Page 39 of Last Resort

Given Jaxon’s warning, Erik wasn’t going to mention the chips, not until he had a better idea of the game being played.

“Are you from Cape May?”

Erik shook his head. “Not originally. Just moved here this year.” He held his breath, hoping Susan didn’t pick this moment to appear. His gut told him to share as little as possible with Carr.

“I had family here a long time ago, but I was raised outside Newark and spent quite a long while in New York City,” Carr added. “Some of it on Broadway. I’m an actor.”

“Sounds interesting,” Erik said non-committedly. “What brings you to town?”

“My uncle died. I’m his only family, so I came to handle things.”

Interesting. It’s true…but not the whole truth. Is he hiding the rest, or just not over-sharing?

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Carr shrugged. “We weren’t close. I hadn’t seen him since I was a kid, but there was no one else—so here I am.”

I’d buy his act—if Jaxon hadn’t told me that he’d talked about the family rumor of his great-grandfather’s big missing heist. Did he and Tom Raines just happen to come to Cape May at nearly the same time looking for the money? Or did they meet up—with deadly consequences?

“I hope everything works out.” Erik remained politely neutral.

“My uncle was a recluse,” Carr added. “No one knew where he lived. I might not be able to find all his property to close things out.” He sighed. “Guess I’ll take it one day at a time.”

He gave a wave and then left the shop without buying anything. Erik stared after him, puzzled.

Was he sizing me up to see if I knew anything? Fishing for information? Hard to tell what he knows and what he might have been hoping to learn.

Erik saw Susan motion to him from the break room door and guessed she was asking whether Carr was gone.

“It’s safe to come out,” he said, laughing. “Were you hiding?”

Susan grimaced. “Not exactly. I just didn’t want to talk to that man.”

“Why not?” Erik respected Susan’s hunches.

“I’ve seen him outside through the window a couple of times,” she confessed. “He stood across the street and stared at the shop like he couldn’t decide whether to come in. I was afraid maybe he was casing us for a robbery.”

“He looks more like the kind to pick up a vintage watch for his polo instructor,” Erik countered. “Interesting that you went right to ‘criminal.’”

Susan blushed. “Ignore that. I’m a little jumpy.”

Erik shook his head. “I think your instincts are spot on. Jaxon knew him in New York and warned me about him. Ben had a run-in with him as well.”

“Do you think he told the truth about why he’s in Cape May?” Susan ran her hands up and down her upper arms to warm herself as if she had taken a sudden chill.

“I think he told part of it,” Erik said. “I got the sense that he was trying to find out what I knew and not telling me everything that he did. But I’m not sure what to make of that.”

“You should tell Cole,” Susan prompted. “It will be up to the police to release Raines’s belongings.”

“Someone also broke into Raines’s car,” Erik mused. “That happened after the murder. Which would suggest two people are involved. But what is someone looking for? The poker chips can’t be that important.”

“Are they haunted? If Ben can’t read them, maybe Monty can.”

Erik grinned. “That’s a great idea. I’ll talk to Ben about both things tonight at dinner.”

They closed the shop, and Erik walked Susan to her door, even though her house was across the street.

“You know I’ll be fine on my own,” she told him with a pat on the arm.

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