The Inn at Holiday Bay: Clue in the Clam, Kathi Daley [early reader chapter books TXT] 📗

“So leaking news that would shed light on good things the men had done, whether they had actually done these good deeds or not, might egg the killer into getting involved and saying something to set the record straight,” I said.

“Perhaps. It does appear as if the killer is very methodical about each and everything he does. If nothing else, putting out a false statement might throw him off his game and cause him to make a mistake.”

That made sense to me.

“What about floating the rumor that someone confessed to one of the murders and saying we didn’t consider the deaths to be linked?” Colt asked.

“That could work,” she agreed. “Although, it might be best to use the press to warn other men who might be potential targets, and the best way to do that is to disseminate accurate information. There are many strategies when it comes to using the press to gain a specific outcome, and each strategy contains its own set of pros and cons.”

“Given the fact that there may be four more men on this killer’s list, I’m not comfortable with disseminating anything less than the truth,” Colt said. “I understand how the other strategy might work, but I’m a lot more concerned with these four men than I am with anything else, including the arrest of the killer. Don’t get me wrong, I want to catch this guy, but at this point, my primary goal is to stop the killing. It seems that the best way to do that is to lay it all out so the public can take steps to protect themselves.”

“I don’t disagree with that,” Sydney said. “Especially given the impossibly tight timeline.” She looked down at her cell phone. “It’s Genevieve. Maybe she has something.”

Sydney answered and then listened. She took notes but didn’t say much in response. Since we could only hear her side of the conversation and she wasn’t saying anything, I really wasn’t sure if this woman had come up with something or not.

“Okay, thanks, Gen. We’re still discussing the situation, so I may call you back looking for additional data.”

With that, she hung up. She looked at Colt. “According to Gen, she found three things all three men had in common, which in my mind, gives us three places the killer might have met the men. As you’ve already mentioned, two of the men appear to have been wrapped up in the proposed development. Oliver Halifax was heavily invested in the project. So much so that he ran for the town council to make sure that the proposed project passed. Henry Goodman was working with the developer to obtain the proper permits. He’d been promised the listings when the portion of the resort reserved for timeshares was made available. And Stan Fairfield is involved through his wife, who is the sister of the architect who designed the whole thing. All had personal and financial incentives to see the development approved, so if it turns out the resort was the motive for murder, then it seems that we’re looking for someone who had a lot to lose if the development was allowed to move forward.”

“What do the clams and the notes have to do with the development?” I asked.

“Probably nothing,” Sydney said. “It’s possible the notes were left as a diversion meant to distract us.” She looked at Colt. “Genevieve is looking at the phone and financial records for the company behind the resort and the major stockholders. It is likely that the killer isn’t associated with the resort, but it doesn’t hurt to see if we can find anything that might point to the instigating event.”

“So in this case, the instigating event wouldn’t be the clam bake,” Colt said.

“It’s not likely. If the resort is the motive, then the clam bake, plastic clams, and notes left in the clams are all likely meant to be camouflage.”

“And the other two places where the three men overlap?” I asked.

“Interestingly, church. Not only are all three men members of the same community church, but all three attended a men’s retreat almost exactly one year ago. While the men’s involvement with the proposed resort is a good motive, the link to the church and the men’s group fits the rest much more closely. Unless, as we’ve suggested, the whole thing with the seven deadly sins turns out to be a smokescreen, I think we might find the killer here.”

“Which church do the men belong to?” I asked.

She looked at her notes. “The community church on Palm Avenue.”

“That’s Noah’s church,” I said.

“Noah?” she asked.

“The minister,” I answered. “He’s a good friend. I’ll talk to him. If he knows something, I think he’ll tell me. I’m not sure he’d share personal information about his parishioners with someone he doesn’t know.”

“Okay.” Sydney nodded. “That works for me.”

“And the third link?” Colt asked.

“All three men have made large payments to a company called Evagrius Industries. According to the webpage for Evagrius Industries, the company specializes in personal development. They hold seminars and publish books, those sorts of things. The thing I found the most interesting is that Evagrius Ponticus was a well-known speaker, thinker, and writer in the fourth century. His name is often linked to the concept of the seven deadly sins, along with a lot of other ideas, although it doesn’t appear that Evagrius Industries focuses on religious or metaphysical themes.”

“What do they focus on?” I wondered.

“It appears the focus is on personal wealth and power and harnessing these energies with focused intentions accompanied by hard work and financial savvy. I need to look into it further, but it doesn’t appear that there is a religious basis for what is taught. Still, it does seem to be quite the coincidence that all three men made payments to