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Using the rubber end of her crutch, Christi pointed at something on the side of the dirt road. “It’s right there.”

Ruth bent down and grabbed the silver foil packet with Kip’s Bar and Grill emblazoned on the front.

“It’s an empty packet of matches,” Gloria said.

“It hasn’t been here for too long.” Ruth flipped it over. “It still has a little foil left on the outside.”

“I wonder if there’s anything else.” Gloria focused her attention on the ground nearby. “I see part of a cigar.”

“Don’t touch it.” Ruth pulled a tissue from her pocket, picked it up, and inspected the torn label. “Mo something, cigar. ”

“This could be potential evidence.”

“Or not. It’s falling apart.” Ruth tipped the cigar over and bits of tobacco fell out.

Gloria made her way toward the tree line separating the mobile home and the road. “I would imagine at night and after dark, you could tell if Echo’s lights were on.”

“There’s one way to find out.” Liz jogged down the driveway. She ran inside the RV, grabbed a flashlight and then made a beeline for Echo’s place. She reached the back door, turned the flashlight on and aimed the high beam toward the road. “Can you see my light?” she hollered.

Gloria’s muffled reply echoed back.

Liz pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed her sister’s number. “I’m standing near Echo’s back door shining my flashlight toward the road. Can you see anything? ”

“No.” Liz could tell Gloria was on the move. “Try again. Even though it’s daylight, we should be able to see something between the trees.”

Liz made a slow sweep with the flashlight, back and forth. “I’m running it along the tree line.”

“Yes. Yes. I can see light.”

“Cool.” Liz shut the flashlight off and jogged back to where they stood waiting. “Putting together a timeline, I believe whoever parked here was watching Echo’s place. They waited for her to go to bed and then sneaked through the woods.”

“And they used matches from Kip’s Bar and Grill to light a cigar, a brand that has the letters m and o in it,” Gloria said.

Kip’s, a downtown Belhaven business, was the town’s only bar and after-hours hangout. It offered a limited selection of food—packaged pizzas, burgers, and fries, and not much else. Gloria had been inside the bar a few times, mostly to nose around when she was investigating .

He was also the owner of Dot’s Restaurant. He purchased it from Dot and Ray the previous fall, seamlessly picking up where the couple left off. The recent purchase meant Kip owned nearly as much Belhaven commercial property as Brian and Andrea Sellers. Between the three of them, they owned half the downtown.

Gloria flipped the matchbook over. “Kip knows everyone in town.”

“Which means if a stranger stopped by and started asking a bunch of questions, Kip would know it,” Ruth said. “I’m feeling the need for a burger and fries.”

“You read my mind,” Gloria said.

“What about me?” Echo asked. “Do you think it would be worth it for me to go with you?”

“Yes,” Gloria and Ruth said in unison.

“If Kip, or one of his employees, remembers someone stopping by there, they might mention something that hits your radar,” Ruth said .

“At the risk of inserting myself into an investigation uninvited, can I tag along?” Christi asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Gloria shrugged. “If not for you, we wouldn’t be visiting Kip’s in the first place.”

The women climbed into the spymobile. During the ride, they threw out ideas about who was hanging around. All clues pointed back to whoever had taken Mick Grotto out.

“We still don’t know if Senator Appolina is even involved.” Gloria motioned to Echo. “Is there anyone else you can think of, anyone from your past who may have come looking for you?”

“Appolina is the only one who comes to mind,” Echo said. “He was in big trouble. The lead investigator was on the news almost every night, insisting he had evidence that was going to take down a powerful political figure.”

“How many people knew you had the lead investigator’s DNA sample?” Ruth asked. “I mean, if no one knew about it, how could someone be after it?”

Echo began chewing her lower lip. “Maybe Vanessa told someone, and it got back to Appolina. She and I worked together on most cases. It stands to reason if someone took her out, they’re also after me.”

While Echo talked, Liz turned her cell phone on and pulled up a search site. There was story after story about Appolina’s potential involvement in a lucrative union bribe as well as several questionable business practices. “This senator was playing with some other high-profile people.”

“Yes, he was,” Echo said. “Maybe it isn’t Appolina who is after me. Maybe it’s someone even more desperate to make sure the state doesn’t reopen the lead investigator’s case.”

Liz tapped on the most recent story about the senator. “It looks like the DA’s office is already looking at reopening the senator’s case. ”

Ruth blew air through thinned lips. “I’m sure he’s not happy about that.”

“Which might be the catalyst for him to want to tie up any loose ends if he’s involved in criminal activity,” Ruth said.

They reached downtown Belhaven. Ruth found an empty spot directly in front of Kip’s Bar and Grill. Nearby, Dot’s was bustling, and almost all the tables were full. “Dot’s is still doing a brisk business.”

“Chicken and dumplings sounds good right about now, but I suppose one of Kip’s burgers and fries will hit the spot.” Ruth patted her stomach.

Liz and the others stepped inside the bar where they were greeted by the strong smell of stale cigarettes and spilled beer mixed in with the tantalizing aroma of burgers grilling. She lingered in the doorway, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light .

There were only a handful of patrons inside, and almost all were seated at the bar.

“Hello.” A young woman with jet-black hair, the ends a deep shade of purple, and tattoos running up her right arm greeted them.

“Hello,” Gloria replied. “We were wondering if Kip was around.”

“He’s next door at Dot’s. He spends most of his time over there now.”

“Do you sell cigars?”

“Yeah.” The woman motioned to the glass case behind her. “What kind would you like?”

“Do you have one that starts with an m and an o?” Ruth asked.

“We do. It’s the Montabello. They’re a buck ninety each or you can buy a box of nine for seventeen dollars.”

“Can I see one?” Gloria asked .

“Sure.” The woman grabbed a cigar from the case and set it on the bar. “It’s not a bad cigar. It’s better than Old Toes, which is our bestseller.”

“Old Toes?” Liz laughed.

“It smells like the name. Are you looking for recommendations or to buy one?”

“No, but I appreciate the offer. I’ve never been much of a cigar smoker,” Gloria joked.

“I figured as much.” The woman stuck the cigar back inside the case. “Can I get you something?”

“We’re heading to the restaurant for a bite to eat,” Gloria said. “I have another slightly strange request. Can I see a pack of your matches?”

“Sure.” The woman reached beneath the bar and pulled out a pack of silver foil matches. “Pretty fancy, huh?”

“It’s an unusual foil cover and certainly catches the eye. ”

“Kip is into what he calls buyer motivation by recognition. He read somewhere people associate the color silver with wealth. All I know is people dig them and we give away a lot more than we used to.”

Liz studied the cover and nearly fell on the floor at what the woman said next.