by Amie Denman
“When I got the invitation for the party cruise, I thought I was being asked to provide security. I almost wore my badge and uniform, but Evie texted me and set me straight. She’s probably the one who insisted I get an invite anyway.”
“Very funny,” Scott said. “Don’t you know by now that I’m always looking out for you? Besides, the food looks great and this means I don’t have to buy your lunch like I usually do.”
Scott and Caroline leaned on the outside rail of the Maritime II party boat. A one-hundred-foot-long, double-decker vessel, the boat was known locally for its party cruises on weekends. It was also a popular choice for wedding receptions, graduation parties, birthdays and anniversaries.
“I was surprised by the sudden announcement of a media event,” Caroline said. “I’ve been faithfully keeping the secret about what’s behind the construction fence for a month now because the big reveal was supposed to be in August. It’s only halfway through June, so what happened?”
Scott sipped his drink and leaned closer to his sister. “Fear of being upstaged. There hasn’t been a new ride in three years, and the roller coaster fan clubs and magazines have gone crazy with speculation. Evie told me some of the rumors they’ve heard.”
Caroline shrugged. “Aren’t there always rumors? And I thought it was good to build excitement and speculation.”
“Yes, but some of the rumors were getting close enough to the truth to make the Hamiltons uncomfortable. So, today’s press cruise is the magic answer. A preemptive strike.”
After searching online the previous evening for information regarding the second death on the Loose Cannon, Caroline had thought a lot about Starlight Point’s control of media and rumor. It took her a long time to discover there had been two deaths on the date of the Loose Cannon accident, but one of them was unrelated to the ride failure. A maintenance man had died on that same date from an accident. In Virginia’s mind, the two deaths were linked. And Caroline had every intention of finding out why.
From her position along the rail on the starboard side of the ship, Caroline had an unobstructed view of Starlight Point. Tall roller coasters, a giant wheel, the Star Spiral and stoic cottonwood trees defined the skyline. As the Maritime II cruised by, Caroline saw the old-fashioned steam train chugging around the perimeter of the park, white smoke rising gracefully with its movement.
“I guess it’s a good idea,” she said. “Stay in control of the rumors. The press is going to love this event. You might even get your mug in the paper.”
“I’ll leave that to Evie, June and Jack. I’m just the fire chief who happens to be very lucky in love.”
Caroline rolled her eyes. “See why I don’t want to live with you?”
Scott laughed. “We should get some food before the reporters gobble it up. The Hamiltons aren’t revealing anything until at least halfway through the cruise, and those reporters look hungry.”
The members of the press weren’t the only guests Caroline had noticed. When she’d accepted the invitation to the afternoon cruise, she’d known for certain Matt Dunbar would be a guest of honor. She wondered if he would wear his yellow hard hat, or at least have its band imprinted on his short blond hair as he usually did.
She’d put thought into her outfit for the day, too. She couldn’t wear a uniform, and her supply of dress clothing was limited. After work the night before, she and Agnes had made a trip to the boutique in the Lake Breeze Hotel. She’d noticed a green dress in the hotel’s shop. Having walked by it several times in the past, she’d wondered how it might look on her—just in case she needed a dress. Like now.
Bringing Agnes along for a second opinion, Caroline had tried the dress on and Agnes—with her artist’s expertise—had declared it a definite winner. It was sleeveless, knee length and no-nonsense. Except for the wide ribbon sash at the waist. The leaf-green linen contrasted nicely with her tan and her long brown hair, and brought out her green eyes. According to Agnes.
Caroline had looked in the boutique’s mirror and seen a cop trying to look like a girl, but she took her friend’s advice anyway. She had to wear something to the fancy afternoon cruise. And she happened to have tan-colored sandals to wear with it.
Evie walked up with her cell phone in hand. “Smile,” she said.
Scott draped an arm around his sister and Evie took the picture. “I’m sending that to your mother,” she said. “To prove that you two aren’t always in uniform.”
“She’ll be shocked to see me in a dress,” Caroline said.
“I love that dress. I’ve walked by it in the hotel store five times, but I was never sure I could pull off the color. It’s perfect on you, and you look gorgeous,” Evie said. “There may be an attractive single reporter on this boat. Want me to find one for you?”
“No,” Caroline said. “And that better not be why you invited me.”
“I invited you because you’re my sister now. And because you’re our chief guard at the construction site. And, most of all, because I heard my mother roped you into being the STRIPE sergeant this year and you deserve any and all perks. Consider this a bribe.”
Caroline laughed. “Your mother seems determined about her program and taking care of her summer employees. Maybe that’s because she used to be a summer hire herself.”
Caroline hoped Evie would start talking about her mother’s job as a ride operator three decades ago. Did Evie know more about the Loose Cannon? How much did all the Hamiltons know...and how much should she pry? Especially considering she was at this event because they considered her a family member. It was one of the many ways they were nice to her—and everyone.
