looking for the money?”

“Of course he is. He’s an actor. We like expensive things.” Jaxon paused. “There was always a darkness to Holden. He was fascinated with the occult and ran with some goths who took things too far. The guy looks like an Ivy League fair-haired nepo baby, but he gravitated toward creepy roles. And when he got drunk, he used to say that he ‘made a deal with the devil’ for his success.”

“None of that sounds good,” Erik said.

“I didn’t want him dropping my name and having you think I vouched for him. Watch your back—and warn Ben.”

“I will. Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Cape May was boring before you and Ben showed up,” Jaxon replied with a laugh. “Gotta keep you both safe.”

Erik tried to call Ben, but he didn’t pick up. “Shit.”

“Something wrong?” Susan stepped halfway into the back room while keeping an eye on a shopper browsing in the store.

“Jaxon just warned me about a suspicious person, and I can’t get Ben on the phone to pass it on.”

Susan jerked her head toward the door. “Go over to his office. I’ll hold the fort.”

“You’re awesome.” Erik grabbed his coat and headed outside. Half a block away, he paused to do a search on Jaxon’s acquaintance and came up with plenty of promo photos.

Holden Carr looked to be in his early forties, handsome in a Country Club sort of way. Erik could imagine him portraying college boys in his younger days and their wealthy fathers now. A quick glance at Carr’s professional bio showed that he worked steadily, but despite his drunken confession hadn’t had a breakout role.

At least I’ll recognize him if I bump into him,Erik thought, pocketing his phone and promising to look into Carr’s background more closely later.

Tom Raines embezzled a pile of cash and got away with it for a long time. Maybe he didn’t spend it all, and there’s a nest egg left. His grandfather ripped off the Mob and hid the money so well no one ever found it. Which stash is Carr looking for?

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