The Cove

as if she hadn't been out of Quantico for very long. He'd bet the Portland office was her first assignment.

    "Corey told me all the excitement you had back in Washington," David Mountebank said, ignoring Thomas Shredder. "Jesus, that was something. You okay, Sally?"

    "Yes, fine now. They still haven't caught my father, but James promises me they will. It's just a matter of time."

    Quinlan thought that Thomas Shredder was going to explode. He smiled at the man and said, "I came here looking for Sally. I was a private investigator-that was my cover-hired to locate two old people who disappeared over three years ago in this area. And that was true. These folk did disappear in this area. Funny thing was that when I started asking questions, bad things started happening. Sally, tell them about the woman's screams."

    She did, leaving out the fact that Amabel hadn't believed it was really a woman screaming.

    "We came across a woman's body the following morning when we were walking down the cliffs," Quinlan said. "She'd been murdered and thrown off the cliffs. Not a very nice thing to do. It's difficult not to believe that this was the same woman Sally heard screaming on two different nights. She must have been held prisoner somewhere close to Sally's aunt's cottage. Why was she being held prisoner? We have no idea. Now, I'm willing to wager the farm that the murders are tied directly to these missing folks."

    "Yes, yes, we know all this," Shredder said, and he actually swatted at Quinlan as if he were a fly to be removed from the bread.

    “We also know your opinion about this so-called tie-in. However, as yet we don't have any real proof that there is a tie-in. What we've got is two murders, one a longtime local in Doc Spiver and the other a woman from the subdivision, not at all local in the same sense. What we need is a tie-in between the two of them, not between them and the disappearance of these old folk over three years ago."

    "Well, then," Quinlan said, "David, why don't you bring me up-to-date. What have you done since I flew home last week?"

    Shredder interrupted, his voice fast and sharp, "Sheriff Mountebank didn't do much of anything. Ms. Harper and I have been here since Monday, not long enough to solve the crimes yet, but we're getting close, very close."

    Corey Harper cleared her throat. "Actually, David had collected interviews from just about everyone in town. They're very thorough, but no one could tell him much of anything. Everyone is shocked and very depressed about the deaths, particularly Doc Spiver's."

    "We've already started to repeat the interviews," Thomas Shredder said. "Someone must have seen something. We'll get it out of them. Old people have difficulty remembering unless they're prodded just right. It takes special training to learn just how to do it."

    "Nah," Quinlan said. "I did it perfectly even before my training. Another thing, David knows all these people. He'd know when they were lying and what about."

    "That remains to be seen," Shredder said. Corey Harper looked embarrassed.

    Martha appeared in the doorway, a huge tray resting on her arms.

    Quinlan got up and took it from her. "He's such a nice boy," she said to Sally.

    "Right there, Mr. Quinlan. Yes, that's right. Now, I know you don't want me listening to all this important talk, so I'll just leave you with everything. You'll manage?"

    "Yes, thank you, Martha," Quinlan said. "How's Ed?"

    "Oh, that poor man. Thelma just won't leave him alone. Now she's accusing him of compromising me on the kitchen table, and she's going to buy a shotgun. He's in the hospital right now having tests for that prostate of his. Poor man."

    Thomas Shredder looked at Corey Harper, then at the tray. She bit her lip and began to place cups on saucers. Quinlan grinned at her and began to do the same. Sally poured a cup and said, "Cream, David?"

    Thomas Shredder sat there while everyone served each other. Quinlan gave him a big grin and pointed to the last cup on the tray. "Help yourself, Thomas. Ah, best hurry-I bet these New Jersey cheesecakes are going to be inhaled."

    "My, this is beyond delicious," Corey Harper said and took the last bite of her slice of cheesecake.

    "James and I want to ask Martha to come back to Washington with us," said Sally. "She's the best cook I know. Her pasta makes you weep."

    Quinlan knew that Shredder was going to blow up any minute. Well, he'd pushed the ass far enough. He said easily, "Forget the