"About your list," Marjorie added delicately.
"Obviously I won't have to add you to it," Nick said.
That seemed to cheer Marjorie slightly. She went quickly toward the door. "I hope it won't take you and Sean long to end this matter."
"It won't," Nick said.
They all watched in silence as Marjorie fled out the door and down the sidewalk toward the parking lot.
Octavia rested both elbows on the counter, propped her chin on her hands, and looked at Gail and Nick in turn. "Don't get me wrong. I am deeply touched. But I'm not sure that coercing Marjorie into leaving Katy's painting here was smart."
"Who cares about smart?" Gail said. "It felt good."
"That was Marjorie Dunne, for heaven's sake," Octavia reminded her dryly. "She's the wife of a member of the town council. Probably the wife of the next mayor of Eclipse Bay."
"So what?" Gail said with a chuckle. "This is Nick Harte. His family can buy and sell the entire town council and the mayor, too. In point of fact, if old legends are to be believed, they have done just that on a number of occasions."
"Be fair," Nick said to her. "It's not our fault that the council and the mayor have historically shown a certain willingness to accommodate us Hartes in exchange for contributions to their library building funds and pier renovation projects."
Octavia studied him with fresh appreciation. "My, my. I believe I have just witnessed an exhibition of what is commonly called throwing one's weight around."
"Relax, Marjorie deserved it," Gail said. "She has a history of behaving badly to lesser mortals. She was the same in high school. I don't suppose it escaped your notice that she didn't offer to send one of those birthday party invitations to my Anne."
"I did notice the oversight," Octavia admitted.
"If it's any consolation," Nick said, "Anne will get an invitation to Carson's party next month."
Gail smiled. "Thank you. She'll be thrilled. She hasn't had a chance to make any friends yet here in town."
"She'll have plenty of opportunity to meet other children her age at Carson's party," Nick said. "Every kid in town will get invited. Even Katy Dunne."
Chapter 18
Later that afternoon Octavia was in the back, framing the last of the entries in the Children's Art Show, when she heard Jeremy's voice in the other room.
"Gail?" Jeremy sounded surprised and somewhat incredulous. "Gail Johnson?"
"Gail Gillingham these days. Hello, Jeremy. It's been a long time."
"You can say that again. The last time I saw you, you were just a kid."
"Not quite. I was in college the last time our paths crossed. I'm surprised you even remember. You had finished grad school and were getting ready to accept a position at a college in Portland, as I recall."
"That's right. My grandmother mentioned that you were back in town. Said you were looking for a job."
"I found one, as you can see. It's temporary because Octavia plans to sell her business at the end of the summer, but it will give me some time to look around. I'm hoping something will open up at the institute or at Chamberlain."
"I'm working at the institute," Jeremy said. "I'll keep my ears open for you, if you like. There's bound to be some turnover before the fall."
"Thanks. I'd really appreciate it."
There was a short pause.
"I guess you probably heard about my divorce last year," Jeremy said.
"Your grandmother mentioned it," Gail said gently. "I can empathize. I went through one a couple of years ago. That's the main reason I came back to Eclipse Bay. I wanted my daughter to have more family around her."
"Sounds like a smart move. Kids need a sense of belonging. Maybe everyone does."
"Is that why you came back?" Gail asked. She sounded genuinely curious.
"Maybe. In a way, Eclipse Bay will always be home. When the institute offered me the position, it just felt like the right time to make a move."
Octavia went to the door. Jeremy and Gail stood on opposite sides of the counter. They were looking only at each other, she mused. Neither of them noticed her. She could have sworn she felt vibrations in the air.
She cleared her throat discreetly. Both of them jumped a little and turned toward her with expressions of surprise. She nearly laughed. You'd have thought she'd been hiding in a closet and leaped out unexpectedly.
"Hi, Jeremy," she said. "Did you bring in your paintings?"
"Are you kidding? Of course I did." He gestured toward a wooden crate leaning against the counter. "Got two of them right here."
Gail leaned over the counter. "Octavia said you painted. Let's have a look."
"I just brought the landscapes with me today." Jeremy went to work opening the crate. "Octavia thinks that's my most likely market here in Eclipse Bay."
He hauled one of the pictures out of the crate and propped it against the closest wall. Gail and Octavia came out from behind the counter to examine it.
Gail reacted immediately, her approval evident in her excited tone. "The Arch at sunset. I love it. What's more, I can sell it. It'll be gone by the end of the week."
Jeremy and Octavia exchanged amused glances.
"Tell you what," Jeremy said to Gail. "If you sell this sucker in a week, I'll buy you dinner at Dreamscape."
Gail did not take her eyes off the painting. "It's a deal."
He ran Betty Stiles to ground outside Carla's Custom Cut & Curl. Betty emerged from the beauty shop with a stiff, cotton-candy cloud of pink hair. The hairdo had been frozen in place with so much lacquer that Nick was pretty sure it could have withstood a nuclear blast. She wore a jaunty denim skirt with a matching vest over a red blouse.
Betty was a widow in her late seventies. She had made a hobby of following every nuance of local gossip for as long as Nick could remember.
"'Afternoon, Mrs. Stiles." He came away from the fender of his car and walked toward her. "How are you doing?"
"Why, Nick Harte. How nice to see you. I heard you were in town for the summer."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Saw your new book down at Fulton's the other day."
"Did you?" He would not ask if she had read it, he promised himself.
"I would have bought it because I read a lot of mystery and suspense. But when I read the back cover it didn't say anything about a serial killer."
"Probably because I didn't put one in the story."