Page 38 of Light of Day
“He might. He’s been working as a deckhand since he graduated from high school. I hear he’s strong and a good worker. Doesn’t mind the cold, likes being on the water. Some young people get bored with the job, but not him.”
She stared at the photo. Something about it…the way he was standing a little too close to Gabby as he listened to Denton. It gave her a bad feeling. “We should talk to him.”
“Okay, we can do that, but Andy is a gentle soul. He wouldn’t hurt Gabby.”
“I’m not accusing him of anything. He might remember this conversation. It might give us a clue about…I don’t know, something. Why Denton reached out to Gabby, what exactly was in those tapes, why she came back here, anything.”
Luke rose to his feet and brushed off his jeans. He looked so tired, she realized. Beyond the glass doors, evening had set in, ribbons of golden light edged with vibrant orange streaking across the sky.
“You don’t need to go, if you’re too busy. Just tell me where to find him. I promise I won’t accuse him of anything.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I have a relationship with him. He trusts me. It took a while, believe me. It would be best if I talk to him.”
“Okay, but I’m coming.”
His lips quirked. “How are you going to do that with a cat wrapped around your neck?”
“Good question.” She gently coaxed Savannah off her shoulder and set her on the floor. The cat rubbed against her legs, and her heart melted. “How about you come home with me after all this is over?” she murmured to her.
“I heard that,” said Luke. “I’m a witness.”
“I mean…look at that face. I’ve never had a cat before. But I think this might be destiny.”
“They say destiny works in mysterious ways.”
19
Nothing at Denton Simms’house pointed to a struggle. Nothing gave Luke any hints about how he’d ended up on the rocks at Seaweed Cove. He wanted to search Denton’s lobster boat, theSea Siren, which bobbed at its mooring just off the rocks below his house. But he decided to wait until the morning to do that. He also wanted to talk to the other fishermen and find out if any feuds had recently erupted.
The fact was, Denton could have simply gone for a walk on the cliffs, fallen somehow, bruised his neck, and tumbled below the high tide line. The currents could have landed him in Seaweed Cove the next day. As he and Heather drove to the Highgroves’ place, he made a mental note to check the detailed charts of the local currents. Maybe there was a way to calculate roughly where he’d fallen into the water…if he’d fallen.
He could have been dumped, too.
The surreal-ness of it all suddenly hit him. A potential murder on Sea Smoke Island. On his watch. Fucking hell.
“I need to make a quick stop. It’s on the way,” he told Heather.
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
He needed to see Izzy. Urgently. He needed a whiff of her sunshine.
A few moments later, they pulled up outside Carrie’s house, the same single-story house, white with green shutters, that she’d grown up in. The Prevosts had retired to Florida and signed it over to her.
He glanced at Heather and saw that she understood completely what he was doing.
The front door opened and Izzy came flying across the front lawn toward them, as hyped-up as a curly-haired windup toy. He jumped out and swept her into his arms.
“I saw you from the window!” she said excitedly. “Are we going for ice cream?”
He glanced at Heather, who was climbing out the passenger side.
“Ice cream sounds like a great idea,” she said.
Thank you, he mouthed. But before he could tell Izzy to hop in, Carrie jogged down the path to join them. “Not tonight. She already brushed her teeth.”
Of course Izzy hadn’t mentioned that detail. She grinned and showed off her freshly brushed teeth—and the gap where one was missing.
“It came out!” He gave her a high-five. “Did you try the apple trick?”
