Lydia and Mom joined us.Lydia said, “There are lots of wonderful seafood restaurants nearby.”She turned to Bracken.“Take 1 South to Half Moon Bay and stop at Sam’s Chowder House.They have the best lobster rolls.”
My stomach growled.“I’ll take two.”
“Can you bring me some too?”Declan asked.
“You bet.I’ll text when we’re on the road home.”
“It’s settled,” Mom said.“Lydia, it was wonderful to see you again.Thank you so much for all your help.”
She nodded, smiling at all of us.“And I hope you decide to return to the group.We’d love to have you.”
Most had left by the time we were pulling out, but a few were still standing in groups, talking.The man was no longer at the open gate.The meeting was over, so the need for security was gone.Bracken had input the restaurant to his GPS, so we were on our way to food.
We got there in no time.The restaurant was deceptively bland on the outside, looking like nothing so much as a squat, industrial building.That all changed when we walked in to glossy dark wood and panoramic views of the ocean.It was a long restaurant that hugged the cliff, with outdoor deck seating as well.We arrived in that weird time between lunch and dinner, but the place still held a good-sized crowd.
We were seated quickly at a table by the window.Much like the purple, we were united in our orders.We all had salads, chowder, and lobster rolls.As Lydia promised, it was delicious.
I ordered Declan everything we had, as well as a salmon entrée and a dish of scampi stuffed with crab.Yum.I wanted to try that myself.
I gave the waitress my card before Mom or Bracken could.When Mom made a fuss, I reminded her that my boyfriend’s meal was larger than what all of us had consumed.She conceded the point.
Given we were leaving the restaurant at the height of the evening commute, we decided to stick to Highway 1, the scenic, coastal route, all the way home.Sometime during the drive, exhaustion and a full stomach got the better of me, and I nodded off.
A hand reaches down to the bottom of a desk, pushes a hidden release, taps a second, and a shallow drawer, hidden beneath the others and invisible to the eye, pops open.Light reflects off a thin bar of metal, a men’s tie clip.It drops into the drawer, where it joins necklaces and bracelets, watches and hair ties.He runs his fingers over his trophies, remembering all the work he did to get where he is.He was born for the halls of power.
FORTY-FOUR
Oh, It’s You
The car thumped and my head hit the window, waking me up.Stretching out my neck, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Osso.
“What?”
“I think it’s his office desk.Power is important to him, so I think it needs to be his office, not his home.”
Osso was instantly alert, papers shuffling in the background.“Okay, tell me.”
“There’s a hidden drawer in his desk on the…right side.It’s shallow and almost impossible to see.He keeps his trophies in there.”
Osso cursed under his breath, still listening.
“There are two releases.One is underneath the edge of the desk on the right side.The second is only a few inches away, on the inner edge of the leg.Once both have been released, the drawer will pop open maybe a quarter of an inch.You’ll need to pull it the rest of the way.I saw him dropping in a silver tie pin.”
“Anything else?”he asked.
I thought about it.“He keeps his hands perfectly manicured.He has a gold signet ring on his left hand.Um, I think that’s it.He likes to go in it a lot, so I’m sure if you sniff around, you’ll find the two spots he touches quickly.Remember, though, you have to do it in order.Below the drawer first and then the inner leg.”
“Thank you,” he said.I could hear him up and moving.
“Yup.”
When I disconnected, I realized the rest of the car was watching me.“I fell asleep and saw something about the mayor.”
Faith flinched.“The summer camp killer is the mayor?”
“Oh, wait,” I said.“I think that’s still top secret.Don’t say anything to anyone.They haven’t arrested him yet.”
The rest of the ride was quiet.Thankfully, I didn’t fall asleep again.When Bracken pulled around Quinn Woodcraft, Declan and Uncle Robert were standing in the open doorway to the workshop.
