Page 51 of Light of Day
“No idea.” She stared at her notes. “Our families have never had anything to do with each other, have they? I mean, I know my mother worked at the hotel briefly, so did I. But what about past generations?”
“Got me. Now we’re back in Amy Lou’s territory.”
“Forget her.” Heather shook her head impatiently. “I know where to start. Gabby already told us, remember? Even before we found her. I can look for her flash drives at the same time.”
23
“I must really like you,because I wouldn’t reach out to Carson for anyone else,” Luke grumbled as he knocked on the door of his father’s library at the Lightkeeper Inn.
“If I tell you I promise to show my appreciation, will that help?” Heather gave him a hopeful smile that he found both sexy and adorable.
“Specifics, please?”
“I was thinking a double scoop fudge swirl ice cream cone.”
That reminded him… “Izzy. I’m taking her to Sea Scoops later on, no matter what’s happening.”
The door opened and his brother Carson greeted them. Carson was the oldest, and his father’s go-to errand boy. Aside from the deep blue Carmichael eyes, he didn’t look much like their father; he had a wiry build and a sulky manner. For most of their lives, he’d treated Luke, who was six years younger, like an irritating fly in his soup.
“You owe me, dude. This better be important.” He barely spared a glance for Heather before focusing on Luke again.
“It is. It’s part of an official investigation.”
“Into what? Old books?” Carson stepped aside so they could enter.
“I can’t say any more than that.” Luke was hoping no one would press too hard on that point, since there was no more investigation into Gabby’s disappearance. Making this about Denton would be a stretch, since he still hadn’t gotten word from the coroner. “We’re just looking for some background information.”
“And you think we have it in here?”
“Hoping.” As the familiar tang of cigar smoke mixed with leather and book glue enveloped him, Luke gestured to the display cases. “We just want to look more closely at some of those newspaper articles.”
“Why?”
“I’m sorry, I really can’t get into the details.” Luke held steady under Carson’s suspicious gaze. If his brother hadn’t been such an ass to him—and Carrie, too—he might have said more. But Carson was generally just looking for an angle to bolster his own standing in the Carmichael universe at everyone else’s expense. “But Dad knows we’re investigating.”
He hoped that was vague enough to be essentially accurate. After all, Heather had talked to him just yesterday.
“Are you sure about that? The old man’s not what he used to be.”
“Do we have some kind of problem here?”
Carson shoved his dark hair out of his eyes and glared at Luke.
Smartly, Heather stayed out of the infamous Carmichael dynamic. Some things were best left to play out on their own.
“Fine,” Carson finally said. He unlocked the glass display case. “I’m a busy guy, I can’t stay and babysit this project. Make sure you lock the case after you’re done. If we find anything out of place, you’ll get a bill.”
“We’ll be very careful.” Luke refused to rise to the bait. He could dispute his brother’s claim that he was “busy,” but that seemed low. He honestly had no idea how Carson spent his time.
“Thank you, Carson,” Heather said politely.
Carson eyed her, his manner softening. When he wasn’t being a dick, he could be very charming. “You’re the one looking for your friend, right?”
“Yes, but?—”
Luke nudged her with his elbow. There was no reason to tell Carson anything other than what he needed to know.
“How did you know about that?” she finished.