“My mother has all kinds of determination,” Evie said. She tapped on her phone for a moment. “Sent. Your mother will love it.”
As Caroline watched her sister-in-law walk away, she noticed a tall blond man in a white shirt and striped tie. His sleeves were rolled to the elbow, showing off muscular forearms.
No hard hat today. Matt stood with Jack Hamilton and a much older man Caroline had seen on the construction site a few times. Matt was describing something, using his hands to paint an imaginary diagram in the air. He was passionate about his work, something she’d admired about him from their first meeting. This should be a big day for him. Was he nervous? Excited?
Matt saw her at the same moment she noticed him. He stopped drawing blueprints in the air and said something to his companions before heading her way.
“I think I’ll refill my drink,” Scott said. “Unless you need a babysitter.”
“If anyone bothers me, I’ll flip him over the rail into the lake,” Caroline said. “Take your time.”
She laid a hand on the steel railing and looked out over the calm blue waters of Lake Huron. The boat had passed the farthest point of the peninsula, so her view was, technically, the water park and beach of Starlight Point.
Matt appeared in her peripheral vision, sparking a little shimmer of anticipation. He’d wasted no time approaching her as soon as he found her in the crowd. What did that mean? There was only one way to find out. She turned and greeted him, speaking before he could say anything.
“This is quite a day for you,” she said, smiling.
He swallowed. Rubbed his hands together. “It is.”
She nodded toward his empty hands. “You should have some food. At least get a drink.”
“Can’t.”
“Because you’re on the job?”
“Because I’m too nervous,” he admitted. He dipped his chin and raised his eyebrows.
Caroline thought it oddly endearing that such a large, confident man could appear so vulnerable.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “Aren’t you usually Mr. Cheerful, talking your way out of trespassing tickets, holding up traffic on the bridge and making careless truck drivers play nice?”
“It’s all a cover,” Matt said, leaning close and speaking quietly. “Inside, I’m a wreck. And there’s no way I’m hitting the buffet line. Not only do I have to speak in front of all these people and assure them I’ll get this giant project done well and on time, but I have to do it in a white shirt. And a tie. And it’s hot.”
Caroline laughed. He seemed as uncomfortable playing dress-up as she did. He certainly looked good in his crisp shirt, all clean-shaven and smelling like man-soap. Caroline was suddenly very aware of his physical presence. His square jaw, green eyes and blond eyebrows only inches from her invited her to reach out and adjust his collar.
“I’m serious,” he continued. “The pressure is killing me.”
“Maybe there will be food left after your presentation. You could live dangerously then.”
“There won’t be time. As soon as this boat docks, I’m headed to the site. We’ve got steel beams being delivered, and I want to be there.”
“You’d rather be there than here?” Caroline asked.
“I have to be there.” He turned and put a hand on the railing right behind her. His arm grazed her back. “And here. But there are some nice things about being here.”
Caroline swallowed.
“It’s nice to see the chief of my personal security detail,” he said, smiling.
Caroline remembered her promise to her brother that she’d flip anyone who bothered her over the rail. And Matt was definitely bothering her. Solidly in her space and causing uncomfortable heat to rise up her neck. But she didn’t want to throw him over the rail. She wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with him.
“And you look—” he began.
“Mr. Dunbar.”
Caroline and Matt both glanced up sharply and saw a man with a press badge and a notebook. He was easily sixty years old, and deep wrinkles around his eyes gave him the appearance of someone who was always squinting.
He was a reporter, Caroline thought, always snooping out a story. Maybe she wasn’t much different with her quiet digging into an almost-forgotten mystery. He looked familiar and she recalled throwing someone who looked just like him off the property a week ago when he was nosing around asking questions.
“I’d like to talk to you for a piece I’m doing for the Bayside Times. I left messages for you at your company and even tried coming out to your site once, but I got turned away by a cop.”
The reporter didn’t give Caroline any side-eye, so she assumed he didn’t recognize her. It had to be the green dress and sandals.
“That’s why I’m here today,” Matt said, “to talk with the press.”
Matt sounded professional but not particularly encouraging. He probably wishes he was behind the wheel of a construction vehicle instead of chatting with reporters on a perfectly nice day for building.
“I’ll get right to it then. I’m doing a story about the irony of the situation. It must be really strange for you to be building the new ride—that I hope we’re going to hear all about today—over the site of the old ride your family built and then had to tear down.”
Matt’s shoulders stiffened. His jaw tightened. The friendly, almost vulnerable expression Caroline had grown used to was replaced by an entirely different one.
“That was a different company,” Matt said, ice in his voice.
“Right. John Corbin owned it. And he sold it to his brother. Your dad.”
“Stepdad,” Matt said.
The reporter shrugged. “Same difference. So, give me the scoop. Is this a shot at redemption for the family? Your chance to succeed where you previously failed?”
Caroline held her breath, afraid to even blink. This conversation was the last thing she’d expected to hear today, and her brain was turning over the new information rapidly. If the failed Loose Cannon was built by Matt’s family, he had to know more than he was letting on. How much did he know, and how much was he trying to cover up?
