Cole’s Spidey sense prickled. “Yeah. Why?”
“There’s a little something that could be brewing up your way.”
“Here?” Cole couldn’t imagine what the FBI’s interest would be in this sleepy little seaside town. But he had to admit a certain bit of excitement bubbled up. Was he excited to be back in the chase? He supposed that depended on exactly what the “little something” Gary was talking about entailed.
“Yep. Just a little blip that came across the desk. Seems there might be a fugitive to be on the lookout for in that town.”
“Interesting…” Cole let his voice trail off, hoping for more information. He wasn’t sure what Gary was getting at and didn’t dare ask if they wanted him to help out, for fear that Gary would say no.
“Nobody dangerous or too exciting. Not drugs or murder or kidnapping. Something to do with embezzling, but since it’s international, the FBI is keeping an eye on it. It’s not enough to assign anyone to, but if you’re interested, the big boss says you could keep a lookout, you know, sort of on the down low because you’re on vacation and all.”
Cole could tell by the tone in Gary’s voice that he was feeling about, trying to find out if he was ready to accept even the smallest of tasks.
“I could do that. Do you have particulars?” Cole blurted out with an eagerness that surprised even himself. Apparently, he was ready to take on a small task. The truth was he’d been going stir crazy without any work to do, and this sounded like a great way to ease his way back to work and figure out if he wanted to continue police work.
“Yeah, I’ll send it to you. Cap says just look around. Don’t make an arrest or anything,” Gary said.
“How could I? I’m on vacation. I didn’t bring my badge.”
They both laughed just like usual times, and Cole felt a semblance of normalcy coming back. This was exactly what he needed.
Cole disconnected and continued down the beach, feeling more optimistic than he had in weeks.
The sun was setting, and the sky above the ocean was backlit with hues of baby blue and pink. The sound of the surf soothed him.
He spotted a large piece of driftwood and headed over to sit on it. Taking a deep breath of salty air, he let himself relax further. This was almost like meditating, just like the department psychologist had suggested he do. Maybe she was onto something.
But then thoughts of the reason why he was really in Shell Cove crowded in, and his relaxation vanished. Deena had put on a good act, but he knew deep down that she was not what she was pretending to be.
Now that he’d seen Chuck and Deena together, though, he was afraid that convincing his dad of that fact might be more difficult than he’d anticipated.
CHAPTER9
Gina stood at the sink with a coffee cup pressed to her lips and squeezed her eyes shut. Her lack of sleep was all Maddie’s fault! After her cousin had planted the seed in her head about it being dangerous to stay in the motel alone with the doors unlocked, Gina had spent the whole night imagining she’d heard someone outside. She’d even gotten up at 2:00 a.m. and locked the doors.
Her conversation with her cousins had also impressed on her how she needed to get moving with her plans for the future. She’d noticed a few new shops spring up in town and was worried that someone might rent the old bakery, so she’d messaged the owner late last night.
A reply was sitting in her inbox, and she held her breath as she read it. Good news—the shop was still available, and it had an apartment above that the owner would let her rent at a discount if she rented the shop. Now, more than ever, she needed to find Hugh before this opportunity passed her by.
She drained the coffee and went to unlock the door.
Oh crap! She’d left a pie in the window. Kind of silly to lock the door but leave the window open like that. Clearly, she needed to work on her home security skills.
She pulled the pie in, frowning as she saw the entire crust on one side was missing.
That was odd because, after the last pie crust incident, she’d made sure to pay close attention when she’d made this crust. The missing crust was way more than would have just crumbled off.
Gina craned to look out the window to see if there was any crust in the flower bed below. There was none, but the impatiens looked trampled. An animal? Gina eyed the pie dubiously. If some kind of animal had been nibbling on it, she’d have to throw it out.
The door to Room Eight opened. Sam came out carrying a rolled-up yoga mat. She was dressed in a loose T-shirt and yoga pants. She looked both ways furtively then crouched low and scurried past Room Nine. That was the room Cole was in. Was she hiding from him?
How amusing.
Gina tossed out the pie, unlocked the door, and shut the window. More movement caught her eye. This time, it was the door to Room Nine.
Cole stepped out with one of the large striped beach towels they supplied slung over his shoulder. He glanced over at Sam’s room, a scowl on his face, then hurried off in the direction of the beach.
Even more amusing. It looked like the two of them were avoiding each other, but now they would end up on the beach together.
