by Amie Denman
Caroline considered objecting, but it would be a good opportunity for her to think without making conversation. She thought she could manage to fake a smile despite the turmoil in her mind.
“Okay,” she said.
A mom with two little girls entered the booth. “I’ll do those three,” Agnes said. “But, Lucas, you better not make Caroline a cop in your drawing.”
Caroline and Matt sat next to each other in front of Lucas’s easel. “You don’t have to smile, but it sure makes for a better picture,” Lucas said.
Matt smiled broadly and put his hand on Caroline’s knee. She tried to return his smile, tried to bring back the feelings she’d had earlier in the evening as they’d enjoyed the rides, the food and each other’s company. It wasn’t fair to Matt that her thoughts were occupied by the Loose Cannon.
Or was it? Did he know his uncle’s company could be involved in a cover-up?
If he knew and was concealing it, he was an expert in deception. And she found that hard to believe based on what she knew of him so far. She should try to enjoy the rest of the evening, if only to avoid revealing her suspicions before she was ready. In her heart, though, she knew that even if Matt had no knowledge of the accident and murder, she would hurt him if she continued her investigation.
She would have to throw away the feelings she’d been developing for him all summer. The way she loved it when he smiled and the way his hard hat left an indentation around his head. The way he treated others and cared about them...especially her. She glanced sideways at Matt.
“That’s better,” Lucas said when Caroline returned Matt’s smile. “I already know all about my brother, but you should give me some ideas—things you like that I could include in your caricature.”
“And you can’t say police work,” Matt said.
“Why not? Your brother already drew you doing your construction job.”
“Yes, and that’s why he’s going to do something different tonight.”
“Never mind,” Lucas said, grinning. “I’ll use my imagination.”
Caroline sat very still, trying to maintain a smile and trying hard not to think about Matt’s warm hand on her knee. It felt so right, and she had enjoyed being with him so much. But she owed it to the murdered maintenance man—she was almost sure it was murder now—and the elderly parents of the young girl who was killed. She had to question Bruce Corbin, no matter how painful it would be for him. And for Matt.
The truth was more important than her summer romance, even though it had remained buried for thirty years. Wasn’t it?
Agnes walked behind Lucas’s easel, glanced at the drawing and laughed.
“I’m almost afraid to see this,” Matt commented.
“Just a few more minutes,” Lucas said. He continued selecting pastels from his tray and shading in colors. “You can stop smiling now,” he added.
“Not sure I can,” Matt said. He leaned a little closer to Caroline and their shoulders brushed. She smiled despite herself, despite her thoughts.
“Ready?” Lucas asked. He took the paper off his easel and held it up for them.
The drawing showed Caroline pinning Matt to the ground with one hand while his arms and legs flailed. She was dressed as a queen, in a huge purple gown with a gold crown. Matt, however, was dressed as a clown with a silly hat, multicolored costume and giant shoes.
“It’s drawn from a real-life experience,” Lucas explained. “The self-defense class you had to crawl home from.”
Matt glanced at Caroline and she knew he was remembering the same thing she was. He hadn’t crawled home after that class. They’d gone on their first date and he’d opened his heart about his father. Just like she’d opened her heart at her birthday dinner. Now she wondered if it had been a good idea at all, considering the way she was planning to betray their relationship.
“That’s not exactly how I remember it,” Matt said.
“I think it’s an accurate portrayal of the STRIPE class,” Caroline protested. “Except for the clown costume.”
“He’s supposed to be a court jester,” Lucas said. “Not the same as a clown. The court jester serves at the pleasure of the queen and amuses her no matter how serious she looks.”
“At least she doesn’t look like a cop,” Agnes commented from behind her easel. “So why is your brother a court jester?”
“Because he’s really quite serious, but he tries to use humor to cover it up.”
“Am I that transparent?” Matt asked.
Caroline wondered if Matt was completely transparent. Had he shared everything he knew about the Loose Cannon? Was his reason for avoiding the topic really his stepfather’s health?
Either way, she needed to find a way to end this date because she was facing a horrible choice. She could betray Matt by going behind his back to investigate JC Construction, or she could betray her beliefs by letting the case go.
Both of those options would break her heart.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“DID I SCREW UP?” Matt asked. He walked next to Caroline on the way back to the employee dormitory. Their evening had been going so well, he’d wished he could freeze his summer in time. Until something between them seemed to shift and break the spell. “You’ve been pretty quiet since the cable cars.”
“And that worries you?”
“It makes me wonder what you’re thinking. Am I the worst date you’ve had in your life?”
“No,” she said. “Definitely not.”
“That’s a relief.”
They passed through the turnstiles and waited for cars on the Outer Loop to pass by. It was closing time, and traffic snaked in a long line past the marina and out through the parking lot.
“You’ll be stuck in traffic,” Caroline said. “And you’re probably getting up early tomorrow.”
