Page 81 of Love Again

“When?” asks Luke.

“A couple of years ago, she thought—she couldn’t remember.”

Finn smiles. “And you happened to ask her about this?”

“Moms save teeth. It was worth a shot.”

This meant Jim Whitehead was still an asshole, but an asshole who was being—

“Framed,” says Finn. “That jerk is being framed. But why?”

“In case anyone gets close enough, a fall guy is already in place,” says Nic.

I’m still puzzled. “It doesn’t make sense. You think because the judge has money trouble, he’s having his son torch buildings for the insurance? Some of these buildings weren’t even in his name anymore.”

Nic folds his arms again. “That Ferris wheel fire? Last summer in Old Orchard Beach? I interviewed the guy who ran it. He wouldn’t let Jim and Kevin on because they had been smoking pot.”

Devon frowns. “So they do it for revenge?”

“I think it’s both. Finn and I agree, there’s a financial gain. But Kevin or Raymond, maybe even Jim, all have some personal skin in the game.”

We decide that if Kevin Barr is trying to frame his friend, he would want to work fast before anything else implicating him is found.

Mateus runs a hand through his hair. “I always love a sting operation. Who wants first shift?”

Mateus and Finn volunteer for the first eight-hour shift, then Keller and Nic, then me and Luke. Carlson maps out a great vantage point to observe the building with clear lines of sight.

Each shift will report to Carlson, who will station himself as the command post.

But it’s tricky. After a lot more discussion, it’s clear what the problem is: anything to do with Kevin Barr, his father seems to find out about.

Carlson is going to have to keep the entire operation on the down-low.

That won’t be easy.

Chapter Twenty-One

Devon

It’s early evening. Luke and I need to sleep so we can be up and ready at three in the morning for our shift. We’ve finished takeout from Ping’s. Luke washes the chopsticks and tosses the cartons. The sushi was amazing, and I am feeling content. Then my phone vibrates.

I glance at the text. “I have to go,” I tell Luke. He’s sitting on the sofa and pulls me down for a long, sweet kiss.

When I step outside, I’m glad I wore a heavy sweatshirt. I’m nervous. Her text was short and to the point.

I need to see you. At the rock.

I find Claire sitting, as promised, out on a slab of granite between the clinic and The Inn. It’s one of her favorite spots. The large, flat piece of rock has a zigzag of rose quartz running through it. Chloe told us stories of how a dragon lost its scales there and they burned their way into the rock.

We all believed her, except for Claire. She and Chloe were too close in age, I think, for Claire to get caught up in Chloe’s fantasies.

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe that’s why she likes to sit out here.

The wind off the sea is full of the smell of brine and fish, and gulls call above. Even though there’s not a cloud in the sky, it’s dusk, and it’s starting to get dark. There are whitecaps out in the bay, lifting boats on the swells.

She turns around to see me, one long strand of blonde hair getting caught in tangles, and the wind snaps it up, out, and away from her face.

She’s hurt as only Claire can be hurt—right to the bone.