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“I understand you’re looking for a missing woman.”
I brought the glass to my lips and drank. “Who told you that?”
“I believe half the town is talking about it, while the other half listens.” He wore a vaguely amused smile.
“Know anything about her?”
“The girl? No. I’m afraid not. She’s never visited my fine establishment.”
“How can you be sure?”
His cufflinks caught the light as he gestured toward the entrance. “Because I’m aware of every soul who steps through those doors. We’re very discerning about our clientele, as you can imagine.”
As I set my glass on the counter, my gaze snagged on a creature lurking in the shadows. I did a double take. Even in the dim light I saw the cat’s shining mismatched eyes and striking two-colored face, with orange on the left and black on the right.
Kane followed my gaze to the corner. “That’s Sunny. She’s a chimera.”
“Is she friendly?”
“That depends, and you don’t wish to find out the hard way.”
“She bites?”
“Worse. She breathes fire.”
“She’s very pretty.”
“She knows it too. She’s an arrogant little thing.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Aren’t all cats?”
Sunny seemed to know we were talking about her. She stood on all fours and walked away with her nose in the air.
“You don’t worry about her getting crushed by an unruly crowd?” I asked.
“Sunny can take care of herself.”
I toyed with my glass. “What kind of clientele do you get here?”
“All sorts. These are locals, but we serve people from the city. They like to drive to this area and stay at B & Bs on the weekends.”
“Weekends must be intense for you.”
“Those are certainly our busiest nights of the week, but I leave the labor to my staff.”
I motioned to my glass. “You served me.”
“I serve only those I wish to serve. One of the perks of ownership.” He poured himself a glass of Yamazaki. How appropriate.
“What’s your stake in this missing girl business?” he asked.
“Why is everyone so interested in my motivation?”
“Because it doesn’t fit what I know about you.”
My fingers tightened around the glass. “And what do you presume to know about me, Mr. Sullivan? We only just met.”
He seemed to realize his mistake and projected an apologetic air. “Only that you bought a fortress on the outskirts of town where you live alone. You’ve been here for six months but barely venture out and haven’t received visitors. Those actions don’t strike me as someone who’s enthusiastic about getting involved in the lives of locals.”
