Chapter 28 Luke
Luke
Sawdust flew, raining over my hair in a fine golden confetti shower as I cut the last of the boards to frame out the storage closet Mina wanted in the kitchen area. As the scream of the saw died, I heard my name.
Turning, I saw Kado walking toward me. “What’s up?”
He held up a box. “We have any more of these screws?”
I took it from him, reading the label. “I’m not sure. The van’s empty?” In addition to the personal vehicles some of the crew drove to get here, we had a company van with tools and supplies that Kado drove.
“Yep. I checked all the drawers.”
“Let me check my truck.” Flipping off the power to the saw, I headed out back to where I parked and unlocked the bed box. I kept an array of miscellaneous items with me, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities that I would have some of the screws Kado needed.
But a quick rummage through the box’s contents told me that was not the case today. “I don’t have any. If you want to take over finishing the framing for the storage closet, I’ll run over to Parker Supply and get some.”
Kado nodded once. “Works for me.”
“Come on. I’ll show you where I’m at.” Leading him inside, I quickly showed him where I left off, then left the building. Parker Supply was close, so I decided to walk.
The town crawled with summer tourists, making me happy I didn’t need to take my truck and fight for parking space. Skirting around a family with two young kids, I entered the store.
A maze of displays met me as I stepped in. The store carried all the necessities and a decent selection of gifts, but that meant it was stocked to the brim. Always.
Winding through the shelves and racks, I found the hardware section and quickly located the screws Kado needed. I grabbed two boxes and headed for the checkout counter.
“Hey there, Luke.” Kent Morrison, the store owner, greeted me as I stepped up.
A genuine smile crossed my face. The rotund, on the downside of sixty, bearded man reminded me of Santa Claus. He was also just as nice. “Hey, Kent.” Setting the boxes down, I reached into my pocket for my wallet.
“This all you need?”
“For now, yes. We ran out at the building site.”
“You’re working on Mina’s café, right?”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. He knew damn well I was working on that project. Everyone in town knew. “Yes.”
“Had someone else in here a little while ago asking about it. Well, about where to find Detective Quartermaine, anyway. Said he had information.”
My gaze sharpened. “Tall guy? Runs a hunting operation?”
Kent paused in scanning my items. “Why, yes, actually. How did you know?”
“Mina mentioned she talked to him. Do you happen to know where I could find him?” I wanted to know more about the man he saw.
While I had no doubt Ozzie would do his due diligence to locate and talk to the man Toren saw, I didn’t trust that we’d get the full story about him unless Ozzie needed opinions or information.
And that wasn’t because he didn’t trust us.
It was just his nature as a police officer to keep things close to the vest.
Kent read my total off the register. “He lives up off of Otter Bay Road. First turn past the twisted pines on your left.”
I tapped my card on the reader, then scooped up the boxes of screws. “Great. Thanks for the info.”
“You’re welcome. I sure hope this business gets sorted out soon. Rich and that poor girl’s family deserve answers.”
I agreed. “You were around back then, weren’t you?”
“Yep. I’ve lived here my whole life.”
“Did you know Moira?”
“Not personally. I knew Rich and his family because they’re locals. She was from Juneau, and I saw her around town with Rich. He was just devastated when she disappeared. He’s never really recovered.”
I grunted an ascent. “Did you ever hear any rumors about her disappearance?”
Kent stroked his beard, his bushy eyebrows drawing down over the bridge of his long nose. “There were the usual things: Rich killed her. She ran away. Normal stuff, you know?”
I nodded.
“Truthfully, I never thought she ran away or that Rich killed her, but I don’t have another explanation for how she ended up dead. Though now that she’s been found in Walter’s wall, well…” He shrugged.
My eyes narrowed. “What? Do you know something about Walter?”
“Walter is…” Kent trailed off and looked away in thought.
“He’s calculating. Always looking for more ways to make the almighty dollar.
It wouldn’t surprise me if someone paid him to let them tear a hole in his wall and look the other way.
Now, did he know what was in the wall?” Again, Kent shrugged.
“Can’t say.” He wagged a finger. “But I can tell you he would absolutely take a bribe.”
A woman with a school-age child in tow walked up behind me to get in line, cutting off any opportunity I had to ask more questions.
Kent held out my receipt. “Watch yourself, Luke. This is dangerous business, and you might be better off just letting Oscar handle things.”
I knew that, but it didn’t mean I would heed his warning. One quick conversation with Kent had yielded new insights into Walter Shuman’s character. Insights I doubted Ozzie had, because he was focused on leads and not on the rumor mill.
“I’ll keep my head on a swivel.” Taking my receipt, I gave a quick wave and left.
Back at the soon-to-be café, I gave Kado his screws and got back to work, hoping the rest of the day went quickly. There were only a couple of hours left. I wanted to go talk to Toren.