“First off, Jack, do you want to fill us in on your situation?” They’d already talked about this. She thought he could benefit from bringing more people into his circle of trust, but it was his decision, not hers.
“Yeah. Sure. My sister Jessie has been missing for almost two weeks now. Her last known location was here on Sea Smoke, in the Sunderland house, for you locals. She was seeing someone who called himself Seth Baker. The last call she received on her phone was from a room at the Lightkeeper Inn, a room that was occupied by Marigold and the man she knew as Adam Johnson.”
“We think it’s the same guy,” Tina interjected, though everyone had clearly caught onto that fact.
“The asshole fiancé?” asked Heather. “Any chance he ran off with your sister instead and they’re too wrapped up in their love affair to surface?”
“It’s possible. But she would have contacted me.”
“I don’t tell my brothers shit, and vice versa,” said Gabby. “If I want to know about them, I call my mom.”
“This is different. We’ve always been close. She has some anxiety issues. I’m her…rock, for a better word.” He glanced around the room, seeing sympathy but no judgement in the faces around him. Not that there should be, but you never knew. “Is your theory that I was the target because I’m trying to find my sister?”
“We have no theories yet,” said Tina. “Data first, then theories. Who all knows that you’re on the island? Is there any chance a deranged fan is stalking you? Or someone you beat out for a part?”
“Nah.” Jack shook his head. “I’m not at that level. I’m not being modest here,” he added, when he caught a few skeptical snorts. “I’m no one’s competition. Denver Black takes all my time.”
“Any overly persistent fans?”
“A few over the years. None currently. Also, they were all women, and I get the impression we’re hunting for a man.”
“We are,” said Luke. “All the kids on the dock said they saw a man, although that’s about all they agreed on.”
Jack folded his arms across his chest. “Unless one of my stalkers from years ago made their husband jealous, and he came after me, I’m probably not your guy.”
Tina jotted down a few notes. “We can’t rule it out since we don’t know what’s going on with Jessie. I advise you to watch your back.”
“Noted.” He gestured at Heather and Gabby. “How about our famous podcasters? What are you two working on these days?”
He noticed Gabby shoot a glance at Tina before answering. How effortlessly she’d established her top-dog role in this meeting…truly impressive.
“Count us out. We’re working on a cold case from thirty years ago,” Gabby said. “The Night Light Murder.”
“Go on,” said Tina, clearly curious, though Jack thought it was a waste of time. What possible connection could it have?
Gabby shrugged her shoulders. “Go on with what? I was researching it at the literal moment when the shooting happened. The one can’t have anything to do with the other.”
“Indulge me,” said Tina. “What have you found so far? Don’t worry, I won’t interfere with your exclusive.”
After Heather and Gabby shared a long glance—clearly able to communicate wordlessly by this point—Gabby nodded reluctantly. “I was following up on Naomi Martin, who worked at the inn and had lodged a complaint against James Schuyler, the murder victim. She said he sexually assaulted her. Her complaint was brushed under the rug, which often happened back then.”
“And now,” Heather added.
“And now.” Gabby nodded her agreement. “Schuyler was powerful, wealthy, and used to getting away with shit. Anyway, she and her kids moved away from the island about a week after the murder. I traced them to Vermont, where she now goes by Kate Mansfield.”
“You talked to her?”
“Yes. She owns a craft store in a little town called Woodstock. But she didn’t have much to say about Sea Smoke Island or the murder. She said it was a very traumatic time for her and she’s done her best to put it behind her. We talked for a bit, then she told me it was too triggering for her to think about Sea Smoke and she asked me to leave. The only new information I got from her is that she was terrified they would pin the murder on her because she’d complained about Schuyler. She said that was why they left.”
Tina frowned. She was jotting down everything, even though so far, Jack hadn’t noticed anything especially relevant. “But wouldn’t that make her look even more suspicious?”
“I got the impression she was more worried about the gossip than the police. You know how people talk here. Anyway, I still don’t see a connection to this shooting.”
Luke spoke up from his position by the filing cabinets, where he was listening alertly. “I did a little poking around about this case. As it turns out, that murder was the reason the island voted to have a constable. Our office has no records about it since we didn’t exist yet. The Harbortown police handled it, but they kept getting stonewalled by the inn’s lawyers. I don’t remember anything about the incident. At the inn it was kept very quiet.”
“My mom remembers,” said Heather. “But she’s a little traumatized now, so we’re not going to bug her. Anyway, we already interviewed her for our first episode.”
“Anything helpful there?”
