She won’t stop until she finds the truth

Caroline Bennett is not looking for a summer romance. As a police officer at Starlight Point amusement park, she’s got more important things to worry about, like solving a cold case involving a girl’s mysterious death thirty years ago. Construction engineer Matt Dunbar is one of the few people who’ll talk about the incident, but even he’s not eager to dig up the past. Matt’s working on a new state-of-the-art roller coaster—a project that could make or break his career—yet he still finds time for Caroline. As the end of summer approaches, her investigation implicates Matt’s company, and she has to choose: justice or the funny, charming man she’s falling for.

“Thanks for the food and company,” Matt said.

“You’re welcome,” Caroline replied. “Thanks for being my victim in the self-defense class tonight. Virginia said she’d find some extra volunteers for the other nights, so you don’t have to come. Unless you want to.”

Did he want to? Matt hadn’t made a fool of himself over a girl in a long time. There were a few relationships in college, and even though one of them had lasted an entire semester, he was quite sure he hadn’t felt the emotional roller coaster Caroline put him on.

The smart choice would be to cut a wide swath around her.

“I’ll see what my schedule looks like.”

Caroline put a hand on the door lever, but then turned to him and paused, lips slightly parted. Had she not been a police officer with a powerful curiosity about an incident involving his family, he might have leaned forward and kissed her.

But that was a risk he was not ready to take.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for visiting my summer resort and amusement park, Starlight Point, as you read Until the Ride Stops. This is the fourth book of Starlight Point Stories, which also includes Under the Boardwalk, Carousel Nights and Meet Me on the Midway. In the first three books, the Hamilton siblings take ownership of Starlight Point and find true love. Readers met Scott Bennett in Meet Me on the Midway, when he and Evie Hamilton have a summer romance. Scott’s younger sister, Caroline, has a roller-coaster affair of her own in Until the Ride Stops as she spends her second summer on the Starlight Point Police Department digging into a cold case that could destroy the man she loves.

I hope you’ll love this book, and also visit me at amiedenman.com, follow me on Twitter at @amiedenman or send me an email at author@amiedenman.com.

Best wishes!

Amie Denman

Until the Ride Stops

Amie Denman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

AMIE DENMAN is the author of a dozen contemporary romances full of humor and heart. Born with an overdeveloped sense of curiosity, she’s been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle and eavesdrop on lovers’ conversations. Amie lives in Ohio with her husband, two sons, a big yellow Labrador and two cats. She believes everything is fun, especially wedding cake, show tunes, roller coasters and falling in love.

To my best friend and writing critique partner, May Williams. Thank you for your brains, your talent, your patience and your friendship. I would be nowhere without you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

CAROLINE BENNETT CREPT into the police chief’s office and pulled the chain on the light bulb hanging over the rusty filing cabinets in the corner. She booted up the laptop and pushed the power button on the document scanner she’d borrowed from the Starlight Point IT department. All the usual sounds of the amusement park—yells of excitement, midway games and the roar of roller coasters—were eerily absent late at night and the quiet added to the sensation she was doing something wrong.

She pulled open the top drawer labeled 1970–1973. Hanging file folders were labeled by month and year, with bits of paper sticking out of some. She took out the January 1970 folder and placed its single yellowed paper on the scanner’s glass.

While she waited for the blue light to capture the document, she slid open the bottom drawer and took out the July 1985 folder. Caroline glanced over her shoulder before opening it.

She found several smaller manila folders labeled Employee Issues, Dispatcher’s Log, Misdemeanors. The fourth folder was labeled Loose Cannon. She opened it and discovered it was completely empty.

“Caroline.”

She jumped and turned to the door.

“Sorry,” the night dispatcher said. “I thought I’d just walk in here and tell you instead of putting it over the radio.”

“That’s okay,” Caroline said. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. “Is there a call?”

“One of the night cleaners reported seeing a possible trespasser enter the construction zone for the new ride.”

“I’ll go right over,” Caroline said. She shoved the July 1985 folder back into the drawer and closed it.

“Want me to scan some of this old stuff? Nothing’s more boring than night shift. Nothing ever happens.”

“No,” Caroline said quickly. She smiled and tried to sound appreciative. “It’s my way of trying to get on the chief’s good side so he’ll recommend me for the police academy this fall.”

“If you make it through all that old crap,” the dispatcher said, nodding at the filing cabinets, “you’ll deserve a badge.”

Caroline shut down the scanner and laptop and sped out the door.

She crossed the midway, a wide avenue lined with shops and food stands on both sides, and checked the gate in the fence surrounding the construction area. Still locked. That meant the trespasser must have entered through one of the other four gates.

