“Yes. I verified the facts of the situation. Before I give you the names of the two young people, I want your word that you won’t do anything to them.”
“Doanything?”
“I realize you’ll probably feel you must fire them. That will be devastating to both, I promise you. Losing their jobs will be ample punishment, especially because in a small town like Burning Cove it will be very hard for them to find new jobs. Once the word gets out that you let them go, other employers won’t want to hire them.”
“Maybe they should have considered the consequences before they started stealing from me,” Luther said.
“I told you, they are very young.”
“And in love. And trying to pay for an operation. Stop right there. If you give me any more details, you’ll have to provide me with a hankie.”
She relaxed a little. “There’s an extra charge for hankies.”
Luther’s mouth kicked up a little at the corner. “All right, let me get this straight. You’ll give me the names of the thieves if I promise to do nothing more than fire them.”
Raina cleared her throat. “I don’t want you to make an example out of these kids by doing something... harsh.”
Luther tapped one long finger on the arm of his chair and watched her with unreadable eyes.
“Do you really think I’d have a couple of kids beaten up, or worse, just because they stole some liquor from me?”
Raina exhaled deeply. “No. But I had to be sure. You have a certain reputation, Luther. I’m told you have connections to some very dangerous people. That makes you dangerous, too.”
He gave her a considering look. “You know a little something about dangerous people, don’t you, Raina?”
She froze, fighting to keep her face expressionless.
“One meets a few in my line,” she said carefully. “A hazard of the investigative profession, I’m afraid. Take yourself, for example.”
“Or, perhaps, your previous employer? I believe you were a secretary for the firm of Enright and Enright in New York.”
She forced herself to breathe. “How did you figure it out?”
Luther raised one shoulder in a casual shrug. “A lot of little things. Your East Coast accent, your rather vague employment history, your connections with other private investigation agencies. And then, of course, there was the matter of your timing.”
She tightened her folded hands. “What about my timing?”
“You showed up here in Burning Cove a couple of weeks after the death of your former employer.”
“Why did that make you suspicious?”
“As I said, it was just a lot of small things that started to add up. What clinched it, though, was the day that we met in the Burning Cove Library. You were reading some month-old newspapers. The headlines involved certain incidents that took place here in town, including a fatal car crash.”
She exhaled softly and nodded, resigned. “I was afraid that you had noticed the articles I was reading. Are the circumstances of my arrival here in Burning Cove a problem for you?”
Luther smiled. “Not in the least. I do find them intriguing, however.”
He was telling the truth, she decided. She got to her feet and walked across the room to the window. The morning fog had burned off. The warm, golden sun filtered through the leafy palms, dappling the courtyard.
She had not been in town very long, she thought, but she was already in love with Burning Cove. It felt like home in a way that New York never had.
“I’m not sure why I decided to come here,” she said.
“I know why.” Luther rose and came to stand behind her. “You had to see the place for yourself. You had to read the papers. You wanted to know what happened to your employer’s son.”
“Yes. And after I got here, I decided to stay. I like it here.”
“Welcome to California. And welcome to Burning Cove.”
