The Last Word (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

bills.” Warming to his subject, he leaned toward Olivia, breathing whiskey in her face. “I’ve got nothin’ saved for a rainy day, let alone my so-called retirement. At this rate, I’ll die on that goddamn forklift. Forty years I’ve done that job. All I want is a break.”
    Scanning the room, Olivia wondered how many of the grizzled men and women felt as Ray Hatcher did. Life wasn’t easy, but for some of the Fish Nets patrons, it had been especially tough.
    In a place like this, most people wore their physical and emotional scars with pride, but Ray had passed beyond that point. He was weary of the struggle, and Olivia was aware that this could make him especially dangerous. If he had nothing to lose, he might very well take a serious gamble to get what he wanted. Clearly, what he desired most was money, and Nick Plumley had refused to pay.
    “I’m not judging you,” she assured Ray. “Information is a commodity. You possess photographs and personal experiences that no one else does. I can understand why you’d be unwilling to sell them cheaply.” Furrowing her brows, she suddenly asked, “Why did you call him James? You didn’t say ‘my father.’ ”
    “’Cause he wasn’t. James Hatcher died before I was born.”
    Completely intrigued, Olivia put her palm on the bar, signaling for Millay to refill Ray’s glass. “Would you entertain another offer? For both the photos and your memories?”
    Ray made a point of thanking Millay for his drink and then shrugged. “I can tell you plenty of stories.” He tapped his temple. “Those are safe in storage and I’ll sell you as many as you want, but the pictures are with a college professor right now. He’s kind of . . . renting them out. So if you want to pay to see them too, it’s fine by me, but you’ll have to wait.”
    “Is he at UNC?” Olivia asked.
    “How’d you know that?” Ray’s expression became instantly suspicious.
    Olivia decided to be honest. “I stumbled across his name on the Internet while searching for yours. Professor Billinger, right?” It was obvious from Ray’s frown that she was correct. “Look, I’d love to see the photos. I can pay you immediately for the right to examine them. If it’s okay with Professor Billinger, I’ll just drive to his office in Chapel Hill and ask for a quick viewing. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
    “He might, seeing as he’s also writing a book.”
    Placing an envelope on the bar, partway between her bottle of beer and Ray’s glass of whiskey, Olivia said, “I’ll take my chances. Do I have your permission to contact Professor Billinger?”
    Ray palmed the envelope, dropped it down to his lap, and hunched his shoulders so that he could quickly count the money without drawing attention to his actions. He seemed satisfied by the contents. “It’ll do.”
    Olivia decided to take advantage of the moment. “Did Plumley share any details with you about his sequel?”
    Ray regarded her curiously. “You’d know more about that than me.”
    “Please,” she said. “His notes and laptop are missing. I’m working blind here.”
    While swirling the dregs of whiskey in his glass, Ray seemed to be deciding how much to tell her. “James Hatcher was killed when those Krauts escaped. Everyone’s always asked me about that night, wondering what my brother Dave remembers, but Plumley told me he’d already written about it in his first book. Said he was more interested in what the prisoners were like before they decided to murder an innocent man. What life was like when things were peaceful at the camp. He had it in his head there was a local woman involved with one of the German scums that got away in ’45. He was going to write about how they fell in love.”
    The note on the back of Heinrich Kamler’s painting surfaced in Olivia’s mind. “A local woman. Was her name Evelyn White?” she said.
    Ray narrowed his eyes angrily. “Like I said, your writer didn’t take me up on my offer, so I didn’t answer any of his questions any more than I’m going to sit here and answer yours. This is payment for looking at the photos. That’s it.” He stood abruptly. “You know where to find me when you’re ready to get down to business.” He waved the envelope at her. “And it’ll take more than this.”
    “Please, I don’t mean to sound callous,” Olivia said after a brief hesitation. “And I know you said that you were very close to Dave. But James, a man you’d never met, died