The new ride wouldn’t open for almost a year, and there was no spectacular coaster track visible, but management wanted to protect the construction site. Crews were busy leveling and stabilizing the ground, pouring concrete footers and laying the groundwork for the first new ride Starlight Point had built in three years.

And it would be a doozy. A combined kiddie coaster looping in and out of the track of a high-speed thrill coaster. Something for everyone, but still top secret until the big media reveal planned for later in the summer.

“Hold it right there,” she said. The words were out of her mouth before she’d even focused on the moving shadow in front of her. “Hands where I can see them.”

She pulled a flashlight off her belt and lit up the suspect. The suspect’s back. He wore loose fitting jeans, a T-shirt and a hard hat.

A hard hat? Not many trespassers donned safety equipment. If he was a worker on the site, what was he doing there at midnight?

“Don’t shoot,” the man said. “The only thing I have on me is a cell phone and a case of insomnia.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Worrying,” he said.

“You’re in a restricted area. You’ll have to worry somewhere else. I need to ask you to come with me.”

The man turned around, hands in the air, and faced Caroline. She kept her flashlight on him, even though he didn’t look dangerous. He had a blond crew cut and a big smile. Broad shoulders. Exposed biceps with his hands in the air. “You got coffee where we’re going?”

“This isn’t a coffee break. I’m arresting you.”

“Can you do that?” he asked.

“Of course I can,” she said. Irritation tightened the muscles in her jaw. “I’m a member of the Starlight Point Police Department.”

He laughed and put his hands down. “I didn’t mean to challenge your authority. I just wondered if you made a habit of arresting people who are legitimately working.”

“At midnight?”

He shrugged. “Job never rests.”

Caroline lowered her flashlight so it wasn’t hitting him square in the face. “Explain yourself.”

“Formal greeting first,” he said. He held out his hand, but Caroline didn’t take it. “Matt Dunbar. Construction engineer on the Super Star and Shooting Star project.”

“Shh,” Caroline said, looking around. “You’re not supposed to use the official name. Someone might hear.”

“Sorry,” he said. He leaned closer and whispered, “Matt Dunbar, construction engineer on the nameless mystery project opening next May. I hope.”

Caroline let her shoulders relax but didn’t let down her guard. He still hadn’t explained himself. Not really, anyway.

“That’s enough,” Caroline said. “Tell me why you’re here at midnight. I don’t see any of your crew, and I didn’t think there was nighttime construction going on.”

“Couldn’t sleep, so I walked over.” He gave up on the handshake and put both hands in his pockets.

“Walked?”

Starlight Point was on a peninsula jutting into Lake Huron with a long bridge providing nearly the only access. No one walked to Starlight Point. They either caught the ferry or drove over. Caroline narrowed her eyes. His story was not holding water so far.

“From the campout. My company sponsored a tent and I drew one of the lucky tickets to stay over tonight.”

Of course Caroline knew about the campout. It was the reason she was working an overnight shift. With a five-hundred-dollar donation to a local charity, groups of four could pitch a tent and stay on the Western Trail overnight. They’d get VIP treatment when the park opened in the morning.

“You’re here for the coaster campout?”

“It sounded like a good idea at the time. Stay the night, campfire breakfast and coasters at first light before the crowds get here. Nice donation to local charities. However, I forgot two things.”

“What did you forget?” Perhaps this would explain why he was wandering the construction zone. Caroline was still considering whether or not to haul him over to the station where she could question him under harsh fluorescent lights. Protecting Starlight Point was not a joke to her.

“I don’t like riding roller coasters.”

“And yet you’re building one,” Caroline said. She was starting to doubt he was actually in charge of the project. Shouldn’t it be someone much older? She’d been patrolling the fence surrounding the high-profile construction for several weeks now, but she’d hardly noticed the men in hard hats coming and going. “Will you ride this coaster when it’s done?”

He nodded, his expression serious in the ambient glow from the flashlight. “It’s my job. Inspires confidence if the man who builds it is willing to ride it. Even if I have to hold my breath for the entire ride.”

“Dedication,” Caroline said. I can respect that. But something still did not add up.

“You said there were two things. What else did you forget?” Caroline asked. “Is it here in the construction zone?”

“No. It’s a fact—I hate camping. When I was a kid, my older cousins used to consider it a badge of honor to scare me to death by scratching on the outside of the tent like ravenous mountain lions. This was especially effective after ghost stories and urban legends around the campfire.”

Caroline suppressed a laugh. “I’m Caroline Bennett,” she said, holding out her hand. “I went camping one time when I was a Girl Scout.”

