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Mina stepped through the main door into her office vestibule, Nolan hot on her tail. A couple sat in the chairs, a redheaded woman with spiral curls falling softly to her shoulders, and a balding and fit man Mina put in his early sixties. Mina had never seen either of them before.

The woman jumped to her feet, her curls bouncing. “Sheriff Park?”

Mina glanced at Grace, the clerk manning the front desk.

Grace stood and cast an apologetic look her way, then mouthed, Sorry .

Mina took a breath, put on a practiced smile, then turned to the woman. “How can I help you?”

“I’m Cadence Vaughn, and I think my dad has information on Mayor Sutton’s murder,” she said.

“How so?” Mina asked, now honestly interested.

Cadence glanced at Grace and Nolan. “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

Mina hated to agree without knowing if this woman really did have legitimate information, but without any strong leads, she didn’t want to turn it down.

“We can go to my office.” Mina tipped her head at Nolan. “But Deputy Orr is very involved in this investigation, and he’ll sit in.”

Cadence gave a sharp nod. “I’d like to talk to you before my dad joins us. Mind if he waits here?”

Odd, but if that’s what it took to get the information. “Fine with me.”

Cadence stepped over to Grace, her high-heeled boots clicking on the ancient vinyl floor. “Would you mind keeping an eye on him? Make sure he doesn’t leave?”

Grace frowned. “It’s not really what I do.”

“Please.” Cadence’s pleading tone would be hard to say no to. “It’s important.”

“Go ahead, Grace,” Mina said. “We won’t be long.”

“If you insist.” She plopped onto her chair and crossed her arms. “But please don’t take too long.”

“Follow me.” Mina opened the secured door to the long hallway leading to her office.

The walls had recently been painted vivid white to brighten up the area, but it was still underlit and gloomy. The air smelled like burnt coffee and microwave popcorn, the two staples her team lived on. She entered her office door and came up short. Hayden sat behind her big wooden desk, his laptop in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as Nolan and Cadence stepped in behind her.

Hayden looked up and grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming back. The internet’s down at the inn, and El said I could work here.”

He stood. “But now that you’re back, looks like I’m sprung from solitary and put back in gen pop.”

“General population,” Cadence said.

Hayden’s gaze flew to her, and he gave her an admiring once over, letting his gaze linger. “You know prison slang?”

“Cadence Vaughn.” She returned his gaze with an equally interested one of her own. “Crime reporter for the Oregonian.”

Mina spun on her. “Now wait a minute. You didn’t say anything about being a reporter. If this is a ruse to get an interview, there’s the door.”

Cadence held up her hands. “This has nothing to do with my job. It’s honestly about my father.”

“She seems sincere to me.” Hayden’s focus remained locked on Cadence.

Mina knew a man’s interest for a woman when she saw it, but she never expected it from Hayden. Under any other circumstances, he’d be the first person to call out a reporter and make her spill her guts.

“I guess I’ll be going,” he said, sounding like a little boy forced to leave a baseball game.

“Might as well stay.” Mina motioned for him to sit, and he complied. She could use another set of eyes, even ones that were jaded by this woman’s beauty. She turned to Cadence. “Have a seat and tell me what this is about.”

Cadence took a seat and crossed her long legs incased in skinny jeans, and Nolan leaned against the bookshelf.

“So you’re not local, Cadence.” Mina pushed the in-basket on her desk out of the way and rested on the corner. “What’s your connection to the mayor?”

“My father, Percy Vaughn, retired here about five years ago.” Cadence peered at Mina, the intensity of a reporter on the hunt obvious. “He’s an avid birdwatcher, and he met Ernie on one of his trips. They became good friends and often went birdwatching together.”

Mina nodded. Mayor Sutton was as passionate about birds as he was about his sports memorabilia. “Go on.”

“So when I heard that the mayor had been murdered,” Cadence said.

“Exactly how did you hear when it’s not common knowledge at this point?” Nolan hooked his thumbs in his pants pockets.

Cadence narrowed her big brown eyes and faced him. “I have my sources all across the state that I’m not at liberty to reveal.”

“And you shouldn’t have to.” Hayden gave Mina a pointed look.

She wanted to argue with him, but this was the least of her worries right now. “So you heard about the murder. Then what?”

“Since I knew about Dad’s friendship with Ernie, I knew he’d be distraught. So I got here as quick as I could to support him and ask if he knew anyone who might want to kill the mayor.”

“For a story, you mean?” Nolan asked.

“I would—will—do a story, but not until I’m sure my dad’s okay.”

“He isn’t now?” Mina asked.

Cadence shook her head, those curls shifting like a vortex of redness. “He’s in the beginning stages of dementia, and he’s often unclear as to what’s actually happened. But when I questioned him about Ernie, he told me that the mayor asked him to keep a big secret.”

Interest perked, Mina leaned closer. “And did he tell you what that secret was?”

