A unanimous decision.
Mayor Guthrie beamed, pumped Max Warfield’s hand, and stepped to the podium for his final address of the evening. “We can’t get our shovels out yet, folks. The Planning Board will need to make the final call on this proposal next week. It’s up to them to debate the amount of green space or storm water drainage required for the new development, but I have every confidence that Talbot Fine Properties has seen to every tiny detail.”
He and Max Warfield exchanged smug nods. At that moment, Olivia felt an extreme dislike for their mayor.
“In the meantime,” Mayor Guthrie continued—he was a man who loved the sound of his own voice, “might I suggest you bring the family down to our Twenty-Sixth Annual Barbeque Cook-off this weekend? Yours truly has been working since last year in hopes of winning the Best Beef Rib category. Come on by and bring a lobster bib. It’s going to get messy! Good night!”
The committee members were the first to leave. Though buoyed by the outcome of the meeting, all five had full-time jobs and were eager to get home. The mayor stayed to field any remaining questions from his constituents and Olivia wondered how many times she’d be approached by townsfolk about the proposition before the Planning Board meeting.
She leaned over Dixie. “Looks like our vote is going to be a topic of interest, Grumpy. I bet the diner will be filled with curious folks between now and next Tuesday, all wanting to know if you’re planning on saying aye or nay.”
The short-order cook shrugged. “I’ll vote for the new development, though I doubt Talbot’s homes are any better built than our double-wide. When it comes down to it, Dixie and me got a pile of bills high as the lighthouse. Between the diner and the kids, the only way I’m gonna be able to pay them is if more folks eat my food.”
Dixie’s taciturn husband had never strung so many words together in Olivia’s presence before. “Perhaps you should raise your prices,” she suggested.
Grumpy shook his head. “Don’t wanna drive off the workin’ man. I gotta cook for
Olivia nodded in agreement, gathered her purse, and stood up. It felt good to stretch her long legs.
“How about you, ’Livia?” Dixie asked with a smile. “You wanna expand your territory? Buy up a few more town blocks so these new folks will have places to shop? Maybe get their toenails painted? Eat some sushi?”
Not for the first time, Olivia was grateful that Dixie didn’t resent her wealth or her success in business. The other woman seemed to genuinely admire her for her achievements and this esteem made her a rare friend indeed.
“I don’t know,” Olivia answered honestly. “The proposal seems most attractive on the onset, but the idea of relocating the graveyard does trouble me a bit. I also have concerns about the limited green space I saw on those renderings for Cottage Cove.” She fell quiet for several seconds. “With only five of us voting on such a major issue, I’d like to do a little more research before reaching a decision.”
Dixie spun the wheels of her left skate around and around as she mulled over Olivia’s response. “Fair enough.” She elbowed Grumpy. “Come on, babe. We gotta go home and see which of our kids is on fire, hanging from the ceiling, or has run away.”
Laughing, the couple wished Olivia a good night. Grumpy took his wife’s arm and helped her down the stairs. Olivia exited at the other end of the row and was a few steps from the bottom when she noticed Chief Rawlings.
He wasn’t in uniform, but he wasn’t wearing one of his typical Hawaiian shirts either. In dark jeans, a light blue collared shirt, and a houndstooth blazer, he was hardly recognizable. As though sensing her eyes on him, Rawlings looked up and smiled, but he glanced away quickly, fixating on the man standing before him.
“I was wondering if you and I could sit a spell and talk.” He spoke to Jethro Bragg with utmost courtesy. Rawlings’ words were as relaxed as his dress, but his tone was laced with authority. Olivia was close enough to hear them clearly.
Jethro shook his head and growled, “Look, I didn’t touch a hair on that queer’s head, so we don’t need to
“Please come on down to the teacher’s lounge with me. I’d appreciate your help concerning Mr. Ford’s movements the night he was killed. This is an unofficial request. I’m just trying to get a picture of that night, that’s all. Will you give me a few minutes of your time?” Rawlings’ humility gave Jethro pause. But when it looked as those the clam-kicker wouldn’t cooperate, Rawlings put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Come on, man. I don’t want to go home and put on my uniform. I’d rather not have to turn all the lights on at the station for just you and me. No need to make our electric bill any higher. Besides, there’s no coffee, so what do you say?” He held out his hand in the direction of the hallway as though assuming Jethro would comply. After a moment’s hesitation, he did.
Olivia glanced at her watch. It was half past nine and she was tired. As much as she wanted to wait for the chief outside the teacher’s lounge, the vision of her peaceful home and the lulling call of the surf won out over curiosity.
Her evening wasn’t over yet, however. She ran into Annie, Roy, and the stranger Olivia took to be Roy’s brother in the hallway.
“How’s Cosmo?” Olivia asked Annie.
“Better. He took a nice long walk on the beach this afternoon and the sea air did him good. I laid out a nice afternoon tea for him.” She colored. “We don’t normally fix food other than breakfast for our guests, but I feel like Mr. Cosmo is more like family than some sightseer. Besides, I just couldn’t send him out in search of a snack in the state he’s in.”
Olivia admired the innkeeper’s generous spirit. “Your care is exactly what he needs right now.” She turned her body slightly in order to include Roy and the unfamiliar man in the conversation. “How are you, Roy?”
“Good, but busy,” he replied. “We’re into the season full-swing now. Booked solid until October.”
Roy didn’t appear inclined to linger any longer, but Olivia’s inquisitiveness prompted her to thrust out her hand toward the man standing next to Roy. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around town before. I’m Olivia Limoges.”
“Atlas Kraus, Roy’s brother,” he answered, briefly squeezing her hand.
Annie gave her brother-in-law a nervous smile. “Atlas is staying with us for the season. We just can’t handle all the work so it was a real blessing when he called Roy and said he’d like to stay with us awhile. Atlas is real good with his hands. He can build, repair, or restore almost anything!”
Olivia could sense a current of unease underlying Annie’s praise. Atlas dipped his head in acknowledgment of the compliment while Roy shifted on his feet. He was obviously eager to get on his way.
She watched the body language of the three people. Annie was gripping her own fingertips as though trying to hold on to a sense of control, Roy’s eyes shifted everywhere but avoided looking at his brother, and Atlas was studying Olivia, his dark gaze alert and unblinking. Of the three, he was the most composed. He leaned against the wall, pressing his wide shoulders onto the cool cement, his muscular arms folded over his chest.
“Roy says that you’re one of the five people who’ll vote on this thing next week,” he said. “Must be pretty exciting to be so important.”
“Like the mayor stated, Oyster Bay is certainly growing,” Olivia answered enigmatically. “Did you relocate from a similar town or are you a city man?”
“I’ve lived in both,” Atlas replied with equal ambiguity.
“And have you always been a fix-it man?” she asked, hoping to provoke more information from him.
Roy’s brother remained unfazed. “Construction jobs, mostly. I go where the towns are experiencing a building boom like this one. I’ve moved around a lot.”
Olivia didn’t like the picture the term “building boom” called to mind. She loved Oyster Bay the way it was. Sometimes the lack of amenities was an inconvenience, but the coinciding absence of traffic jams, monolithic superstores, and ugly office parks more than made up for the occasional long-distance errand.
“Do you plan to work at The Yellow Lady and do construction jobs as well? That’ll be quite a full plate,” Olivia said.
Atlas shrugged and looked away. “There aren’t any openings with the crew building the condos on the bluff,
