The Killing Beach - eARC by Skyla Dawn Cameron

Author:Skyla Dawn Cameron [Cameron, Skyla Dawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

Tom’s Office

I head off to do more legwork looking into Tom Starcks the next morning.

The accounting office he worked at is in Marshville, the biggest town and central hub of the municipality that neighbours Port Milton’s. On the other side of the highway, it’s the more down-to-earth mirror to my hometown. Port Milton has its Historic Downtown, with a carefully curated image as a tourist destination in the summer given its proximity to the water. Marshville isn’t along the coast but a little farther north, and it has a couple of big box stores on the highway and chains within town. If you have the means, you live in Port Milton, but a lot of people would rather shop in Marshville even with the cost of gas.

Tom Starcks’ office is in an old strip mall on the edge of town. Closed signs sit in some of the windows, and I suspect it’s from when Costco was built a few years ago closer to the highway; shop space would’ve been highly coveted, and the shoe store and diner that had sandwiched the accounting office probably moved to the new location.

“There used to be a Claire’s here,” Meadow says, pointing to yet another empty retail space at the end of the strip. The faded sign at the top indicates it was a credit union more recently, but I did vaguely remember the Claire’s accessory store, full of cheap jewelry our mother absolutely loathed us bringing home. Meadow used to wear the stuff; I just got it to annoy Mom.

I called ahead to Tom’s work and advised the manager I was coming in; had she said no, I would’ve had to track down each of the employees at their homes instead, but this was preferred since I had everyone in one place. And, of course, she was pretty eager to help me figure out what happened to her long-time employee.

The front of the office is almost all glass windows with shades pulled down to about my waist, a handful of bright green plants catching the daylight on the sills.

The sun beams down on the small town of Port Milton as I walk toward the accountant office. The scent of freshly baked bread from a nearby bakery fills the air and mingles with the aroma of blooming flowers. I glance around, taking in the quaint charm of the town before I push open the glass door of the firm where Tom Starcks worked.

“Good morning,” a receptionist greets me with a warm smile from behind her desk. Her fingers dance over the keyboard, the clicking sound punctuating our conversation.

“Morning. I’m Waverly, a private investigator hired by Emily Starcks. I’d like to speak with some of Tom’s coworkers, if possible.” I say as I hand her one of my business cards.

“Of course, Waverly. Let me just give you a visitor’s pass, and then I’ll notify some of his colleagues that you’re here.” She quickly prints out a sticker with my name on it and hands it over.

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