She closed the door on the llama pen. “I suppose that’s always a risk, but it still seems like a task worth taking on. Hope and I have been chatting about it as well. Maybe the four of us: you, me, Cass, and Hope should get together at some point and compare notes.”
“I’ll ask Cass. How would Sunday work? Maybe we could get together for lunch.”
“Sunday will work for me. Check with Cass, and then we can call Hope. The library is closed on Sundays, so it might be a good day for her as well.”
Cass had finished tucking everyone in by the time I returned. He was in the mood for fish and chips, and there was a good place to get fish and chips out near Foxtail Lake. The restaurant wasn’t dog friendly, but Milo was a member of the Foxtail Lake Police Force, and as an officer of the force, he was welcome everywhere. Cass and I found a table near a window and Milo laid down at Cass’s feet.
“Naomi suggested we get together this weekend,” I said once Cass had ordered his fish and chips, and I’d ordered a seafood salad. “I suggested Sunday, and Naomi thought that might be a good time since the library is closed, and Hope will be off.”
“I’ll need to see how the weekend goes, but it might not be a bad idea to get together. I know Hope and Naomi have both been doing some digging since you brought up the subject a couple months ago. They are both intuitive and intelligent women, and I’d be interested in hearing what they have to say.”
“I figured as much, so Naomi is going to call Hope and then let us know. I’m really hoping Toby will have something to add to our current knowledge base. He was actually there when Austin went missing. He must have some sort of idea as to what might have happened to him.”
“If he does, he didn’t say so at the time of the disappearance,” Cass pointed out.
I took a sip of my water. “I seem to remember him saying that the older boys didn’t really want him there and that they made him go to bed early while they stayed up and told ghost stories.”
“That’s what I remember as well. When he got up the next morning, the other boys were still sleeping, so he hung out by the fire, but when Colin got up, he decided to go fishing. It wasn’t until everyone was up that they realized that Austin wasn’t there. They looked for him, but he was never found.”
I nodded. “All of that is consistent with what all the kids said, but I’m still hoping that someone heard or saw something they were too scared to share the first time around.”
The waiter brought our food, which stalled the conversation. After he left, I brought up the subject of the new wellness center. “They gave me a free three-month membership. I’m actually really excited to get started. It’s a beautiful facility, and I really haven’t been keeping up the exercises given to me by the physical therapist after my accident the way I should have.” I reached down and rubbed my bad hand with my good one. “I guess I figured there was no point since I was never going to be able to return to my career, but I’ve had a lot of tingling lately. More often than I had in the beginning, so I guess I should get back to the routine the therapist gave me before it gets worse.”
“I agree. Do you think you should bring up the tingling to your doctor?”
“I will if it gets worse. It comes and goes. I’m supposed to go to my specialist in New York this summer for a checkup. I suppose that if my hand is still bothering me, I can bring it up then. In the meantime, I plan to get this body in shape. You should join the health club as well. We could work out together.”
He smiled. “I’d like that. We’d need to go early before I need to be at work or late after I get off.”
“I usually do my writing early, but I’m sure we can find a couple hours a week to meet at the gym. They have a men’s and women’s sauna and a heated pool, complete with jets that I’m very excited about.”
“A sauna would be a nice feature on cold winter days.”
“Did you know that the land on the north end of town near the wellness center was bought by Larchmont Resort? According to the woman I spoke to at the wellness center, they plan to build a huge property with timeshares, a hotel, and weekly condos.”
Cass lifted a brow. “I hadn’t heard. It seems like if something like that was in the works, the news would be all over town, although Acting Mayor Lewiston seems to have a way of controlling the news to his advantage.”
“The woman I spoke to brought it up after I asked how they planned to support such a fancy wellness center with our small population. I guess Larchmont contracted with the wellness center to provide a spa and exercise facility for their guests and residents. According to the woman I spoke to, Larchmont has verbal approval for the project from the acting mayor, but the project hasn’t been formally presented to the council.”
“I guess they want to keep a lid on the whole thing until they have all their ducks in a row,” Cass said.
“Do you think the council will approve such a huge project?”
Cass slowly bobbed his head. “I think they might. A resort such as that will bring jobs to the area. It will also bring those willing to invest in new infrastructure. Economically, it would be good for the town, but I realize there will be those who won’t be happy about a huge resort in our little town and you can bet those with lodging properties in the area will be extra upset.”
“It seems like growth and development are themes that continue to reoccur. You figure out a way to halt the plans of one developer, only to find there’s another one in the wings with their own project.”
“Change is a force that can only be denied for so long before it finds a way,” Cass pointed out. “Besides, now that Hugh Lewiston has announced his bid to run for the open seat in the state senate, I suspect that things might change quite a bit at the local level.”
“Why is that?” I wondered.
“I hadn’t known about the development until you brought it up, but I had heard that Larchmont is supporting Lewiston in his bid for the senate. I guess the why is beginning to make sense. As you can imagine, a successful run for the state senate will require a lot of money. Larchmont has money. If Lewiston is supporting the development, I suspect the two men have come to some sort of an understanding. Lewiston is a powerful guy in the community. If he wants Larchmont’s project approved, I have a feeling it will be approved.”
Cass and I continued to chat about the new wellness center, new resort, community events, and life in general while we consumed our meal. After we ate, we each headed toward our own homes. It appeared that Aunt Gracie was in her room watching television when I arrived, so I changed into my pajamas, made a cup of tea, and headed to the attic to jot down the notes I was going to need for tomorrow’s interview with Toby. It had been a very long time, and he’d only been seven at the time of the incident, but I was still hoping he’d have something to share that might give us an additional avenue of investigation.
I turned on my laptop and then clicked on the small white Christmas lights I’d strung around the room. I found that I liked the subdued light much better than the overhead light when working, plus they were festive. Alastair pushed his way into the room through the partially closed door. I bent down and picked him up, and then I headed to the window seat and settled in to stargaze as I often did in the evenings. One thing I liked about living out at the lake was that Gracie’s property was isolated and free of street lamps and lights from other buildings. It provided a perfect place to view the stars in all their glory.
“So I was assigned a new dog today,” I said to Alastair as we sat together in the window seat. “I’m sure you’d hate her if you ever met since she’s the rowdy sort, and you aren’t all that fond of dogs, but she’s really cute. She’s exactly the sort of dog I’ve been thinking about getting. Smart, energetic, friendly.”