“Good. They have the bar area done. I think… with everything that happened, David pulled all the men together to finish the job early. They’ve removed the plastic sheets and put up some temporary plywood walls instead.” She shivered.
“That’s good.” He nodded.
“They’ve torn out the old flooring and are replacing it now. They should be done in a day or two. Then they’ll install the new planters we’ll use as separators…” She stopped suddenly. “You didn’t come out here to listen to me talk about the work.” She waved her wine glass. “How is your work?”
He smiled. “Boring compared to what’s going on around here.”
“No, please.” She motioned towards him. “I’d like to hear.”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Let’s see. First thing Monday morning, we received a call about Brett Dove setting a trash bin on fire.”
“Brett?” She frowned. “Old man Dove?”
“The very same.”
“He’s still alive?”
He chuckled. “And setting his trash on fire at least twice a month. Since the big one, as everyone in town calls it, every time someone lights a cigarette, we get called.” He watched a sadness creep into her eyes, so he moved on quickly. “Next, I went back to the firehouse, checked all the oxygen tanks, updated my reports, and played a practical joke on the two newbies.” He shrugged. “It’s sort of a rite of passage.”
She smiled. “See, your job isn’t boring,” she said just as their food was delivered.
“This coming from the woman who’s rebuilding an entire ski resort,” he said once the waiter left.
“I’m not rebuilding it with my own hands.” She waved her fork.
“How was your night with your friends?” he asked suddenly before taking a bite of his steak.
“Much needed.” She took her own bite of steak.
“Okay, your new chef has my blessings,” he said after he swallowed. The steak practically melted in his mouth, and the mixture of flavors caused his entire body to tingle with food delight. He couldn’t remember tasting anything this good in the past few years.
Raven smiled. “I agree. My god, Tim made me lunch today and it was the best salad I’ve eaten in weeks, so when he suggested he make me dinner…” She took another bite and closed her eyes on a low moan. He watched her intently, his mind switching away from hunger for the food to hunger for her. “I think I’m going to have to bump him up from waiter to chef.”
“He has my vote.” He tried to focus on the food instead of the sexy little moans emanating from Raven.
They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the cool evening of summer. In a few more weeks he knew they’d been in full drought as the summer heat dried up the California hills that surrounded the town.
For now, everything around them remained green, lush, and alive.
“I wish I knew more about how Joe died,” Raven said after she pushed her plate away. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“My uncle is keeping it under tight wraps. I think he doesn’t want it spreading around town.” He took his last bite and then leaned back in the chair. “I thought you would know how he died.”
“How, I mean, sure, I saw the aftermath.” She shrugged and closed her eyes. “But how…” She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t even know where they found…”—she took a deep breath— “the rest of him.”
Cade frowned into his drink. He hadn’t expected the conversation to take this dark turn, but she had probably been thinking about it since that night. The fact that he was one of the only people she could talk to about it had him leaning forward.
“More important is the question of who would or could have done such a thing?” she asked.
“Okay, so let’s figure it out together. My uncle doesn’t share work with me, but I have heard a few things.”
She smiled slightly. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She bent down and pulled a notepad from her purse. “My friends and I have made a list.” She flipped the pages.
“Is this one of the reasons you asked me here tonight?” he teased. “To play cop.”
Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks turned pink. She looked even more beautiful in the sparkling lights as she grew flustered.
“No,” she said quickly and started putting the notepad away.
“I was joking,” he said with a smile as he covered her hand with his. “I’ve been thinking a lot about who would do this and why also,” he said, not willing to tell her the other questions that raced through his mind. “Let’s go over your list. Who knows, it might help.”
He was very curious to see what the friends had come up with. He’d heard rumors all throughout town about Joseph Ramsey. Everyone who had known the man claimed that he’d been a nice enough man.
So far, what Cade had heard about the man was just the basic facts. He’d never been married and had lived in town until his home and business had burned down along with all the rest. Then he had moved to Redding. That was it. He’d also learned from Raven that he’d been friends with her father back in the day.
“Well, the most important questions we had were…” She opened her notepad and scanned the pages. “Who did Joe have a meeting with? Why was he in that elevator? Who had something to gain from his death?” She glanced up at him. “Those are the biggest questions besides how he died. I mean, the technical aspects. I can’t imagine that overpowering someone is easy, let alone…” She made a motion by swiping her finger over her throat.
“Right.” He nodded. “Okay, as for the meeting part, I’m sure my uncle has figured that out. If he was any good at his job, Joe would have had records. Calendars.” He shrugged. “Schedules.”
“Right.” Raven nodded. “I’d hoped to talk to Ruth Downing about it, but she rescheduled our meeting until next week.”
“Joe’s assistant?”
“Well, more like partner. The way Joe introduced her, it sounded more like Ruth was running the business and Joe was just helping out occasionally. He retired a few years back,” Raven added.
“Right. Okay, let’s assume we get the information on who he was meeting. As to why he was in that elevator… You said that night that you’d believed you’d shut it down. Was that due to maintenance?”
“Yes and no. It wasn’t that the elevator was broken, though most of them on the property need some maintenance, which is scheduled.” She held up her finger. “Now that I’ve hired back the maintenance company, they’ll be here first thing Monday morning to start inspecting each elevator and doing repairs.”
“Then why was it shut down?” he asked.
“Because of the construction. That elevator is the dining elevator.”
He shook his head. “The…”
She smiled. “It’s a quick access to the dining room. For guests heading down to dinner. It exits in the formal dining room. Instead of waiting for a main elevator, guests could take it instead.”
“Right.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s a thing.”