"There was a robbery at the Vault the other day,” I said. “A guard was shot and killed.”
Riley swallowed. “I heard something about that.”
“What did you hear?”
“Just what they say on the news.”
“Is that all?” I asked, probing.
"What are you suggesting?”
"I'm not suggesting anything." After a pause, I said, "I just find it a little odd that the minute your brother gets out of prison and into town, there's another robbery."
"There are plenty of criminals on the island. My brother is reformed."
"I hope so."
"And Wade doesn't work at the Vault. If you know Shane, you know he’s not smart enough to crack a safe."
"Unless he has the code.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. "You think my brother did it?”
I shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me?”
"And here I thought you were flirting with me.”
"Maybe I still am.” I grinned.
“Interesting way to flirt.”
We stared at each other for a moment.
“How will I know what your true motivations are? Maybe you just want to get close to me because you think my brother is a thief.”
“Is he?”
That hung there for a minute.
"All I know is Shane came into town a few months ago. Promised me he was on the straight and narrow. After nearly a decade away, I’m glad to have my brother back. The three of us are all that's left. Mom and Dad are gone.”
"I'm sorry to hear that.”
She frowned and took another sip. “Look, I’m not my brother’s keeper. I don’t know what he does on his time.”
I exhaled, “Well, I suspect even if you did know something, you wouldn’t tell me.”
“Blood is blood.”
“I also looked into Wade’s background.”
“Did you look into mine as well?”
“Not yet.” After a pause, I said, “Wade’s a smart kid. He was a computer science major until he got kicked out of college. Investigated by the FBI for hacking. Couldn’t make it stick. Now he works as a bartender, like he’s been doing since he worked for Tony Conti. Make it make sense.”
“Wade doesn’t do well with structure. He’s not really a self-starter. He’s more of a free spirit.”
“I gathered.”