“That’s when things got vague. He said it has something to do with lots of cash Ernie was spending on something illegal.” She splayed her hands over her legs. “No matter how many times I questioned him about the illegal thing, he couldn’t remember what it was. Or he never knew. I thought maybe if he came here, and an authority figure gently questioned him, it might jog his memory.”

“What if he implicates himself in something criminal?” Hayden asked, sounding genuinely concerned for her father.

She gave him a quick smile of thanks. “If he does, then I hope you’ll take into account that he’s a man with dementia and may not have known what he was doing.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and Hayden grabbed a tissue box, then circled around the desk. He sat in the chair next to her and offered a tissue. “We’ll make sure he’s okay.”

What in the world was going on with Hayden? This was so out of character for him. Mina was surprised he didn’t actually reach up and dry her tears.

Mina got up. “Then let’s go get him and let him tell his story.”

Cadence joined her at the door, and together they went down the hall to the lobby. Percy wobbled to his feet and stared at Mina.

“I’m surprised I haven’t met you before,” Mina said to try to break the ice and comfort the older gentleman.

“Why would you?” His tone was sharp. “I’m not a lawbreaker. You don’t need to arrest me. I want to go home.”

“Now, Dad.” Cadence twined her arm in his. “We’re here to tell the sheriff about Ernie, remember?”

“Ernie?”

“You remember. He was murdered.”

“Murdered?” Percy sagged as if he might collapse on the floor.

Cadence glanced at Mina. “Let’s get him back to the office and maybe things will become clearer for him.”

Mina unlocked the door again and held it open for Percy to go through first, then she held Cadence back a few steps. “Does he have someone to care for him?”

“He has a housekeeper who takes care of the basics, like cleaning and food. He’s been lucid most of the time until recently, but we’re getting to the point where he needs more than a housekeeper. I can’t see putting him into a facility until absolutely necessary, so I’ll likely be moving in with him for now or taking him home with me.”

While she hurried to catch up with him, Mina offered a prayer for them. She couldn’t imagine seeing her father lose his faculties this way. It had to be very difficult for Cadence.

Nolan remained leaning against the wall, and Hayden had taken a seat behind the desk. Cadence helped her father into a chair and sat next to him.

Mina resumed her spot on the corner of her desk and smiled at Percy. “Thank you for coming to see me, Percy. What can you tell me about Ernie’s sudden death?”

“They killed him. Had to be them.” His chin trembled. “He couldn’t get the money fast enough. They wanted it now. All of it.”

Mina clasped her hands together to keep her eagerness for answers in check. “Who are they?”

He shrugged. “Ernie didn’t tell me. He didn’t even mention the money. But I heard him on the phone.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “Do you remember exactly what he said on the phone?”

“I…he…” Percy glanced around, a vacant look in his eyes. “I don’t know.”

“Think hard, Dad.” Cadence squeezed his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” His hands trembled, his gaze darting faster around the space, and he shifted in his seat. “I want to tell you, but I don’t know.”

Mina squatted next to him and pressed her hand over his. “It’s okay, Percy. We all forget things.”

Tears formed in his eyes. “Ernie didn’t deserve to die.”

“No he didn’t.” Mina paused for a moment. “Was someone blackmailing him?”

“Maybe.” Percy tapped his foot. “I don’t know. I just don’t remember.”

“That’s okay.” She smiled. “Do you know if Ernie was trying to keep a secret?”

Percy’s eyes brightened. “He had one. He told me. About people.”

“What about people?” Mina asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. He wanted to help them though.”

“Do you know how?” she asked.

He shook his head again and turned to his daughter. “I want to go home now, Cady. Please. Can we go home?”

Mina stood. “Of course you can. And if you think of the secret that Ernie kept or what he was doing with the money to help people, will you come back to see me?”

He nodded and swayed to his feet.

Cadence clutched her father’s arm. “If he can’t be on his own, I’ll stay here or take him back to Portland with me.”

“Don’t wanna go. Live here.” He fired an irritable look at his daughter.

Hayden jumped up and closed his computer. “We have internet at the inn again, and I know you want me to get out of your hair, Mina. I’ll see them to the door on my way out.”

“Thanks.” Trying not to smile at his obvious desire to remain in Cadence’s company, she handed her business card to Cadence. “My cell is on there in case you need to call me, but before you go, I’ll need your contact information.”

“I can give it to you, but your clerk insisted on taking it already.”

Mina didn’t want to keep Percy any longer. “I can get it from her then.”

The trio exited, and Mina looked at Nolan. “This could be the lead we need regarding potential blackmail.”

“Indeed,” Nolan said. “But who are these people, and who did they need to be protected from?”

“I have the same questions.” She slipped behind her desk. “We also need to run a background check on both Cadence and Percy.”

“Normally, I’d have Hayden do it, but clearly he’s not the most objective person at this point.” Nolan gave a wry smile.

