“Why are we stopping here?” Mel asked in surprise.
“Not that I’m complaining. I could use a pit stop.”
“Yeah, me too,” Ned chimed in. “Let’s go, okay?”
“Come on,” Mel said. “I wanna hit the men’s room.”
“How did Mary Jo get to Cedar Cove?” he asked them both, ignoring their entreaties. “The ferry, right? Isn’t that what we figured?”
“Yeah, she must’ve taken it to Bremerton,” Mel agreed. “And then she rode the foot ferry across from Bremerton to Cedar Cove.” He pointed to the boat docked at the end of the pier.
Linc playfully ruffled his brother’s hair. “Give the man a cigar.”
Mel jerked his head aside. “Hey, cut it out.” He combed his fingers through his hair to restore it to order.
Linc swung open the truck door and climbed out.
“Where you goin’ now?” Mel asked, opening his own door.
“It’s not for us to question why,” Ned intoned and clambered out, too.
Linc sighed. “I’m going to ask if anyone saw a pregnant girl on the dock this morning.”
“Good idea,” Ned said enthusiastically. “Meanwhile, we’ll visit that men’s room over there.”
“Fine,” Linc grumbled, scanning the street as he waited for them. Unfortunately he hadn’t found anyone to question in the vicinity of the dock. The only nearby place that seemed to be doing business was a pub— imaginatively called the Cedar Cove Tavern.
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” blasted out the door the instant Linc opened it. A pool table dominated one side of the establishment; one man was leaning over it, pool cue in hand, while another stood by watching. They looked over their shoulders when the three brothers came inside.
Linc walked up to the bar.
The bartender, who had a full head of white hair and was wearing a Santa hat, ambled over to him. “What can I get you boys?”
“Coke for me.” Linc was driving, so he wasn’t interested in anything alcoholic. Besides, he’d need a clear head once he tracked down his obstinate younger sister.
“I’ll have a beer,” Mel said. He propped his elbows on the bar as though settling in for a long winter’s night.
“Coke,” Ned ordered, sliding onto the stool on Linc’s other side.
The bartender served them speedily.
Linc slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the scarred wooden bar. “You seen a pregnant woman around today?” he asked. “Someone from out of town?”
The man frowned. “Can’t say I have.”
“She’s
“Then I definitely didn’t,” Santa informed them.
“She arrived by foot ferry,” Ned told him. “Probably sometime midmorning.”
“Sorry,” Santa murmured. “I didn’t start my shift until three.” He rested his bulk against the counter and called out, “Anyone here see a pregnant gal come off the foot ferry this morning?”
The two men playing pool shook their heads. The other patrons stopped their conversation, glanced at Linc and his brothers, then went back to whatever they were discussing.
“Doesn’t look like anyone else did either,” the bartender said.
The brothers huddled over their drinks. “What we gotta do,” Mel suggested, “is figure out what her agenda would be.”
“She came to find David’s parents,” Ned reminded them. “
“True.” Okay, they both had a point. Turning back to the bartender, Linc caught his attention. “You know any people named Rhodes in the area?”
Santa nodded as he wiped a beer mug. “Several.”
“This is an older couple. They have a son named David.”
The bartender frowned. “Oh, I know David. He stiffed me on a sixty-dollar tab.”
Yeah, they were talking about the same guy, all right. “What about his parents?”
“Ben and Charlotte,” Santa told them. “Really decent people. I don’t have anything good to say about their son, though.”
“Where do they live?”
“I’m not sure.”
Looking around, Linc saw a pay phone near the restrooms. “I’ll check if Ben Rhodes is in the phone book,” he said, leaving his stool.
“Sounds like a plan,” Santa muttered.
