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

it was entirely possible that I was barking up the wrong tree, and the killer was currently out there stalking victim number four as we spoke.

“Neither Kurt nor Lance are answering their cells,” Noah said. “I guess I can try Lance’s wife.”

“Just call her and say something about wanting to do some remodeling at the church. Ask if she knows how you can get ahold of Lance to talk to him about it, but don’t say anything more than that. I’m going to try Colt again.”

Colt answered his cell phone this time. I briefly explained what Noah and I were doing and why, and he shared with me that he’d chased down a lead that had ended up being a dead-end but would be back at his office in about thirty minutes. I promised to meet him there once Noah and I had finished speaking to whoever we could get ahold of, and he’d taken me back to my car.

“Lance’s wife said he’s on an out-of-state job and won’t be home for two weeks,” Noah shared.

“Okay, then he should be safe for now. I guess, take me back to my car. I’m going to meet up with Colt in a while.”

“Did he figure out who’s been killing these men?”

“Not yet, but he will.”

     

Chapter 10

By the time I made it back to Colt’s office, he’d returned. He was on the phone when I walked in, so I headed toward the ladies’ room to freshen up. When I returned to his office, he was jotting notes down on a yellow legal pad.

“So tell me about your afternoon,” I jumped in.

“You first. You mentioned on the phone that you’d identified seven men in all who’d attended the men’s retreat sponsored by Evagrius Industries last year and that you’d spoken to two of the four men who are still alive.”

I nodded. “Travis Kubel and Don Perry have been warned. Both men are heading out of town with their families. Lance Rivers is already out of town on a job and won’t be home for two weeks. That just leaves Kurt Steadman. Noah’s tried calling him a couple of times, but he isn’t picking up. Apparently, he was fired from his job a while back, and he spends most of his time in bars.”

“I can verify that,” Colt said. “I’ve been called in to escort the man home on a few occasions as of late.” He paused. “I would like to talk to him since he really might be in danger. I know of a couple bars he prefers to frequent. I’ll make some calls and see if I can track him down. Did you learn anything else?”

“Other than what I already told you on the phone, no. We learned that all three of our current victims were linked by making payments to Evagrius Industries, and I wonder if there are other Holiday Bay residents who are likewise linked to this particular company. Just because they didn’t attend the retreat with the group from Noah’s church doesn’t mean they didn’t attend the retreat. Travis said there were around a hundred men there from all over the state.”

“That’s a good question.”

“I thought I might call Genevieve and ask her if she can track down a list of anyone who might have made payments to the company and then cross-reference that list with men who live in or near Holiday Bay. Sydney did give me her private number, and she did encourage me to call anytime.”

Colt shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt to ask. You call Genevieve, and I’ll call around and see if I can track down Kurt.”

I took my cell phone into the empty reception area and made my call.

“Go for Gen.”

“Genevieve. My name is Abby Sullivan.”

“Syd’s friend. What can I do for you, Abby Sullivan?”

“I’m calling with a follow-up question to the information you provided to Sydney this morning. I wondered if you could tell me if there are any other men making payments to Evagrius Industries who live in or near Holiday Bay.”

“There are seven in all.”

Wow. That was fast.

“The three Sydney mentioned to me this morning plus Barnaby Johnson, Clark Havilyn, Ted Newberry, and Robert Jones.”

“So Travis Kubel, Don Perry, Lance Rivers, and Kurt Steadman were not making payments to this company?”

“No. Not using those names at least.”

“Are Travis Kubel, Don Perry, Lance Rivers, or Kurt Steadman linked to the proposed development south of town?” I asked.

“Hang on.”

I could hear typing in the background. “I ran a quick check, and none of those names came up. I can dig deeper and call you back.”

“What about Barnaby Johnson, Clark Havilyn, Ted Newberry, and Robert Jones. Are any of these men linked to the proposed development south of town?”

“Hang on.”

Again, I heard typing in the background.

“Again, not that I can tell. It looks like out of all the names you’ve provided to me so far, it’s only Oliver Halifax, Henry Goodman, and Stan Fairfield who are linked to the development, the church, the retreat, and payments made to Evagrius Industries. The only link I can find between Barnaby, Clark, Ted, and Robert to the three murder victims are the payments to Evagrius Industries.”

“Are Barnaby, Clark, Ted, and Robert linked to each other? Do they attend the same church?”

“Hang on. I’ll take a quick look around.”

I nibbled on a thumbnail while I waited. It seemed that Genevieve really did know her stuff. It wasn’t that she was coming up with anything top secret, but she was fast. Very, very fast.

“No. The four men don’t attend the same church. Barnaby attends the Baptist church on South Avenue, Ted and Robert attend the Presbyterian church on Easter Boulevard, and I don’t see anything relating to a church on Clark’s profile.” She