for a few seconds until she turned to me, excitement shining in her eyes. “A jewel thief? Right in our very midst, and we never even knew it. Who’da thunk it? Who do you think it is?”
“It’s no one, Shari. That guy is nuts. You know everyone who lives here, and even if some random jewel thief did pass through here once, it must not have been for very long.”
“Well, of course it’s no one who lives here, but maybe he’s visiting here now? Maybe he’s here for a big heist. Do we have any famous visitors scheduled to stay at the Imperial?” She seemed awfully excited at the prospect of a felon wandering around our town.
“Not that I know of, and think about it, Shari. What kind of criminal comes to a tiny island to hide? We all know each other, so he’d totally stand out. Plus, the occupancy rates at the hotels plummet this time of year. If a thief was going to come here, he’d come in the summer when there are lots of people and lots of distractions. Right?”
“I suppose.” She did not sound convinced.
“Listen, we need to keep this one quiet. I can’t have that guy scaring people. He gave me the heebie-jeebies with those ferret eyes of his.” I rubbed the skin on my arm, trying to remove the feel of his stare.
She waved a hand, dismissing my concerns. “Oh, that guy wasn’t so scary, and no one is going to be afraid of a jewel thief.”
“Well, maybe they should be. All the regulars who come here for the summer in their expensive boats will go someplace else if there’s a sudden crime spree or we get a reputation for harboring criminals.”
She rested her cheek on her palm and gazed off into fantasyland. “I think it’s glamorous, and don’t you think all those other ports where rich people like to park their yachts have the same issues? You think the French riviera doesn’t have a burgling problem?”
“I think exotic ports probably do have crime problems, but that doesn’t mean we want them here. And seriously, didn’t that investigator seem a little off to you? He sure wasn’t too interested in talking to my father.”
Now Shari pursed her lips and frowned as if I was being beyond silly. “Of course he doesn’t want to talk to your father. Private investigators and cops never get along. For goodness’ sakes, haven’t you ever seen a movie? A television show? The police always want to do things by the book. You know, follow the letter of the law and all that, but the private investigators just want to get the job done, even if it takes a little criminal creativity. Honestly, Brooke, you need to broaden your horizons and learn more about life. Subscribe to HBO, why don’t you?”
She did not seem to have the same grave take on this situation that I did. “Thanks for that tip, Shari. I’ll just grab a brownie and go. I’m late for the city council meeting.”
So far, my first day as mayor was not going quite as planned.
Chapter 4
I shuffled into the Palomino Pub after leaving the post office, not because I needed a drink (although now I sort of did) but because that’s where the weekly city council meetings were held. Originally the building had been a trading post used by French and Indian fur trappers, then for a while it was a barbershop where grizzled, bearded men could get a shave and a hot bath for two cents a bucket. Soap, naturally, was extra, and I suspect most men didn’t bother with the extravagance. Early in the 1900s, the building became the township offices, and Mayor Blackwell, whichever one was around then, decided meetings should be held there every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Then, after World War II, once families started to vacation again, tourism took hold on Wenniway, and this building became a saloon. Council meetings continued to meet there, though, because apparently no one ever thought to change the venue.
Personally, I considered a bar to be a questionable location for the local government to tend to its duties, so my first order of business (well, after organizing and painting my office, installing computers, fixing the damn sidewalks, and rooting out any criminal element on the island) was going to be to relocate our meetings to someplace more professional, less publike. Maybe the library or community center. At least to someplace that didn’t smell like old beer and