“I’ll get Dylan on it.” She got out her phone. “If they check out, then maybe we’ll know if this is a strong lead or if we’re back to square one.”

Nolan put the conversation with Percy behind him as he stood near Abe’s cubicle in Mina’s office. Abe crossed his arms in a defensive attitude. Whether his attitude was because he’d wanted to be Mina’s sidekick instead of Nolan, or if he felt bad about not having additional information for them, Nolan didn’t know. Because so far, all he’d mentioned was that he’d ruled out any law enforcement officers as potential suspects. The last thing the guy would want was for Nolan to question his work, but he’d been vague, and Nolan couldn’t leave it at that.

“Is this for sworn staff only, or did you include the non-sworn staff?” Nolan asked.

Abe tightened his arms, the thick biceps straining his shirt sleeves. “I looked at everyone. It’s not like we have people coming and going here very often.” He glanced at Mina. “You’re the only one on staff who’s left town and come back.”

“But I didn’t leave the sheriff’s department and come back,” she clarified. “I hadn’t started working here until I moved back to town.”

Nolan didn’t think her comment was important to the investigation, but it was clearly important to her to clarify what Abe was saying. Apparently, Abe still hadn’t accepted the fact that she’d beaten him for the sheriff’s seat and he remained a sergeant.

“What else do you have for us?” she asked.

He relaxed his arms. “Only two trophy companies in the county. I called them both and neither of them sold or engraved the trophies found at the escape room.”

“It wouldn’t be surprising if our suspect didn’t purchase them locally,” Nolan said.

“Yeah,” Abe said. “I checked online too. Found a variety of companies that he could’ve gotten them from. Some have same-day delivery.”

“Online is a good possibility since this is obviously a premeditated murder, and he had time to plan ahead,” Mina said. “Go ahead and request credit card records for any of the suspects you can get a warrant for to see if we have any charges for trophies. In a store or online.”

“You won’t have to request Jude’s records,” Nolan said. “I’ll ask him to provide them, and I’m sure he will.”

“I had better luck with the caterer,” Abe said. “Tide and Thyme handled the food.”

“That new one in town,” Mina said.

He smirked. “If you mean new in the last two years, then yeah.”

“Has it been that long? Anyway, what did they tell you?”

“The order was placed online and paid via Zelle.”

Nolan wasn’t all that familiar with P2P, peer-to-peer, payments like Zelle, but he did know they consisted of automatic transfers from one bank account to another.

Mina gritted her teeth. “So it’ll be harder to trace the payment than if done via credit card.”

Abe nodded. “The order was picked up on Monday at four p.m. I showed our electronic sketch of Smythe to the owner. She said he was the one she dealt with. He was already dressed in his butler attire.”

“Anything else the owner could share?” Nolan asked.

“He drove a plain white van that she thought might be a rental.” Abe leaned back as if feeling more comfortable all of a sudden. “I’m calling all rental agencies in the county. Without a warrant, I’m hitting a wall. Still, I eliminated three companies who don’t rent cargo vans. But then, they told me to check moving truck rental companies, too, so that’s added just as many places back onto my list.”

Mina gave a strong nod of approval. “Keep after it. What about the Seaside Harbor mayor?”

“It’s a friendly competition.”

“Says who?” Nolan asked.

Abe snapped his chair forward. “I didn’t just take his word for it if that’s what you’re suggesting. I asked some of the city council members, and they agreed. Nothing there as far as having a real motive to kill Mayor Sutton.”

“Sounds like you were thorough,” Nolan said to put the sergeant at ease again.

Abe stretched his hands behind his head. “Daisy’s alibis check out too. So that’s at least two people off our list.”

Mina shared their conversation with Cadence and Percy. “Hopefully, he’ll remember something and get back to us. Until then, keep your eyes open for any groups of people that the mayor might have been involved with.”

“You sure this dude knows what he’s talking about?” Abe asked.

“No, but we have to treat this lead like any other.” Mina gave the guy a tight smile. “Thank you for all of your work. Hopefully when the DNA and fingerprint information comes in from the Veritas team, it’ll bring us some additional leads.”

“Or somehow we figure out Smythe’s real identity,” Nolan added. “More than ever, he’s got to be our prime suspect now.”

“Still no luck on the burner phone he used to make arrangements with Harmony,” Abe said. “Cell providers like to stonewall.”

“Maybe Dylan will find something.” Mina frowned. “Or we’re barking up the wrong tree altogether, and there’s someone we don’t yet know about.”

“It’s time to look at the city records to see if someone might be embezzling money,” Nolan said.

She nodded. “To that end, you can find me at the inn, where we’ll work on reviewing the city’s financial reports for the past six months. See if we can find any irregularities.”

Abe nodded, but cast a suspicious look in Nolan’s direction.

Nolan ignored him and left with Mina to go to her vehicle.

He wasn’t eager to review boring financial records, but if they were successful, they might find another suspect, could track him down, and finally, finally locate the elusive killer before he harmed Becca.