Against the Tide Read Free

morning.” The reason Olivia had had to call Katie.
    Rafe’s towel-wrapped hand unconsciously fisted. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I figured since Cassie works here, Nell already knew.”
    â€œI’m glad you told me,” Nell said. “I need to go to her, make sure she’s okay.”
    â€œI’ll cover while you’re gone,” Liv said. “We’ll be fine.”
    Nell wiped fresh tears from her cheeks. “This is going to break her heart. She loved Scotty so much. Everyone loved him.”
    â€œI can’t believe he’s dead,” Liv said, aching for the young woman whose future had been shattered. “What happened?”
    â€œThe police think it was a mugging,” Rafe said. “Whoever did it stole his wallet, jewelry, cell phone.”
    â€œWhere did it happen?”
    â€œOn the dock next to the Scorpion .”
    â€œLast night?”
    â€œThat’s right.”
    Liv frowned. “What was he doing down at the dock at night? He’s usually home with Cassie.”
    â€œI don’t know. I talked to Jaimie Graham before I came over. She had no idea what he was doing down there.”
    â€œJaimie had an awful crush on Scotty,” Nell said. “She must have taken the news real hard.”
    â€œJaimie isn’t good at hiding her feelings,” Rafe said. “She ran out of the house as soon as I told her, took off so no one would see her cry.”
    Nell shook her head, moving the thick, salt-and-pepper hair that came to her shoulders and was clipped back on each side. “Poor thing.”
    â€œI still can’t figure why Scotty was down at the dock,” Olivia said.
    Rafe’s brown eyes swung to her face. “I’m hoping once things settle down, Cassie’ll be able to tell us.”
    Olivia thought of the young woman who worked for her, imagined her pain, and her throat went tight. In the six months she had been running the café, she and Cassie had become close friends. Or at least as close as Liv could allow.
    She looked over at Nell, whose face was still pale. “You go on. Go to her. As soon as the breakfast rush is over, I’ll join you at Cassie’s house.”
    Nell just nodded. Picking the coffeepot up off the table, she headed for the breakfast counter, set the pot on the burner at the back. Removing her sky-blue Pelican Café apron, she slipped out through the side door near the rear of the building.
    Liv glanced across the table at Rafe. His jaw looked iron hard, his eyes so dark she could barely see a hint of gold. For the first time it occurred to her that Rafe was hurting, too. Scotty was his first mate and they were friends. Cassie had said Scott idolized Rafe, had thought of him as an older brother.
    Reaching toward him, she settled a hand over the fist he rested on top of the table. “Are you okay?”
    His dark eyes flicked down to her hand, then moved up to her face. “Scott was a good man. One of the best. Whoever killed him is going to pay.”
    A little shiver ran through her. It wasn’t a statement. It was a vow. “Surely the police will find the man who did it.”
    â€œThere’re eleven guys in the Valdez department. Eleven police officers to cover two-hundred-seventy square miles, including the pipeline terminus.” Valdez was the end point of the Alaska pipeline. The huge oil shipping facility at the edge of town was one of the things that made Valdez famous.
    Along with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Eleven million gallons killed 250,000 seabirds and hundreds of otters and seals, a disaster it took thirty years to recover from. That and the biggest earthquake in U.S. history.
    More recently, the tiny town was a place known for its majestic scenery and fabulous fishing.
    â€œWhat about the State Troopers?” Olivia asked.
    â€œI don’t know. Maybe. Rosen is a good man, but cops can be pissy about their