It was nice of her to think of him, but he’d gladly sit in horn-honking traffic all night just for a few more magical hours with her. He shrugged one shoulder in response. “I don’t mind. Even if I got home in the next five minutes, I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep for hours anyway.”
“Worried about your work?”
“Not tonight. My mind is on something else.” Did he dare tell her how he felt?
When a break in the line of cars allowed them to cross the road, Matt put an arm around Caroline and pulled her close as they covered the last few steps toward her dorm. He loved having her by his side. It made him feel as if anything were possible. Building a complicated ride, securing his family’s future, overcoming the past...and even falling in love.
“I had fun tonight. You make me feel as if the weight of the world isn’t hanging over me. Despite your tough outside, you’re fun. And sweet. And I love being with you.”
That confession had taken all the bravery Matt had built up from running construction equipment, climbing to the top of tall buildings and taking the chances necessary to run a business. He held his breath. Did she feel the same way?
She stopped walking and turned toward him. He could barely see her face because tall trees outside her dorm’s entrance spread their leaves over the lights. Her eyebrows were drawn tight together and she put her hands in the pockets of her shorts, even though she didn’t shrug off his arm that was still around her.
“I love being with you, too,” she said. “But I’m not sure where we’re going.”
“Who says we have to go anywhere?” Matt asked. “We can keep enjoying the summer, just like this.”
He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to feel her arms around him. He wanted to pull her closer, but he was afraid he’d drive her away right now if he tried.
“When the summer ends,” she said, “I’ll join the police academy. You’ll be busy all winter building the Shooting Star. Things will be different.”
“Th
ey don’t have to be. We’ll both be in Bayside. And even if you don’t want to go out with me anymore, I’ll still look for you around every corner. I’ll still wish I could tell you about my day at the end of every day. I’ve never felt this way about someone before, and I’ll admit it scares me,” Matt said.
“It scares me, too,” Caroline whispered.
Matt knew how much it cost Caroline to admit she was afraid of something, anything. Even if she didn’t say anything more tonight, those words were enough for him to know he’d claimed at least a piece of her heart.
“Good-night kiss?” he asked.
The line between her brows faded and she smiled. When their lips touched, Matt knew he wouldn’t be able to let her go, even when snow blanketed Bayside. Even if they both worked twenty-three hours a day. There was something between them that couldn’t be defined or defeated.
“Are you busy tomorrow night?” he asked.
“My parents are coming for birthday dinner.”
“Then I’ll have to survive on one more kiss until I see you again,” he said.
They kissed, said good-night, and Matt walked the long way to the back of the parking lot where his truck waited. He was halfway there when he remembered he was still carrying the plastic bag that contained their caricature.
He considered running it back to Caroline, but he didn’t know where her room was. And he hoped to see her soon. He would give it to her then.
* * *
“IT’S YOUR DAY OFF,” the police chief commented. “I didn’t expect to see you scanning those ancient files.”
Caroline shrugged. “I don’t have plans until later. My parents are coming to take me out for a birthday dinner.”
“It’s your birthday?”
“It was. A few days ago. I’m twenty-one now, an age I’ve been waiting for.”
“So you can buy your boss a drink?”
She laughed. “No, so I can tell my boss I’m officially eligible for the police academy he’s in charge of.”
Chief Walker swiveled in his office chair, making a slow circuit. His white shirt pulled tight across his belly and deep lines funneled down his cheeks. Caroline wondered how much longer he’d want to be chief of the Starlight Point Police Department. He’d already put in thirty years, but then again it was a pretty tame and stress-free police department to run. Generally. Only once or twice a season was there much drama—as she was discovering by wading through years of records and scanning the reports.
“You know you’ve had my recommendation since last year. You’re a great nonbonded officer, but you’ll be even better when you finish the academy and qualify for a city department.”
He made another slow circle in his chair, a habit whenever something troubled or perplexed him.
“Have you continued digging around the Loose Cannon incident—the one from long before you were born?” he asked.
She wondered if he emphasized the long before you were born part to imply that it was so long ago it wasn’t worth worrying about.
How much should she reveal? She’d stayed up late analyzing the pictures in the state report. Again. Did the bolts in one picture look any newer than another? It was hard to tell with the quality of the photographs, but way past midnight, using the magnifying app on her smart phone, she’d found something interesting in one of the pictures. A close-up of the support beam in the area of the accident showed chipped paint around a set of bolts.
Could the paint have chipped off because the bolts were changed? There were shiny new bolts on the beam, but was it possible they’d been put there the night before?
“I have,” she admitted. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid. “I sent a records request to the state department of commerce for their official reports on the accident. And I’ve talked to key people who may know something.”
“Anything else you’ve done to investigate?”
Her pulse hammered in her throat. She didn’t want to incriminate herself by talking about her trip to personnel unless she had to. “The records here are missing.”
