Page 77 of Death of a Grill Master

“TMI!” Hayley blurted.

A moment of awkward silence passed.

“So,” Hayley said. “You guys excited?”

“Thrilled,” Sergio said.

“Terrified,” Randy said at the same time.

Sergio gave Randy a sideways glance. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“No, of course not,” Randy said.

Hayley watched her brother, trying to determine whether he was lying or not.

“You know, Hayley,” Sergio said, trying to recover. “you could come for an extended stay. Write your columns from Brazil.”

“Absolutely,” Randy said quickly. “The spare room has air-conditioning and mosquito netting and everything.”

Hayley tried to picture herself in Brazil in a sundress, holding a caipirinha, and immediately had a vision of her sunburned and crying in a hammock. She then shook her head. “The restaurant’s busy even in the winter. I can barely get a week off without Betty threatening a mutiny.”

Randy opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then closed it. The silence between them stretched just a beat too long.

“But I’ll … think about it,” Hayley said gently.

Back at the lobster booth, Earl was trying to wrangle a runaway crustacean while Mona yelled, “That’s what you get for naming it!” at a child crying over “Larry the Lobster.”

Mona then turned to see Hayley slip back behind the booth. With both hands on her hips and a look that could’ve curdled milk, she shouted, “You just abandon your post in the middle of a rush?”

“There was a man in a green hat,” Hayley said.

“Is that supposed to mean something?”

“He was following Liddy and Doug. I think he’s the same guy Mrs. Dunphey saw outside the dive shop, and the one I saw in a wet suit at the sea cave. Same build.”

Earl perked up, shifting the tongs to his other hand. “Green cap, sunglasses, kind of hunched over? Yeah, I know who that is.”

“You do?” Hayley said.

“Billy Downs,” Earl said. “Lobsterman. Works alone. Real quiet. Spends most of his time out past Little Cranberry. Awkward as hell.”

“Why would he be trailing Liddy and Doug?”

Mona frowned. “Wait. Is that the guy who used to show up at Liddy’s open houses and just … loiter?”

“I thought he was interested in the properties,” Earl said.

“He once asked if one had a walk-in freezer. For fish,” Mona said. “She told me she started bringing pepper spray.”

Hayley’s pulse ticked upward. “Where does he live?”

Earl shrugged. “Down near Otter Creek. Big blue house with a boat ramp in the backyard. You want me to pay him a visit?”

“No,” Hayley said. “I will.”

But as it turned out, she didn’t have to. She spotted him again—standing near a produce booth, half-hidden behind a stack of onions.

Hayley handed the cash box to Earl and slipped away.