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“I’m happy we could help.”
Steven smiled. “I can’t help thinking how much your father would have loved to see the colony. Such a shame.”
“Yeah, Daddy would have loved it.” My voice broke, much to my embarrassment. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on something. I’ll be around in the mornings and some afternoons and evenings. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
I turned around and headed for the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dr. Preston start to follow me, but Steven stopped him with a question. I realized that Steven had to be the researcher who had invited Dr. Preston to the site.
Dr. David Preston was interested, which meant I had a real shot at getting some answers. That was a good thing…so why did I have a feeling that I was dragging yet another person down a dangerous path?
Chapter9
My phone rang mid-morning while I was making the beds. I answered, hoping for some news about my car.
“Hey, Ellie. It’s Carly from Darrell’s Restaurant. Remember when I mentioned that I could offer you some work while the New Moon’s closed?”
“Yeah.”
“One of my waitresses called in sick this morning and another one’s pregnant and has to cut her hours. Is there any way you could come in and work the lunch shift? You’d be doing me a huge favor.”
“Sure.” Since Dr. Preston was literally at my doorstep, I didn’t have to drive to Pembroke anymore. And I definitely needed the money. “That would be great, Carly. Thanks. What time should I come in?”
“It’s nine thirty now. How about ten thirty so Howie can go over the menu with you? And you can just wear khakis and a white shirt for your uniform.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you then.”
I finished giving a quick scrub to all the bathrooms before I told Becky I had to leave. “I can finish freshening up the rooms in the main house after my shift. Myra told me the team would be out until after dinner.”
“Are you sure?”
I knew what she was asking. I was about as reliable as a fox in a henhouse lately. “I’m positive. I’ll be working the lunch shift until three, and then I’ll hopefully pick up my car and be back by four at the latest.”
I had to scrounge through my clothes to find a khaki skirt and a clean white shirt, but I was on time—I even had one minute to spare. It didn’t take me long to get up to speed with the menu, and by the time I’d figured out my station and everything else, the lunch crowd was flowing in. I’d known that Darrell’s was a favorite for employees at the courthouse about a mile down the highway, but the number of law enforcement officers surprised me.
“Ellie.” I heard a voice call out from behind me as I was heading for the kitchen. Tom was sitting at a table with a sheriff deputy.
Shit.
“Hey, Tom.”
“Can I talk to you for a moment?”
I would have loved nothing more than to blow him off, but after last night I had a feeling he’d haul me to the police station if I wasn’t cooperative. “Sure, let me just take this order to the kitchen.” I pointed my thumb toward the back.
He nodded and I gave the order to the cooks before heading back to the officers’ table.
“You’re not in my station, Tom, so I’m afraid I can’t take your order.”
He rested his elbows on the table and looked up at me with a smile. “Then it’s a good thing I already gave my drink order to one of the other waitresses.”
I jutted my hip to the side. “Then what can I do for you? As you can see, we’re pretty busy.”
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” the sheriff deputy asked. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, but he didn’t appear to be hard and jaded like so many police officers his age. He seemed friendly, so I let down my guard a notch.
“I’m just filling in. I usually work at the New Moon, but we’re temporarily closed.”
“A couple of the waitresses who worked there were killed, right?” the deputy asked.
My smile froze on my face. He was fishing for information. “Seeing how that’s public knowledge, and you look to have half your wits about you, I’m surprised you don’t know that for certain. Have you been on vacation?”
