Page 116 of Eclipse Bay

“No offense, A.Z., but we need more than that to take this to the police.”

“We’ve still got the option of turning the story over to the media,” Hannah reminded him. “Not theEclipse Bay Journal, obviously. But maybe one of the Portland papers will be interested.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Rafe tapped his finger on the arm of the wicker chair. “I was counting on Jed going with the story and doing the basic legwork because it was a hometown scandal. He had the best reason to get excited about it.”

“He’ll get fired up about it, all right,” Mitchell said morosely. “Probably sue us.”

Hannah looked out over the bay. “I wish we had a little more to go on here. Rafe is right. We don’t have any hard evidence.”

There was a short, stark silence behind her.

“You know who you’re looking at now,” Mitchell said eventually. “If nothing else, you ought to be able to use what you’ve got to scare the hell out of Jed Steadman. Make sure he knows that if he makes one false move, a lot of folks will be watching. That should keep him in line.”

Arizona grunted. “Why not call up the Thornley crowd and tell them we know who’s been blackmailing their candidate all these years? That would stir things up a mite.”

“I’m not so sure Jed has been blackmailing Thornley,” Rafe said thoughtfully.

Everyone looked at him.

He sat forward and folded his arms on his knees. “When you get right down to it, there’s no evidence that Steadman has been living above his income. If he’s getting cash out of Thornley, where has the money been going?”

Another silence greeted that observation.

“Well, shoot and damn,” Mitchell muttered. “Why would he commit murder for the tapes and then sit on them for eight years?”

A cunning light appeared in Arizona’s eyes. “Why waste time prying a few bucks out of a small-time state pol when you can hold your ammunition and use it on a genuine U.S. senator?”

Hannah heard a collective intake of breath.

“You know something, A.Z.?” Rafe’s smile held no humor. “For a professional conspiracy theorist, you sometimes make a lot of sense.”

“She’s got a point, all right.” Mitchell whistled softly in admiration. “Everyone knew from the start that Thornley would probably go all the way to Washington.” He glanced at Rafe. “You know Steadman better than anyone. Think he’s into that kind of long-range planning?”

“Maybe,” Rafe said thoughtfully. “He always likes to talk about the importance of timing and planning.”

Hannah clasped her hands behind her back. “If Jed has been sitting on those tapes all this time, he must be getting a little antsy now that the big payoff is almost within reach. No wonder he freaked when Rafe and I returned to Eclipse Bay and people started to talk about the past.”

“The question is, What do we do with all this guesswork?” Mitchell asked of the room at large.

Rafe looked out over the bay. “We get a little more information, if we can.”

Hannah swung around in alarm. “What are you going to do?”

“There’s a town council meeting tonight. They’re going to be discussing the pier renovations. Jed will cover the session. It will probably run late.”

Understanding hit her. She took an urgent step toward him. “You’re going to search his house, aren’t you? Rafe, you can’t take that risk. What if a patrol car goes past his place while you’re inside and you’re spotted? If you get caught you’ll be arrested for breaking and entering. You could end up in jail.”

“Now that would be ironic,” Rafe said. “Be the fulfillment of a long-standing prophecy.”

“That is not amusing.” She whirled around to face Mitchell. “I’m sure you don’t want him to take this kind of risk. He’s your grandson. Help me out here.”

Mitchell stroked his chin. His expression of wolfish anticipation was uncomfortably familiar. “Well, I sure wouldn’t want him to take such a dumb risk on his own. Reckon I’d better go with him to keep him out of trouble.”

Hannah looked from his face to Rafe’s and back again. She groaned. “Well, shoot and damn. This is a fine time for the two of you to decide to bond.”

Mitchell studied the big house from beneath the branches of a dripping tree. Jed Steadman’s home stood dark and silent in the fog-drenched gloom. “You thought about what we’re going to do if we set off an alarm?”

“Doubt if there is one,” Rafe said. “Not many people here in Eclipse Bay are worried about crime.”

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