Page 52 of Trick of Light
“Of course. She got up and spoke. She said she was an immigrant from Germany and if the island could welcome her, they could welcome people with roots here too. The last thing she said was that we ought to get over ourselves. All hell broke out after that.”
So Amelia had been on the side of the descendants. Could that have anything to do with her death? This was a new angle no one had thought about, as far as she knew. Were emotions around the descendants and the fund running that high?
“Was anyone particularly angry about what she said?”
“Me. I was angry. She has no business telling us old-timers how to feel. Has she ever ached down to the bone after a winter’s day hauling lobster pots? Hell no. These new folks come in and think they can run things.” He let out a huge yawn, then a burp.
Maybe he shouldn’t be drinking beer at ten in the morning. But she didn’t want to be one of those “new folks” coming in and telling him what to do.
“I can understand that,” she said, coming to her feet. “I’ll let you be now. Oh, before I go. What about Tamara? Did she speak at the meeting? Any idea where she stands on the issue?”
“Didn’t say a word. Probably too scared to.”
“Why would she be too scared?”
“Like I told ya, she’s always been on the outside. Folks think she’s kinda witchy, and she just looks different. Her daughter was even darker than she is, did you know that? Don’t bother me, but you know how some folks are.”
“But not you,” she said dryly.
“Not me. A gal’s a gal.” His sideways look felt like the perfect cue to get on out of there.
23
Up until now, Barnaby had never had reason to visit anyone in jail. Now, in the space of a couple of days, he’d done it with his grandmother and now his brother.
Half-brother. He kept holding onto that fact like a lifeline. He still hadn’t wrapped his head around the reality that Carson had turned out to be a cold-blooded criminal. A sociopath wrapped in money and swaddled in privilege.
The privilege came into view as soon as he walked into the Harbortown Correctional Center and learned his brother was being held with minimal security and treated with plenty of respect by the guards. Carson still had access to his own personal funds, and was probably using them to ensure his comfort while he waited for the trial to start, or for his lawyers to work out some kind of plea deal.
Barnaby expected something along those lines. As a Carmichael, he was hoping for it, since that would mean less publicity. As Barnaby, he wished Carson would have to pay for what he’d done, and that the experience would change him into a better man.
Accountability. Was that too much to ask?
But one look at Carson’s sullen face on the other side of the plastic partition told him that accountability was a long ways off. Carson had always been, and would always be, concerned only about himself.
“Are you here to gloat because you’re in charge now?” he asked.
Not even a hello. Straight to hostility. “You left me a fucking mess to deal with, so no.”
“Getting me out of here better be at the top of that to-do list.”
“I have nothing to do with that. The lawyers are handling your case, I’m staying out of it. The top priority is salvaging the Lightkeeper name which you just about destroyed.” You greedy prick, he wanted to add.
He and Carson had never gotten along. Looking back, the beginnings of a sociopath had been there from the start. Like the time Carson had tossed Barnaby’s new puppy into the ocean and claimed he was teaching her to swim. Poor Bluebell had been scared of water for the rest of her life.
When Barnaby had experienced a growth spurt that sent him towering over Carson, his brother had shifted into nastiness overdrive. He’d even spread a rumor at school that Barnaby was gay. Barnaby hadn’t been able to figure out why guys kept coming onto him. The only silver lining was that he’d made some new friends.
Safe to say, he didn’t trust his brother one tiny little bit. Even locked up, he was probably dangerous.
“If you’re not here to help, don’t waste my time.” Carson started to his feet.
“I didn’t say that.” He’d thought hard about how to handle this interaction. He needed actual truth from Carson, which wasn’t something his brother would give up willingly. Which meant he had to offer something in exchange. “Our legal team has a lot on their plate these days. I came to tell you that we’re considering shifting resources around.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” That got his brother’s attention.
“We might put Raul Garcia on a different matter.” Garcia was the best lawyer on the team and everyone knew it. “Thought you might want to know.”
Carson’s blue eyes turned so icy-hot, they could cut through a glacier. “Fix it, Barnaby.”
