Black Moon: Hamarsson and Dempsey 3 by Keaton Elle

Author:Keaton, Elle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dirty Dog Press
Published: 2020-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

The lobby was on the small side and dimly lit. The only outside light came from the glass panes in the front doors or from the picture windows on the far side of the dining room, which Mat glimpsed through a set of intricately carved doors. Otherwise, the interior was illuminated by hanging pendant light fixtures that, Mat mused, were probably original. The wood walls were dark and covered with black-and-white photographs of the property and early visitors from the early 1800s to, Mat guessed, the 1930s. He remembered that an American president had stayed here once, probably Teddy Roosevelt. Against one wall there was a large case displaying various artifacts; Mat spotted an old sextant, some mining tools, and small books that looked like maybe they’d been someone’s personal property.

A man in his late forties or early fifties, Birdy’s height, with grizzled gray hair was standing behind the reception counter. He looked up as they came inside. He wore a burgundy Brooch Harbor cardigan, thus Mat deduced he was an employee.

“May I help you? Is something wrong?” the man asked, scowling at them. Mat understood that uniformed officers arriving at a person’s business was perhaps not a favorite way to start the day.

He approached the counter. “I’m Sheriff Dempsey, and this is Deputy Flynn, from the Piedras County Sheriff’s Office. And you are?”

“Paul Prescott. Has something happened I’m not aware of?”

With that last name, it was highly likely the man was related to the owners of the resort. The imperious way he posed his question made it seem it would be a shock for something to happen he wasn’t aware of. Mat immediately didn’t like him. He wasn’t sure if it was the man’s sneer or the way he completely dismissed Birdy, as if she were invisible—his attention was entirely focused on Mat.

Paul Prescott wasn’t someone Mat knew. After living on the island almost his entire life, that was unusual. Prescott was older than Mat, but in any case, Prescott had probably been shipped off to private school instead of mixing with the local kids. He might claim to be island bred, but he didn’t know the island.

During the car ride on the way over, Mat and Birdy had debated how to approach the resort management and, in the end, he had decided to go with his gut feeling.

“Another officer and I responded to a call here very early this morning, and Deputy Flynn and I are following up.” Mat didn’t let Prescott interrupt him, although it was clear the man wanted to. “One of your cleaning staff was assaulted, and her roommate called the sheriff’s office. We arrived on the scene around oh-three-thirty, and after assessing the situation, we transported both the victim and the individual who called us to the island hospital, where the victim received care. They are both now in a secure location.”

They weren’t, quite yet, but they would be soon. Deputy Radden was taking this very seriously. Neither of those young women would be harassed or injured on his watch.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.