“Who did you come to visit?I suppose you came across the same land bridge as Linda.She seemed real anxious not to miss the tide yesterday.”
It is a fair question.
“Linda would have spent last night at her parents’ house and then returned to the mainland by boat.She was probably driving her father’s car.There was no land bridge yesterday, or the day before.”
Her eyes brighten.“You know about the tides?That’s great.Tempest left me a note saying I must post the tide times on the inn bulletin board.So…?”She won’t let it go.“Who did you come to visit?”
I make a judgment call.Luna is going to find out sooner or later.
“We came to see Tempest.No, that’s not the right way to describe this particular visit.Rather, let me say we came to check up on her.”
Turning onto her side so that she can face me, Luna tucks a cushion under her head.
“Please go into a bit more detail, Dante.Like I said, you know more about Tempest than I ever will.Who is this ‘we’ you mention?”
Where to start?
“Weare the Midnight Riders.Weare a motorcycle club.Andweare referred to by the locals as the Curfew Crew.”I pause in case she has any questions.
“Why do the locals call your club the Curfew Crew?”
My mouth twists into a grim smile.
“Curfew comes from medieval times.When the artisans had to cover their fires at the end of the work day to prevent accidents.Couvre-feu.Cover the fire.A curfew allows night to hold sway in the empty streets and fields—and whatever else comes with it.”
Luna gets it.“Midnight Riders like to come out and play at night.Are the locals really that scared of you that they implemented a curfew?”
“Scared?Nah.Maybe long ago they were, but not anymore.Tempest initiated a truce for us a good many years back.Her daddy built the inn and we use the clubhouse.Lets us have free rein to come and go as we please.It was a highly symbiotic relationship.”
“Sym-what?”Luna lifts her eyebrows.
“Symbiotic.When one hand washes the other.”I make the gesture of washing with my hands.“Both sides win.To everyone’s mutual benefit.”
“Okay.”Luna doesn’t miss a beat.“What did you do for my aunt in exchange?”
I am watching her closely, hoping against hope that Tempest’s niece holds the key to the question burning inside me.
“We offered Tempest protection.Your aunt was a genius, you know.She produced marvelous things in that distillery of hers…” No flicker of recognition in Luna’s face.Her fingers play nervously with the cellophane cracker packet.
“Do you have any idea how she died?”I have to ask.
Silence, only filled by the rustle of cellophane and Muohta’s snoring as Luna collects her thoughts.
“I don’t know how Tempest died.Mr.Bryant didn’t tell me.But two things are bugging me, Dante.Firstly, what did my aunt need protecting from?Is Landslide a dangerous place?And secondly, you couldn’t have been very good at your job, because Tempest is dead.”
“That’s three things.”
She doesn’t find my comment amusing.Luna lies on the couch like a fallen angel with her right foot propped up.Her fingers twiddle with the wrappers.
I decide to play nice.“Rowdy guests.There’s a bar inside the inn.And a home brewery in the basement.We acted as bouncers during the summer.Tempest was a single lady, middle-aged.There’s no way she would have been able to run the place without us.”
“Mhm, okay.”Luna nods her head, but I can tell she’s still in judgmental mode, so I continue.
“And no, Landslide is not dangerous.Everyone is cordial to one another and we all get along for the most part.”
From her expression, I can tell that Luna hasn’t got it yet.“Tempest must have died on the mainland, because she sure as hell didn’t die here, darlin’.”
Luna nods slowly.“Ye-es, my aunt wrote that in her notebook, but it leaves me with so many questions…”