“And?”

“I was trapped in a tent with a spider large enough to cast a shadow.”

He took her hand and gave it a lingering shake. “I’m picturing you ordering the spider out of your tent. Or else.”

She smiled. “The spider disappeared and we never found it, even though we stayed up all night looking.”

“I have no doubt you’re braver than I am,” he said. “Which is why I’ve already decided to surrender should you cuff me and haul me off to the Starlight Point Jail. I just hope you serve funnel cakes and boardwalk fries for breakfast. It’s the least you could do for keeping a man from his own worries.”

“What are you worried about?”

“Getting this done in the next three hundred and forty-two days.”

Caroline pulled her radio off her belt and keyed the police dispatcher to let her know the situation was under control and she would be escorting a guest back to the camping area. She clipped the radio to her belt and gave Matt her attention again.

“So you wandered off the Western Trail and thought you’d poke around here since you couldn’t sleep?”

A line appeared between his eyebrows as he scanned the area. “I just thought it might be interesting to get the lay of the land at night. I’m trying to picture it all lit up with miles of steel track going everywhere.”

Caroline glanced around. It was dark inside the walled-off section of the park, especially after closing time when lights all over the Point were dimmed or switched off. Only the chasing lights on the tall hills of a few roller coasters were visible.

By next season, there would be an addition to the Starlight Point skyline. The new top secret coaster was being built on the site of the ill-fated and short-lived Loose Cannon that had claimed a life and closed after only part of one season.

She shuddered, imagining the girl being thrown from the ride and dying on what should have been a fun day.

“Cold?” Matt asked.

Caroline shook her head. No way was she sharing her plan to investigate an old case no one wanted to reopen.

“I wish I had a jacket to offer you,” he said. “I could give you my hard hat but it won’t do much good.”

“I should escort you out of here and secure the site,” Caroline said. She swung her flashlight in an arc toward the gate. “Let’s go. I’ll see you back to your tent.”

Matt blew out a long breath. Maybe he wanted to stay and work, but she couldn’t allow it. It was her job to keep the area free of trespassers all night. No matter what they claimed. She planned to check his name and credentials the next morning.

“Will you come in and do a spider check?” he asked.

She pressed her lips together to suppress a smile. “You’ll have to handle that yourself. Not in my job description.”

Caroline opened the gate and they walked onto the dimly lit, empty midway. During the day, there was barely room for a shadow on the crowded thoroughfare, and now it was abandoned.

Matt fell into step beside her as they passed the long fence concealing the construction site and then the dodgem cars and several shuttered food stands. The late May evening was chilly and the damp air smelled like the earth recently churned up in the flowerbeds. A lingering aroma of hot dogs and fried food remained, even hours after park closing.

“Have you worked here long?” Matt asked.

“This is my second season,” she said, hoping the finality in her tone would discourage him from asking further questions. If she hurried back to the station, she could reclaim the second half of her lunch break and get another look at that file. Was it really empty or had the contents been misfiled?

“So you want to be a police officer, huh?”

“I am a police officer,” she said. “I’m a member of the Starlight Point Police Department.”

“But you don’t have a gun.”

She shot him a sideways look and squared her shoulders. Was he planning to challenge her? He’d find out she could take down a man his size before he saw it coming.

He laughed. “Easy, sergeant. It was just an observation.”

“I’m not a sergeant. And I don’t carry a gun yet,” she said. “I plan to complete the police academy over the next year.”

“Then I better watch out,” he said. “Or at least stay in my tent at night.”

They passed the loading platform for the cable cars, Tosha’s Homemade Ice Cream and the scrambler ride. Caroline began to wonder why she’d offered to escort him all the way to his tent like a lost kid. Maybe she should just point him in the right direction. She could tell him she’d be watching him and he would probably comply.

But it was a quiet night. And walking under the stars was pleasant. And she was completing the trespassing call she’d answered by making certain the perpetrator was secured for the night. She could zip up his tent and wash her hands of him.

“Too bad none of the vendors are open,” he said. “I’d like to buy you a soda to thank you for walking me home down the mean streets of Starlight Point.”

“You’re not in danger,” she said.

“I can’t see in the dark,” he replied. “I could fall and break both elbows, and then the new ride would be behind schedule.”

“Hard to believe you can’t manage in the dark when you wandered all the way to the construction site without a flashlight.”

He stopped, faced her and smiled. “You got me. How about taking a lap around the peninsula?”

“No.”

“It might tire me out and cure my insomnia. Then you’ll know I’m snoring away in my tent the rest of the night.”

