Page 44 of Eclipse Bay

Mitchell examined the dead rose he had just pulled off a bush. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. When you find yourself within spitting distance of ninety, you start viewing things from a slightly different perspective. If Claudia Banner walked back into my life today, I’d ask for my money back.”

“And that’s all?”

“Yep.” He smiled slightly at the dead rose. “That’s all. I’ve got other passions these days. That’s another thing I’ve learned over the years. If he gives himself a chance, even a Madison can develop a little common sense when it comes to his passions.”

Octavia was quiet for a while, watching him work. Eventually she stirred. “You know, if you leave some of the dead blooms on the bush you’ll get rose hips. They make a very healthy tonic.”

“I can’t stand rose hip tea,” Mitchell said. He snapped off another dead bloom and stuffed it into his sack. “I’ve got some good ten-year-old whiskey I use when I need a tonic.”

chapter 10

At eight-thirty the following evening, Rafe stood with Jed Steadman at the edge of the crowd and watched Hannah dance with Perry Decatur. Decatur, he was pleased to note, did not appear to be enjoying himself.

The whole scene bordered on amusing. Rafe could almost feel sorry for Thornley and his retinue. The reception was ostensibly in the politician’s honor, but most of the guests were too busy sneaking covert glances at Hannah and Rafe to pay much attention to Thornley. That was due to the fact that most of those present were locals, including the mayor and his wife, all of the members of the town council, and the owners of several Eclipse Bay businesses.

Rafe recognized a lot of faces. He knew that the majority of these people had been around long enough to be familiar with the legend of the famous Harte-Madison feud, and virtually all of them had been living in Eclipse Bay eight years ago when Hannah had provided him with his alibi for the night of Kaitlin Sadler’s death. In addition, the entire town was no doubt aware of the terms of Isabel Harte’s will.

When Rafe and Hannah had walked into the reception together shortly after eight, they had caused any number of heads to swivel and jaws to drop. A ripple of murmurs had spread through the crowd. An amazing number of people had found an excuse to cross the room to greet them and make conversation.

Definitely not a banner night for Thornley, Rafe thought. How could his staff have known that their man’s forthcoming announcement of his intention to run for the U.S. Senate seat would take second place to the latest development in the Harte-Madison feud?

Jed munched a cracker slathered in cream cheese and smoked salmon. “Thornley might be the next senator from the great state of Oregon, but he’s having a hard time getting anyone’s attention tonight.”

“Only so far as the locals are concerned. The out-of-town crowd hasn’t got a clue about the reason for the buzz.”

“True, but almost everyone here is from Eclipse Bay.” Jed eyed Perry and Hannah with an assessing gaze. “Decatur certainly doesn’t look thrilled. Probably didn’t expect you to show up with Hannah.”

Rafe watched Perry and Hannah come to a halt on the dance floor. “I’m not real concerned with Decatur’s feelings.”

“From what I hear, he’s got a lot at stake tonight too. Word is he’s trying to position himself to take over the institute next year.”

“Not my problem.” Rafe picked up a feathered toothpick that had an olive, a bit of cheese, and a mushroom impaled on it. He put the tiny skewer in his mouth and removed the edible portions with his teeth.

Jed shot him a curious look. “So what’s up with you and Hannah, anyway?”

“We’re conducting negotiations.”

Jed looked amused. “Yeah, I heard about that. Your Porsche was spotted at the Harte place night before last. Word is you’re doing your negotiating in bed.”

Very deliberately, Rafe turned to look at him. He said nothing.

Jed grimaced and put up a hand, palm out. “Sorry. Can’t help the curiosity. I’m a reporter, remember?”

“Yeah,” Rafe said, “I remember.”

“I get the message. No more questions of a personal nature about you and Hannah Harte. But speaking as an old friend, I’ll just say that you’d better hope that her family doesn’t get wind of the talk that’s going around town.”

“I’m not worried about the rest of the Hartes. This is between Hannah and me.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” Jed reached for another canapé and another topic of conversation. “Some big bucks in this crowd tonight. Just saw Tom Lydd and his new bride arrive. I understand the head of the institute is hoping Lydd will endow a research fund.”

Rafe followed his gaze to the man with the boyish face and the techie glasses on the far side of the room. Tom Lydd was not yet thirty, but he was already worth millions. “Very smart guy. Took his company public at the right time. His security software is some of the best on the market. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a buyout on the horizon.”

Jed glanced at him. “You follow that kind of business news?”

Rafe shrugged. “It’s a hobby.”

Jed nodded, satisfied. He turned back to his survey of the crowd. “Not a bad turnout for the institute. A rising politician, a sprinkling of big money, and the right people from the political end of the spectrum. Got to admit, this operation has come a long way since it first opened its doors.”

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