92 Pacific Boulevard Read Free

reason I’m pushing you on this is that I got a call from the Seattle paper. Apparently Jack’s story aroused some interest there. They want to do a piece on those unidentified remains.” The mayor’s frown deepened. “I tried to steer the reporter away from the subject, but she seems determined to find out whatever she can. I gave her your contact information, so expect a call.”
    “Must be a slow news day.” Troy appreciated getting advance notice. “Thanks for the heads-up.” Over the years he’d dealt with the press many times and was accustomed to handling reporters. He had nothing against them as long as they didn’t probe where they didn’t belong or print misinformation.
    “My fear,” Louie went on to explain, “is that a negative story will hurt Cedar Cove’s reputation. We want to attract tourists, not drive them away with…with ghoulish stories about our town.”
    “At this point there’s nothing for them to report,” Troy reassured him.
    “Have you found out anything? ” Louie inquired.
    “Not really.” Troy shrugged. “Pretty much what Jack wrote in that article. The remains are those of a male, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. He’s been dead since 1980, give or take a few years. No indication how he died.”
    Louie seemed uninterested in the details. “The thing is, Cedar Cove doesn’t need any bad press. Our initiative this year is to attract more tourists to the area. I hate the thought of Cedar Cove becoming the center of some macabre story about unidentified remains and an unsolved mystery.”
    Troy nodded. “Yeah, I hear you.”
    “Good.” Louie rose to his feet. “Do your best to solve this as quickly as possible.”
    Standing up, too, Troy opened his mouth to assure the mayor he was doing the best he could, but he wasn’t given the opportunity.
    “I’m not saying I want you to sweep anything under the rug, you understand?” the mayor said.
    “Of course I won’t.”
    “Good.” Louie extended his hand and Troy shook it. “Make sure nothing sensational or misleading gets printed, okay? Like I said, I want Cedar Cove to become a tourist destination, not some freak sideshow.”
    “Do you remember the reporter’s name?” Troy asked.
    “I doubt I’d forget it. Kathleen Sadler.”
    “Kathleen Sadler,” Troy repeated. “Not to worry, I’ll set her straight.”
    “Thanks.” Louie gave him a relieved smile. “I knew I could count on you.”
    When the mayor had left, Troy went back to the paperwork on his desk. The phone rang frequently that afternoon, but there was no call from the reporter. He just hoped Kathleen Sadler hadn’t taken it upon herself to investigate the actual location. The cave was still taped off, but a piece of yellow crime-scene tape wasn’t always a deterrent to determined reporters.
    Troy had kept the names of the two teenagers who’ddiscovered the body out of the Chronicle. However, that didn’t mean Sadler wouldn’t be able to track them down.
    After they’d stumbled upon the remains, Troy had spoken to the teens twice. He was confident Philip “Shaw” Wilson and Tannith Bliss had told him everything they knew, which wasn’t much. The conversations had been straightforward. Although Tannith—Tanni—had done a good job of pretending to shrug off the incident, Troy could tell she’d been badly shaken. He was glad to turn the sixteen-year-old over to her mother.
    The last thing Tanni needed was to be questioned by the Seattle press. Shaw was a bit older and Troy felt the young man would cope admirably with a barrage of questions. It might not hurt to give the two of them some warning.
    His phone rang and Troy grabbed it, prepared to talk to the elusive Kathleen Sadler. “Sheriff Davis.”
    “Uh, I hope I’m not disturbing you unnecessarily.” It was Cody Woodchase.
    Troy caught the hesitation in his voice. “You’re not. What’s up?”
    “I just got a call from the 9-1-1 dispatcher and apparently there’s been a