without it.”
Damn. Holly hadn’t thought about that. “Okay, but still, when those folks are out and about, they might drop in the store for coffee, don’t you think? Plus there are the day-trippers who may not even go near the resort.”
“I think your ideas are really creative and make a lot of sense,” Morgan said. “Sure, there’s risk, but we all know something significant needs to be done.”
“I agree,” Lily said with a decisive nod. “It may be risky, but look at Aiden and me. We’re throwing everything we have into the ecoresort. Sometimes you have to listen to your heart and just go for it.”
“Ryan and I will help promote the store to the tourists and kayakers at the B&B,” Morgan said. “We’ll make sure everybody knows where they can buy the good stuff while they’re on the island.”
“We’ll do the same thing at the resort too,” Lily said. “In fact, we can put the store’s info in our brochures about things to do on the island.”
God, no wonder she loved this place so much. No matter what, your friends and neighbors had your back.
She relaxed into her chair and put her feet back up on the rail. “Thanks, guys, you’re the absolute best. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me.” She paused for a moment. “Now, I don’t suppose you’d like to help me get my aunts on board with the plan, would you?”
Because that would be the most difficult hurdle of all.
Chapter 8
M icah had spent yesterday interviewing the island’s teenagers and college-age kids. Unfortunately, it had all added up to a big fat zero. Nobody owned up to seeing Justin Gore or anyone else with prescription pills. Time after time, the kids sang from the same songbook—that Justin was troubled and angry but probably wouldn’t have the guts to break into somebody’s house. Nor would any of the other kids.
And that was probably all true. Most parents on the island kept a pretty close eye on their kids and tended not to put up with a lot of crap when trouble did crop up.
So yesterday evening Micah had retreated to the rocking chair on his front porch to put back a couple of beers and think hard about where to take the case. One obvious group of suspects was the construction crew at the resort. There were at least thirty guys on-site at this stage of construction, and almost all of them came from the mainland. At the very least, he should check their whereabouts on the day of the burglary.
He was just now finishing up interviews with the first batch of workers in the makeshift lunchroom at the construction site and had a dozen more to go. He was focusing on the ones under forty, leaving out the handful of older guys on-site, at least for now. Aiden had made it clear that Micah was to receive full cooperation from the staff.
Opening the door to the lunchroom, assistant site superintendent Mike McGee ushered in a rough-looking dude with a scraggly beard and hair that hung down almost to his shoulders. The guy gave Micah a resentful stare as he took off his hardhat and raked a grimy hand over his flattened black hair. Both his arms were covered in ink, with the tattoos running up under the sleeves of his black T-shirt. Dragons seemed to be his preferred artistic theme.
“This is Jace Horton,” McGee said.
“Thanks, Mike. Have a seat, Mr. Horton.”
Horton thumped down onto the gray metal chair.
The guy’s personnel file contained only three sheets of paper. Jace Horton was twenty-nine years old, lived in South Portland, and had worked at unskilled construction jobs since high school. He’d started to work at the resort site in February.
“I need to ask you a few questions,” Micah said. “Should only take a few minutes.”
Horton shrugged.
“Where were you on Tuesday between eight in the morning and five thirty?”
“Right here,” Horton said in a bored voice. “I started work at seven thirty and I didn’t leave until five thirty. Got a couple hours’ overtime. That’s
Damn. Holly hadn’t thought about that. “Okay, but still, when those folks are out and about, they might drop in the store for coffee, don’t you think? Plus there are the day-trippers who may not even go near the resort.”
“I think your ideas are really creative and make a lot of sense,” Morgan said. “Sure, there’s risk, but we all know something significant needs to be done.”
“I agree,” Lily said with a decisive nod. “It may be risky, but look at Aiden and me. We’re throwing everything we have into the ecoresort. Sometimes you have to listen to your heart and just go for it.”
“Ryan and I will help promote the store to the tourists and kayakers at the B&B,” Morgan said. “We’ll make sure everybody knows where they can buy the good stuff while they’re on the island.”
“We’ll do the same thing at the resort too,” Lily said. “In fact, we can put the store’s info in our brochures about things to do on the island.”
God, no wonder she loved this place so much. No matter what, your friends and neighbors had your back.
She relaxed into her chair and put her feet back up on the rail. “Thanks, guys, you’re the absolute best. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me.” She paused for a moment. “Now, I don’t suppose you’d like to help me get my aunts on board with the plan, would you?”
Because that would be the most difficult hurdle of all.
Chapter 8
M icah had spent yesterday interviewing the island’s teenagers and college-age kids. Unfortunately, it had all added up to a big fat zero. Nobody owned up to seeing Justin Gore or anyone else with prescription pills. Time after time, the kids sang from the same songbook—that Justin was troubled and angry but probably wouldn’t have the guts to break into somebody’s house. Nor would any of the other kids.
And that was probably all true. Most parents on the island kept a pretty close eye on their kids and tended not to put up with a lot of crap when trouble did crop up.
So yesterday evening Micah had retreated to the rocking chair on his front porch to put back a couple of beers and think hard about where to take the case. One obvious group of suspects was the construction crew at the resort. There were at least thirty guys on-site at this stage of construction, and almost all of them came from the mainland. At the very least, he should check their whereabouts on the day of the burglary.
He was just now finishing up interviews with the first batch of workers in the makeshift lunchroom at the construction site and had a dozen more to go. He was focusing on the ones under forty, leaving out the handful of older guys on-site, at least for now. Aiden had made it clear that Micah was to receive full cooperation from the staff.
Opening the door to the lunchroom, assistant site superintendent Mike McGee ushered in a rough-looking dude with a scraggly beard and hair that hung down almost to his shoulders. The guy gave Micah a resentful stare as he took off his hardhat and raked a grimy hand over his flattened black hair. Both his arms were covered in ink, with the tattoos running up under the sleeves of his black T-shirt. Dragons seemed to be his preferred artistic theme.
“This is Jace Horton,” McGee said.
“Thanks, Mike. Have a seat, Mr. Horton.”
Horton thumped down onto the gray metal chair.
The guy’s personnel file contained only three sheets of paper. Jace Horton was twenty-nine years old, lived in South Portland, and had worked at unskilled construction jobs since high school. He’d started to work at the resort site in February.
“I need to ask you a few questions,” Micah said. “Should only take a few minutes.”
Horton shrugged.
“Where were you on Tuesday between eight in the morning and five thirty?”
“Right here,” Horton said in a bored voice. “I started work at seven thirty and I didn’t leave until five thirty. Got a couple hours’ overtime. That’s
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