He’s thinking about what he’s going to tell the Sheridans, she thought. What could be worse than calling a mother and father to let them know their child has been positively identified as a murder victim? Mia shivered. It was a call she’d had to make several times herself, and she knew just how hard the next half hour or so was going to be for Beck.
She picked at the food on the plate in front of her, her appetite gone, but not wanting to leave the restaurant to head back to the municipal building. She was pushing a chunk of crabmeat around with her fork when a shadow crossed her table.
She looked up to see Daniel Sinclair approaching.
“Agent Shields, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Mr. Sinclair. Nice to see you again.”
“Ah, I see Jimmy talked you into the crabs and spaghetti.”
“He did. And they definitely live up to their reputation.”
“I’ve been trying forever to talk Jimmy into leaving Lola and coming to work for me, but he’ll have none of it.” Dan Sinclair paused and added, “Actually, I’ve tried to talk Lola into coming and cooking for me when she retires, but she keeps putting off giving me an answer.”
“Word is that Lola’s planning on a long cruise when she retires,” Mia repeated what Beck had told her.
“Oh, I meant after the cruise.” Sinclair smiled.
“Well, good luck with that.”
“There’s talk of a meeting at the community center tonight,” he said. “Do you know anything about that?”
“Yes, I think Beck mentioned seven thirty, but you might want to check with the station. And I think they’re going to give the information to the local news stations so that as many people as possible hear about it. I suspect there will be some information on the early local news.”
“Is there a suspect?”
“No. The chief just wants to make sure all the information that’s circulating is correct.”
“Oh, right. Squelch any rumors, that sort of thing.”
“Right.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you then.” He started to leave.
“Mr. Sinclair, any chance I could get a room at your inn tonight? It just occurred to me that the meeting might run late, and I have a distance to drive.”
“I’m sure we can accommodate you. Just come on over after the meeting and go to the front desk inside the lobby of the main house. We’ll have something reserved for you.”
“Great. Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure.” He touched a finger to the brim of an invisible cap and started toward the door. A middle-aged woman holding the hand of a small child was coming in just as he reached it, and he paused to hold the door for them before turning and giving Mia a wave.
Well, she thought, at least I won’t have to make that long drive back to Connor’s. Maybe she’d duck into Bling at some point between now and the meeting and pick up something to wear tomorrow, maybe take a look at that cute bag. She always had an emergency bag in her trunk with toiletries and a nightshirt, but she didn’t usually travel with an extra set of work clothes. She’d been wanting to look around in Bling anyway, and this would give her a good excuse. It was as close to downtime as she was going to get this week.
She looked out the window and watched Dan Sinclair walk to his car on the opposite side of the street. He stopped in front of the art gallery and chatted with a young woman with long blond hair and a very short skirt.
A man in his early thirties came out of the gallery and spoke with the pair on the sidewalk. Shortly another man, also in his thirties, walked out of the bookstore with a bag under his arm.
Right there, right before her eyes, could be three viable suspects. Any one of them could be the killer.
Her head began to hurt. There seemed to be no end to the potential suspects in St. Dennis. She watched the men across the street for a few more minutes, then turned her attention back to the room. It seemed half the town was in Lola’s.
Without any physical evidence, there was no way to start eliminating suspects from the pool. Unless, of course, someone did something to distinguish themselves at the meeting tonight. Or unless the lab found something in the folds of plastic.
She’d call the lab for an update on her way back to the police department. As far as culling a credible suspect from the herd, she’d just have to figure out a way to do that between now and seven thirty.
16
Mia watched the crowd trickle into the community room of the St. Dennis municipal building. It was a little after seven and already the room had begun to fill up through the wide double doors. By the time the meeting started, it would be standing room only.
“Some crowd, eh?” Hal Garrity had appeared at her elbow.
“It’s great, don’t you think?” Mia nodded enthusiastically. “Shows that the residents are taking the situation seriously.”
“That, and not wanting to miss out on the chance to be on TV.” He pointed discreetly to the cameras that were being set up to the left of the podium. “And let’s not forget that there isn’t a whole lot going on around here on a weeknight.”
“You have to think the merchants are worried about losing business if this case isn’t solved soon.”
“Thing about St. Dennis”-he leaned closer and lowered his voice-“is that most of the shop owners aren’t worried at all. These past few years have been boom times around here. No one ever really expected the town to take off the way it did. Oh, some gambled on it, like Ham Forbes. Of course, some could say he had the inside track on buying up all the real estate he could down there on Charles Street.”
“That would be the mayor’s ex-husband?” Mia recalled that the mayor’s son’s last name was Forbes.
“Right. Say what you want about Christina Pratt, but she’s been right on target, far as the tourist thing. She pushed for money for renovating the harbor, pushed for grants to restore old buildings, pushed for everything she could get to spiff up the town.” Hal nodded in the direction of the mayor, who’d just entered the room. “Yeah, I’d call her a real visionary. She looked north at Chestertown and south to St. Michael’s and saw no reason why St. Dennis couldn’t offer as much in the way of atmosphere. And of course, shopping.”
“She was the catalyst?”
“Worked relentlessly to get what she wanted, got everyone who was anyone on the bandwagon with her. Paid off, I’d say.”
“Which one is Mr. Pratt?” Mia studied the three men who had accompanied the mayor into the room.
“None of them,” Hal told her. “He’s been gone about five years now, went back to Connecticut, where he came from.”
“Divorced?”
“Yes. Complained to anyone who’d listen that she put all her energy into the town, none into the marriage, and he split.”
The mayor and her companions made their way through the crowd. As they approached the spot where Mia and Hal stood, she touched the man closest to her on the arm and said, “ Hamilton, have you met Agent Shields?”
“I haven’t had the pleasure.” The very handsome silver-haired man dazzled Mia with a smile. “Ham Forbes, Agent Shields. So, you’re here to help Beck catch the bad guy.”
“With any luck.”
“I’d have thought luck wouldn’t be an issue,” he said smoothly. “I would expect the FBI to come in here with a game plan and take care of business.”
“We’re doing our best,” she assured him.
“Yes, well.” He straightened his tie. “Let’s hope that’s enough.”
He nodded to Mia and Hal, then resumed following his former wife through the crowd to the front of the room.
Mia watched him with an amused expression on her face.
“Am I supposed to guess why she divorced him?” she asked.
“You’d be wrong.” Hal chuckled. “He divorced her.”
“Really?” She thought that over for a moment. “A little too much ego under one roof?”
“Yes, and most of it hers.” Hal waved to a neighbor. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s developed a little spine over the past few years-remarried and divorced since they split up-but he was never in charge in that relationship. Christina calls the shots in everything she does.”