Almost to the pier, she left the water and approached a boardwalk. Elaine was back in town and wanted to meet. She was waiting on the small patio outside the triplex she had leased for the operation. Mercer had been there once before and seen no one but Elaine. If there were others involved in the surveillance, or if someone was shadowing her, she was unaware of it. Elaine had been vague when quizzed about it.

They stepped into the kitchen and Elaine asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Water is fine.”

“Have you had dinner?”

“No.”

“Well, we can order a pizza, sushi, or Chinese takeout. What will it be?”

“I’m really not hungry.”

“Neither am I. Let’s sit here,” Elaine said, pointing to a small breakfast table between the kitchen and the den. She opened the fridge and removed two bottles of water. Mercer took a seat and looked around. “Are you staying here?” she asked.

“Yes, for two nights.” Elaine sat across from her.

“Alone?”

“Yes. There’s no one else on the island as of today. We come and go.”

Mercer almost asked about the “we” part but let it pass.

Elaine said, “So, you’ve seen Noelle’s store.” Mercer nodded. Her nightly report by e-mail was deliberately vague.

“Tell me about it. Describe the layout.”

Mercer walked her through each display room, upstairs and down, adding as much detail as possible. Elaine listened carefully but did not take notes. It was obvious she knew a lot about the store.

“Is there a basement?” Elaine asked.

“Yes, she mentioned it in passing, said she had a workshop down there, but had no interest in showing it to me.”

“She’s holding the writer’s table. We tried to buy it but she said it’s not for sale. At some point soon you’re going to buy it, but perhaps you’ll want it painted. Perhaps she’ll do this in the basement, and maybe you’ll want to take a look to see a sample of the new color. We need to have a look in the basement because it adjoins the bookstore’s.”

“Who tried to buy it?”

“We. Us. The good guys, Mercer. You’re not alone.”

“Why is this not comforting?”

“You’re not being watched. We come and go, as I’ve said.”

“Okay. Suppose I get into her basement. Then what?”

“Look. Observe. Take it all in. If we’re lucky there might be a door that leads to the bookstore.”

“I doubt that.”

“I doubt it too but we need to know. Is the wall concrete, brick, wood? We might need to go through it one day, or night. What about the store’s video surveillance?”

“Two cameras, one aimed at the front door, the other in the back above the small kitchen area. There could be more but I didn’t see any. None on the second floor. I’m sure you already know this.”

“Yes, but in this business we triple check everything and we never stop gathering information. How is the front door locked?”