Caroline pointed down the Western Trail and started walking again. “Not negotiable. I’m depositing you in the camping zone where one of my colleagues is on guard. I’ll have Big Kenny keep an eye on you.”

Matt sighed. “You’re no fun.”

“Not in my job description.”

They crossed the train tracks where an old-fashioned steam engine chugged past dozens of times every day, pulling passengers through a shoot-out with animatronic characters in a Western ghost town. Caroline enjoyed a mellow trip around Starlight Point in the open train cars on days when her feet were tired or she wanted to unwind, but most days she preferred buckling in for a heart-stopping ride on the roller coasters Starlight Point was beginning to be known for.

“I love roller coasters,” she said aloud. “And I’m still curious why a guy who builds them doesn’t.”

“I don’t just build roller coasters. I’m a construction engineer, which means I build whatever’s on the blueprints. I’ve built everything from playgrounds to senior citizen housing. This summer and winter, my job’s a roller coaster. I make sure it gets done correctly and on time.”

“Which is why you have insomnia,” she observed.

“Exactly. At this stage of the game, it’s like being in an abstract painting. And I think it’s only going to get worse.”

As they made their way along the Western Trail, they started seeing tents.

Matt stopped and whispered, “This is my tent. I think. They all look alike.”

“Oh,” Caroline said. She was almost disappointed. Of all the things she’d thought might happen during the overnight campout, she hadn’t expected a pleasant stroll under the stars with a mislabeled trespasser who built rides he didn’t plan to enjoy. He was charming, but she wished she hadn’t had to surrender the Loose Cannon folder as soon as she’d finally gotten her hands on it.

“Good night, then,” she said.

He smiled and leaned too close. “You’re going to stand here and make sure I go inside, aren’t you?”

“Just watching out for lions,” she said. She crossed her arms and watched him slide the zipper up and quietly crawl through the opening. As she walked away, she paused a moment and scratched on the slippery nylon tent.

CHAPTER TWO

MATT DUNBAR SHADED his eyes and peered through the surveyor’s scope. The project was massive. And unique. Mixing a kiddie coaster with an adult coaster could be genius. Or a total flop. Would little kids line up for a ride that looked scary even if it wasn’t?

That wasn’t his problem. Starlight Point knew its customers better than he did. His responsibility was to make sure the intertwined coasters were built according to the blueprints, the code, the budget and the calendar.

One year. The ride had to open next May, and it had to be perfect. Perfection in a roller coaster meant it had to seem deadly when in reality, riders wouldn’t break a fingernail. He shook his head. Such a paradox.

Millions of dollars were on the line, as well as his company’s reputation and his own hopes and dreams. He had to prove himself. Not many twenty-six-year-olds got an opportunity like this. The media attention at the groundbreaking ceremony a few weeks ago was enough to remind him how high profile Starlight Point was. He’d seen his own picture on the front page of the Bayside Times with a caption saying the top secret project was all on him. Great.

Matt looked up when something caught his eye across the construction zone. A tall man, suit coat flapping, made his way over the mud and around the equipment.

Jack Hamilton. He and his sisters, Evie and June, were co-owners of Starlight Point. He was a nice enough guy and they had something in common—Jack had inherited the park from his parents, much like Matt believed he might inherit Bayside Construction someday. Perhaps sooner than he’d ever thought. His chest tightened when he thought of his stepfather’s declining health.

“How’s it going?” Jack asked.

“Good,” Matt said. He shoved his hard hat back and wiped sweat from his brow. “This part of the project isn’t much to look at, but it’s necessary. Even though it seems like we’re just making a mess.”

“I remember when the Sea Devil site looked like this four years ago. I had a hard time picturing it ever becoming a ride. My sisters still claim I don’t have any imagination, but the problem is usually just that I’m hungry. Want to get a doughnut?”

Matt glanced at his watch. He’d been on-site for three hours now and the midmorning belly rumble was slowing him down. “I could eat a doughnut.”

Jack slapped him on the back. “Let’s go to the bakery just down the midway. But you might want to take off your hard hat so you don’t attract attention. The park’s open, and people are dying of curiosity because of this fence. Of course, it’s our strategy to build excitement and that’s why we swore your company to secrecy.”

“Is the strategy working?”

“I get media requests for details and the ride name every day. And our police department has already chased at least one trespasser out of here, so I’d say yes,” Jack said.

Jack’s face betrayed nothing, and as far as Matt knew, Jack wasn’t talking about him.

“Gawkers,” Matt said.

Jack shrugged. “It’s a pain, but I’m glad people are excited about the ride. It’s a huge investment for us and we could lose our shirts if it fails.” He grinned. “No pressure or anything.”