Matt looked down as if he didn’t want her to see what was behind his eyes. Had he been intentionally withholding information from her? So much for finding him conscientious, thoughtful, even attractive. Just like a lot of other people, he clearly had something to hide. And it could be huge.
It was one more reminder to keep her focus where it belonged and not let down her guard.
“Hey,” Lucas Dunbar said, appearing out of nowhere and sliding in next to his brother. “Jack Hamilton wants to talk to you if you’ve got a minute.”
“I’ve got a minute,” Matt said. He gave the reporter a hard stare and turned to Caroline.
His expression softened just a little, but she saw something in his eyes she didn’t understand. Pain? Regret?
“Talk to you later, Caroline,” he said.
He turned and left with his brother, leaving Caroline alone with the reporter. An older reporter who almost certainly knew more about the Loose Cannon incident than she did.
“So,” she said. “John Corbin sold his company to his brother.”
“Bruce.”
She nodded. “Bruce Corbin. Who renamed it Bayside Construction.”
“Uh-huh. He’s right over there.” The reporter pointed to an older man.
In the scant information Caroline had found about the ride, she’d noted the name of the construction company, JC Construction. The initials made sense now. But she had plenty of questions anyway.
“When did that transfer take place?”
“Sometime during the fall of 1985. Not long after the ride came down at the end of the year.”
So JC Construction tore down a ride it had built. And then the company officially changed hands and got a new name. There had to be more to that story.
Caroline tried to assume an expression that did not say investigative reporter so the journalist wouldn’t see her as competition and clam up. She was glad to be wearing a party dress instead of her black uniform.
“Do you know what caused the accident or anything about the man who died later that night?” she asked.
“Everybody knows about it,” the reporter said. “But nobody knows quite what happened. It got ruled an accident. Seems to have been an open-and-shut case.”
“A case with strange timing,” Caroline said.
The reporter raised an eyebrow and she suspected he recognized her as the Starlight Point police officer who’d walked him to his car in the marina parking lot last week.
“You seem pretty curious about it,” he said.
She shrugged. “Everyone loves a mystery. It can’t be a coincidence that one of the very few on-the-job fatalities at Starlight Point happened on the same night a coaster failed and a girl was killed.”
“Not saying it’s a coincidence,” the reporter said. “I asked a lot of questions at the time, but nobody had anything to say. And most of those people are dead now, including the guy who built the ride.”
The reporter looked beyond Caroline’s shoulder and his expression soured. He turned and walked toward a group of men lingering over the food table. When Caroline shifted just enough to glance behind her, her senses alert, she found Bruce Corbin leaning on the railing. He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief, gave her a hard stare and moved off toward his stepsons.
Caroline faced the water and the view of the Lake Breeze Hotel. In only a few minutes, the boat would turn and head back to the bay where the big revelation of the new ride would occur while the Maritime II was anchored just offshore of the location of the new ride.
Just offshore from where something had happened years ago that nobody wanted to talk about.
* * *
I’M DOING THIS for Bruce, Matt thought. His stepfather was seated in the front row. Although it was technically his company, he had trusted Matt with the presentation.
Matt stood just to the right of the three Hamilton siblings. J
ack, the oldest, was in charge of rides at Starlight Point while his sister June handled shows and Evie took care of the hotel and the marina. Matt didn’t know how much overlap there was, but he had noticed the three siblings stuck together like glue.
His own brother was there, too, seated right behind Bruce. Lucas had saved him from a painful conversation earlier by pretending that Jack wanted to see him.
It would have been a lousy question anytime, but being asked right in front of Caroline Bennett twisted the words like a knife in his gut. He wanted Caroline to think well of him. And he didn’t want her opening an old can of worms that would, at the very least, hurt his stepfather’s feelings and bring pain to his already weakened heart.
It wasn’t his fault John Corbin’s company had a disastrous ride to its credit. It wasn’t John Corbin’s fault the ride had been dogged with publicity bad enough to close it after one season.
Matt wanted to inherit the company without any scars or stains. Somehow, he’d hoped no one would make the connection between JC Construction and Bayside Construction, even though he’d known all along it would only be a matter of time.
Jack Hamilton had the attention of the guests and reporters as he built up to the unveiling of the ride diagrams, the announcement of the ride’s names and the big reveal of the unusual double coaster. Every eye was on Jack. Except for one set of green eyes.
Caroline sat near the back, and her green dress stood out in the sea of white shirts. He was a fool. He’d been only milliseconds from telling her how beautiful she was before that meddling reporter popped into the conversation and dropped a bomb about his company’s past.
Matt wondered how old he would have to be before he stopped trying to outrun the past and other people’s mistakes. All he could do now was think about the future he had to build for himself, his mother and his brother. The only way to do that was hope his stepfather’s heart held out long enough to see the end of the massive project that could be—had to be—Matt’s crowning glory.