Page 8 of Bait and Switch (Subtle Deceptions #2)
That’s what Casey thought as well, but the question of Calvin Perkins’s whereabouts nagged at him.
It had been well over a week now. Had he been killed as well?
Injured? The Calvin Perkins Casey had known most of his life was not the kind of person to sit around and wait for justice to prevail—or wait to dole out his version of justice, at least.
“So.” Greta drew out the single word casually, in a way that had Casey’s mental antennae twitching wildly. “What’s the skinny on this new dockmate of yours? You’re not the only bachelor at the marina any longer.”
Casey groaned inwardly and clutched the truck’s steering wheel.
He’d skimmed over the details of Gabriel Karne’s arrival, but somehow she’d homed in on exactly what he was trying to avoid.
Or rather, who . And she’d waited until Casey was trapped behind the wheel of the truck before bringing him up. Diabolical.
“I doubt he’ll be a neighbor for long.” He hoped that sounded offhand and dismissive. “I don’t think he’s long-term liveaboard material.”
The truth was, for someone who didn’t check the standard hot-blooded-male-must-have-sex boxes, Casey had spent an awful lot of time thinking about Charming since his arrival on Heartstone.
He’d given himself several sternly worded lectures, but his brain had ignored every one of them, instead bombarding Casey with out-of-the-ordinary thoughts and yes, also images.
Charming Fucker was the very last person on earth Casey expected, or wanted, to pique his interest.
“Why wouldn’t he be? And don’t be shy, share all the details.”
Dammit, he’d either sounded too dismissive or not offhand enough when he’d mentioned Charming Fucker.
Greta had always been the Sherlock Holmes of figuring out what Casey didn’t want to talk about, and he didn’t want to talk about Gabriel Karne.
The man infuriated him, and that was that.
He wasn’t at all intriguing with a sensitive side to him that Casey sensed he’d kept hidden most of his life.
Nope. And now Casey was mad at himself for thinking like this at all, much less about Gabriel Karne.
“Well?” she prompted.
Casey had to bite his tongue to keep from responding with That’s deep . Karne had used those exact words yesterday, and they still weren’t funny. Or charming. They were damn irritating.
“Let’s see.” Casey skipped past the part where he’d discovered Karne trespassing at the park and given him a ticket. “From what I know, his mother recently passed, and she left him The Golden Ticket .”
“Huh. Because everyone needs a creaky old sailboat in their life.”
Casey repressed a snort. Karne and The Golden Ticket deserved each other.
“Do you think he was responsible for the body found at the marina yesterday? I doubt it since you haven’t said anything.”
Of course, Greta had already heard about Peter Vale. Casey was shocked she hadn’t called him yesterday to get the scoop. She’d probably intended to do it at the office today, but he’d bet being trapped in a vehicle was even better from her perspective.
“No. He says not, and I tend to believe him. But he did know the guy.”
Quickly, Casey filled Greta in on the discovery and their theory about how Vale had gotten there.
“That’s nuts! Who would break into the marina and leave a body? Was he killed there, do you think?”
“My security feed doesn’t show anyone coming or going, so whoever it was must have come by water while Karne was in Westfort. It’s possible he could have arrived alive, but I’d say from the condition of the body that the victim was already dead when he was dumped.”
“That forensics course you took to satisfy continuing ed credits is paying off.”
“Very funny. Are you Watson, then?” He shook his head in mock disgust. “But I would say there had to be two other people involved. How else would a person carry a body, a literal deadweight, and lift it from one boat to another? Unless they were very strong.”
“But no one saw anything because it’s winter and there’s hardly any traffic this time of year, foot or otherwise.”
Whoever had killed Peter Vale had to be familiar with the obscure Riddle Bay Marina and Heartstone Island. Had they been keeping an eye out, so they knew when Casey and Karne were both gone? Or had it been an opportunity presenting itself at the perfect moment?
If it were chance, they’d been damn lucky.
If the dump was purposeful, some sort of message, it put a different light on everything.
Was it a message to Karne? And if that was the case, why not leave Vale on the Ticket ?
Why choose the Shangri-La ? Were they locals? The marina seemed to indicate so.
Casey was driving himself to distraction.
“Those are good questions. Hopefully, Rizzi and company are looking into them.” Greta sounded thoughtful. In his peripheral vision, Casey saw her head move as she turned to look at him.
“But that’s not what I meant when I asked you about your new neighbor. What’s he like? Is he hot? And don’t do that jaw-clench thing at me, I can think a guy is hot even if I don’t want to get it on with him.”
“For Christ’s sake, Greta.” Casey did not want to talk about Gabriel Karne with Greta. She had this way of weaseling information out of him when he least wanted to part with it.
“So, he is hot? Because I’m just saying, you not confirming or denying is suspicious.”
Dammit, Greta .
Casey could lie and say Karne wasn’t hot, but Greta was already on alert—how, he had no idea. Even if Casey planned on putting it off as long as possible, they would eventually meet, and Greta would give him The Look and promise a later conversation. Because Gabriel Karne was hot.
“I suppose he’s attractive. But his personality leaves something to be desired.”
“What? He didn’t just fall at your feet when you glared at him?” She snickered at her own stupid joke.
“Ha, ha, ha.”
“Casey, I think it’s about time you met someone who interested you. I only wish I’d been around to witness it. Were you broody and stern? I bet you were, that’s your go-to reaction when someone gets under your skin.”
Luckily, Casey spotted the turnout where the brush crew was working and pulled the truck over.