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“I can’t believe this happened.”
He turned to see Pat Kingman standing there.
“Yeah, I wasn’t too thrilled, either.”
“I can put you in another cottage.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll just tape the hole up until you can get it repaired. It wasn’t too big. The hole it would have put in me would have been a little bigger.”
She looked like she might be sick, so Devine said hurriedly, “I’m okay, Ms. Kingman, and I’m sure they’ll find out who did it and that will be that.”
“Well, I certainly hope so. You let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
She turned and hurried back to the inn.
Devine drove out to Jocelyn Point. He had some more questions for Alex.
When he got there, she was heading out astride a turquoise-colored bike with a big basket. There was a cool hand-painted slash of lightning along the frame. In the basket was a large waterproof knapsack.
She had on wool pants and a thick white sweater with a tweed blazer over that, and her hands were gloved. Her hair was in a ponytail and she had on earmuffs. Her expression was excited.
“Where you headed?” he asked.
“My art class, remember?” she said.
“Oh, right. Little nippy to be riding a bike.”
“It’s only a few miles.”
“How about I give you a lift? We can talk on the way and then I can wait and drive you back here.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind, really.”
“Well, it would save me some time, and this heavy knapsack makes turning a chore.”
She parked her bike on the porch, while he stowed her knapsack in the back seat.
She directed him to the public school, which was set in a block of empty warehouses, boarded-up business parks, and vacant, weed-filled lots.
As he pulled into the school she said, “This was all starting to go downhill when I was a little girl. Then all the businesses closed, jobs went overseas, and there was no backstop. Rural Maine has lost a lot of population. Mainers rely a lot on tourism, but the pandemic blasted a big hole in that, and we still haven’t recovered.”
“I’m sure.”
“Compared to Boston and New York the cost of living is lower, but it’s not all that cheap to live here, either, when you factor in food and fuel, and a lot of the jobs don’t pay a living wage.” She looked out the window. “And the weather can be...challenging. We’re actually projected to lose population for the next twenty years. Leaders need to step up. Invest in the state, in the people, or the picture is not going to miraculously get better. Mainers deserve that. Hell, everybody in this country does.”
“You’re very well informed.”
“It’s my home and my country,” she said. “Ineedto be informed. Where do you live?”
“Right now, it’s a moving target. Did you get your interest in all that from your father?”
She looked at him warily. “I amnota politician. I have no interest in that at all.”
“You don’t have to be a politician to help your community.”
