Eclipse Bay

dip?”
    “Yeah,” Rafe said. “Some kind of bean dip.” He set down the pitcher of olive oil. He pulled the bottle of Chardonnay out of the ice bucket and poured himself a glass. “Glad you left some for me. I need it.”
    Hannah and Mitchell gazed at him as though he were charming a snake. Both were uneasy. Neither wanted to make any sudden moves. He took his time, savoring the perfect balance of oak and fruit and the elegant finish of the wine.
    When he was done, he set the glass down on the table very deliberately and looked at Hannah and Mitchell.
    “I hear that wine is good for the nerves,” he said.

    Two hours later, Mitchell put down his fork with a sigh of satisfaction. Just a few slivers of buttery pastry was all that remained of the kiwi tart.
    “Where the hell did you learn to cook?” he asked Rafe. “Sure didn’t get it from me. The best I can do is throw a salmon steak on the grill.”
    “Took some classes,” Rafe said. “But mostly I just spend a lot of time fooling around in the kitchen.”
    “Well, if this inn of yours doesn’t work out, it won’t be because the food is bad.”
    Rafe caught Hannah’s attention. He knew that they were both aware of what had just happened. Mitchell had bestowed his approval, not only on the food but on the entire inn project. She was probably thinking that she had just lost a lot of ground in her battle to claim his half of the inn. She was right.
    “I need to talk to you about something important, Mitchell.” Rafe settled back in his chair and contemplated his grandfather across the remains of the meal. “Last night someone tried to drown Hannah’s dog.”
    Mitchell blinked in astonishment. Then he looked at Winston, who was dozing peacefully on the rug beneath the table. “Who the hell would do a thing like that?”
    “I don’t know,” Rafe admitted. “But I intend to find out.”
    “What’s going on here?” Mitchell demanded.
    Nobody ever accused Mitchell of being slow, Rafe thought. “I don’t know that, either, but we’ve concluded that it might be connected to what happened to Kaitlin Sadler.”
    Mitchell gazed at him for a very long time. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
    “Very. There’s some stuff I need to tell you before this conversation goes any further.” Rafe gave Mitchell a brief summary of events, including the talk with Dell Sadler.
    When he had finished, Mitchell whistled softly. “You realize what you’re saying?”
    “That it’s possible Kaitlin Sadler really was killed, just as Dell Sadler has always believed. And that the reason she was murdered was because she tried to blackmail someone here in Eclipse Bay.”
    “Well, shoot and damn.” Mitchell sounded thoughtful now. “Yates was so damn sure it was an accident.”
    “Maybe not quite so certain as he let everyone think,” Rafe said. “In addition to asking a lot of questions, he did a thorough search of Kaitlin’s house and car that night. He must have had a few suspicions.”
    Mitchell shrugged. “Yates was a good cop in his time.”
    Hannah sipped coffee from a small cup. She regarded Mitchell very steadily. “We need a little help.”
    “From me? Now, see here, just what are you two thinking of doing?”
    “We’re going to try to find out who Kaitlin was blackmailing,” Rafe said.
    Mitchell frowned. “You want my advice? Don’t go poking a stick in a hole. There might be a real nasty varmint inside.”
    “The problem,” Rafe said deliberately, “is that the varmint has already crawled out of the hole. I don’t think Winston was the real target last night. I have a hunch that whoever put him out there on that finger may have intended for Hannah to get caught by the incoming tide.”
    Hannah snapped her head around in surprise. “Rafe, what are you saying? You never told me you thought that someone had tried to—” She broke off.
    “I’m not sure that someone did try to hurt you last night. Winston may have been just a warning. But I’m not taking any chances.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Never mind. We’ll deal with that later.”
    “Deal with what later?” She slammed her coffee cup down onto the saucer. “Now just one damn minute. I want an explanation.”
    Rafe met Mitchell’s gaze and talked over the top of Hannah’s simmering words. “If I said to you ladies’ underwear in sizes big enough to fit a man, big high heels, Kaitlin Sadler, and some compromising videotapes that were bad enough to serve as