“I know.”
“Do you know where they are?”
The chief did a slow circle before coming to rest facing her. “They were officially loaned out over the winter.”
Caroline wanted to ask, but she was afraid she wasn’t going to like the answer. She swallowed, waiting for the chief to explain.
“Bruce Corbin said his records of the old ride were incomplete and he needed information in that file to help him write up the bid for the new one.”
The floor beneath her feet dropped several inches. Bruce Corbin took that file. Why? She couldn’t think of a single innocent reason. And she didn’t believe that nonsense about needing information for the new bid.
“I noticed you’ve developed a...uh...working relationship with Matt Dunbar. And I assume you’ve figured out by now that he’s related to the builders of the Loose Cannon.”
Caroline nodded and tried to sound businesslike and knowledgeable. “His stepfather’s brother, John Corbin, owned JC Construction. But he sold it after the accident. Sold it to his brother, Bruce, who renamed the company.”
“And has Matt told you anything else?”
The way he asked the question made Caroline wonder if the chief really did know more about the accident. But if he did, why had he remained silent?
“He told me they don’t talk about it in their family.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a sore subject. John Corbin was apparently devastated by the failure of the ride and the job of dismantling it. That’s why he moved away and ran a much smaller business somewhere else until he died last winter. Matt’s stepfather, Bruce, is also in bad health...so Matt doesn’t want to open an old wound.”
Chief Walker hoisted himself from his chair and leaned on the filing cabinet Caroline was sorting through. He lowered his voice. “I don’t think you believe that whole story.”
Caroline swallowed and slid the drawer closed. She looked her chief in the eye. “I don’t,” she said.
“And what have you found out about the death of George Dupont? I doubt that was in the ride investigation from the state.”
“It wasn’t.”
Caroline knew she had to tell the truth no matter how quickly it could destroy her career and all her hopes.
“So I looked in his personnel file. I accessed the information without permission.”
The chief shifted his gaze to the worn surface of his desk for a moment before he closed his office door.
Caroline braced herself for the worst.
“I’m not ordering you to tell me what you’ve figured out, but I’m free for the next half hour if you’d like to try out a hypothesis on me. Consider it an interview for the police academy.”
It was the last thing she expected him to say. All summer long, she’d had the impression that the chief wanted to let sleeping dogs lie. He hadn’t encouraged her sleuthing, but he’d also done nothing to stand in her way—aside from an early warning to be careful.
Caroline walked over to her messenger bag and pulled out the state report.
The chief sat in his chair and rolled up to his desk. Caroline took the chair across from him and spread out the report. Over the next twenty minutes, she methodically presented her story of what she thought had happened that night.
The chief listened intently, only asking a few questions for clarification. Finally, he pushed back in his chair. “It’s quite a story,” he said. “And it holds water in theory. But where’s your proof?”
The million-dollar question. She had no more proof than the investigation had found three decades ago.
“No proof,” she admitted. “But I do know of one more potential witness to interview.”
The chief rubbed his eyes wi
th his thumb and forefinger. “Bruce Corbin,” he said quietly. “You think he knows something and kept it to himself all these years?”
“Maybe. Maybe it’s even worse than that.”
“You think he might’ve been there the night of the alleged cover-up.”
Caroline’s heart was in her throat. She hated to even say it out loud. “It’s possible.” She took a deep breath for bravery. “It’s even possible he’s the murderer. If you look only at the evidence, it’s clear that he’s the one who benefited most in the long run by buying his brother’s company at a bargain price, renaming it and building it into his own successful company with his brother out of the way.”
“Hell of an accusation,” the chief commented.
“It is,” Caroline said. “And for once in my life, I hope I’m wrong.”
“The important question is...what will you do if you’re right?”
Caroline leaned back in her chair and stared at her feet. What if she was right? What if Bruce Corbin’s company truly was built on a crime, on a lie? What if the company Matt dreamed of inheriting had a dark history?
Did she want to bring everything to light and risk destroying Matt’s family and his future? It would kill him. Having a father in prison had devastated him and his brother. It was clear that Matt had been trying to rise above his father’s actions. What would he and Lucas do if the stepfather they loved and believed in turned out to be no better than their real father? What if his crime was far worse?
By the time Caroline’s brother picked her up to drive into Bayside for dinner with their parents, Caroline had spent hours considering the pros and cons of furthering an investigation with the power to answer old questions...and destroy futures.
“Why are you wearing your grouchy cop face?” Scott asked as he leaned across the seat and shoved open the passenger door of his pickup truck. “It’s supposed to be a party.”
Caroline got in the truck and clicked on her seat belt. “Maybe I don’t want to be a cop.”
Scott had started to back out of the parking space in front of her dorm, but he pulled back in and shut off the engine. “Start talking.”