“Ah, I get it.” Dom whistled as a look of sympathy briefly crossed his face. “They worm their way in and mess things up.”

Ben joined in the commiserating. “Amen to that.”

“Go ahead. Be quick with your questions. I’ve got business.”

“The man you told Maddie about, the one you brought to the island and think is still here. Is this him?” Ben showed Dom a photo.

Connor didn’t look because of the blood and death thing. He’d seen enough of that person on his property.

Dom shoved the photo away. “That guy’s dead.”

“That’s the problem, yes.”

Dom looked at Connor. “He’s the one you found?”

The Whitaker gossip seemed to be moving at its usual high-speed pace. “Yes.”

Dom sighed before plucking the photo out of Ben’s fingers and studying it. “Shit, yeah. That’s him.”

“You’re sure?” Ben tucked the photo back in his shirt pocket. He didn’t wear a uniform. Only the badge on his jacket indicated who and what he was on Whitaker.

“I said I was.”

Ben didn’t get sidetracked by Dom’s gruff response. He pushed on, doing his job. “Do you have any records about his trips? Credit card receipts. A log. Anything?”

“He paid cash.” Dom shot Connor a frown that said this is your fault. “I checked after you came snooping around.”

“Did he give you a name?” Ben asked.

“Why would I need a name with a cash transaction?”

Connor lost his patience. He had no idea how Ben held on to his. “Are you trying to make this discussion difficult?”

Dom let out a long sigh. “There’s not much to tell. This guy and the woman came on the island and didn’t leave.”

What the hell? “Woman?”

The question didn’t stop Dom. He kept telling his story as if he hadn’t added a new piece of information. “I don’t know anything about them or where they’ve been or who stabbed him, but maybe Connor here isn’t the only one having woman trouble.”

“What woman?” Ben asked.

“The one with him.”

Connor started to think the good people of Whitaker got together and planned how to be obtuse. They were very skilled at it. “You didn’t tell us about a woman when we talked to you before.”

“You didn’t specifically ask about her.”

He sounded so rational that Connor wasn’t sure what to say in response. Conversations were an endless game here. He blamed the isolation and boredom because just when he thought he knew the answer, the objective changed and he had to switch strategy. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Ben’s usual neutral expression slipped. “Dom, what the hell?”

“I didn’t know this guy.” Dom threw his arm out in Connor’s general direction. “Hell, I barely know Maddie.”