I could tell he didn’t like having an audience from the pinch around his eyes, but he forged ahead anyway.
“Riggs okayed me taking a couple of days off for the holiday this weekend. I thought we could fly over to Hoonah and seeChristine and Tom,” he said, mentioning some of their friends. “Maybe do some camping and fishing.” He dropped his finger.
A bright smile bloomed on Claire’s face. “That sounds great.”
“Good.” An answering grin turned up the corners of his mouth, but just as quickly, it descended into a mock scowl as he turned to me. “You get to watch our dogs.”
“Ozzie! That’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?” Claire said.
I laughed and waved a hand. “It’s fine.” I glanced at Luke. “Maybe we can take them on a hike?”
“Sure.” He glanced down at the dogs, who now sat at Ozzie and Claire’s feet, then looked at me with a frown. “Will they make it on a hike?”
“Probably not,” I said with a chuckle. “Be prepared to carry one, or both.”
“I have a pack you can use that you can put at least one in to carry them. Then your hands are free.” Ellis laid the last filet on the plate.
“I’ll take you up on that,” Luke said.
Ellis nodded once, taking a step back to open the spice cupboard. “I’ll bring it by Mina’s shop tomorrow.” Taking out several bottles, he set them on the counter, then sent a look at his brother from beneath his lashes. “I know you said no more talking about your case, but I have something to add.”
Ozzie’s mouth thinned. “What is it?”
“I talked to a few of the older fishermen who’ve been around a long time. Flat out asked what they knew about Walter Shuman. They know who I am and who you are, so it didn’t make sense to beat around the bush. Anyway, Bob Dietrich remembered seeing Walter arguing with a dark-haired woman around the time Moira went missing.”
“Could he tell you whether it was Moira?” Ozzie asked.
Ellis picked up a container of dill and sprinkled it over the cod. “No. He couldn’t even say what they were arguing about. They were up the hill from the dock, near the parking lot, he said. All he saw was a dark-haired woman, some wild gesticulating, then she stormed off. I tried to get him to pin down a better timeline, but he couldn’t. He only remembers it was that year because it was the same year the Myers Mansion sold.”
“That’s the property Walter stole out from under Sarah Cole’s nose. It was his aunt’s house.” Pulling the corner of his mouth between his teeth, Ozzie worried the inside of his cheek. “Why would Bob Dietrich remember that detail? What was important about that house?”
Ellis wagged a finger at Ozzie. “Good question. One I thought of too.” He grinned. “See? I could do your job if I wanted.”
Ozzie rolled his eyes. “Sure. Go on.”
I grinned, enjoying their banter.
Chuckling, Ellis set the dill down and picked up the salt. “Bob said developers were sniffing around, wanting to turn it into a fancy hotel when Edna Myers died.”
“Why didn’t they?” Claire asked, a small frown on her face.
Shrugging, Ellis reached for a lemon and sliced it in half. “Bob didn’t know. All he said was the deal fell through, and since then it’s been vacant. Someone pays for upkeep on it. But no one’s lived in it since Edna died.” He squeezed the lemon, dribbling juice over the fish.
“Okay.” Ozzie drummed his fingers on the counter. “I’m not sure how that all relates to Moira’s death, but I’ll look into it.” He rubbed his brow. “I’m still missing an awful lot of pieces to this puzzle. Maybe it’ll help me find one or two.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” Ellis picked up the plate. “Now, let’s fire up the grill. I’m hungry.”
CHAPTER 31
Luke
Sweat dampened my palms, turning them clammy. I swiped them on my jeans before taking Mina’s hand as we walked up the sidewalk to the rehab center where my dad currently resided.
Today, Mina would meet my parents.
Well, sort of.
She already knew my dad in a professional capacity; she was a client.