Matt followed Jack through the mud zone to a gate partially obscured by a tree. He hung his yellow hard hat on a nail before he left the construction area.

“Pink awning,” Jack said, inclining his head down the midway. “Land of sweets.”

Matt didn’t see a pink awning. He saw a tall, slim police officer all in black. She stood, shoulders squared, watching the crowd. Her posture said don’t mess with me.

It was too much temptation. As he and Jack neared Caroline, Matt stopped.

“Excuse me, miss. Can you tell me what they’re building?” He pointed toward the long fence around the coaster project.

Caroline crossed her arms and cocked her head. She recognizes me for certain.

“They’re building a swinging bridge that will connect Starlight Point to the mainland,” she said with straight lips and a professional tone. “It will be the longest bridge built from licorice in North America.”

“That’s what I heard,” Matt said. “I’ll be sure to spread the word on social media.”

Jack laughed. “We’re getting doughnuts, Caroline. You want one?”

The owner knows her first name and is offering her doughnuts? Matt glanced at her silver name tag which only displayed her last name. Bennett.

“Of course I do,” Caroline said. “Cinnamon roll. Maple frosting. I have a break coming up, and I’m a lot nicer to teenagers with sugar in my bloodstream. This place is crawling with school groups.”

“I’ll bring two,” Jack said.

Jack and Matt strode toward the far end of the midway. When they had gone a few steps, Jack grinned. “My sister-in-law,” he said. “Interesting lady.”

“Really?”

“Her brother, Scott, just got married to my sister Evie a few weeks ago. Caroline was a bridesmaid.”

As they approached the pink awning with Aunt Augusta’s Midway Bakery spelled out in script, a woman leaned across the counter. Jack gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

Matt began to feel as if he was in the twilight zone.

“My wife, Augusta,” Jack said.

Matt shook hands with the dark-haired woman and turned to Jack. “Are you related to everyone here?”

Augusta drew her eyebrows together and looked at her husband.

“We just talked with Caroline,” Jack explained. “She wants two cinnamon rolls.”

“With maple frosting,” Matt added. Augusta and Jack both turned their attention to Matt and he felt his ears get hot. So I pay attention to detail, so what? “Could you also box up a dozen for my crew? I can’t go back there and eat in front of them unless I bring enough to share.”

They ate their doughnuts while they walked back toward the construction site. Matt gave Jack the progress report, which didn’t differ much from the week before. Things were moving along on schedule, but it was still early. And worrying about the project really did keep Matt awake at night.

Jack’s phone rang as they passed the Kiddie Land motorcycles chasing each other on a track. He answered, listened and dropped the phone back into the pocket of his suit coat. “I need to go to my office,” he said. “Will you deliver Caroline’s doughnuts?”

“Sure.”

Jack handed over a white pastry bag, waved and left the midway with long strides. He cut through Kiddie Land, his steps keeping time with the beeping horns and flashing lights.

Matt headed toward the long fence where Caroline stood like a post, arms crossed. He held out the bag and was gratified to see her posture relax as she reached for it with a hint of a smile.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Anytime.” He balanced his crew’s box of doughnuts on his hip. “If you’re going to be out here all summer, we should get to know each other. So far I know you don’t like spiders or camping, you’re merciless with a flashlight and you like pastries more than teenagers.”

“Everyone likes pastries more than teenagers,” Caroline said. She opened the bag and looked inside, nodding approval at what she saw.

“I can’t believe you doubted me,” Matt said.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of the fence?”

“Yes. But I get out every now and then. Like when we’re waiting for a fresh truckload of licorice.”

Caroline smiled. “Sorry about that. While I’m standing here, I make up ridiculous answers to the question about what we’re building, but I can’t use my snarky answers with actual guests. I don’t think the Hamiltons would be impressed.”

“But you’re related to them. Jack said your brother married his sister.”

She nodded. “They met last summer.”

“And Jack met his wife here, too?”

“Yes. That was before I worked here.”

“Must be something in the air,” Matt said.

Caroline raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything.

“You could probably have your pick of jobs with family connections like yours. Why are you standing in the hot sun warding off gawkers outside a construction zone?”

Her jaw tightened and she turned steely eyes on him. “I’m willing to work my way up and earn my stripes. Justice is a serious business.”

Matt cleared his throat. “So is building stuff. I should get back to work. We’re digging out some old roller coaster footers.”

“From the Loose Cannon,” Caroline said.

Matt bit his lip and goose bumps lifted along his back. When Bayside Construction had won the bid to build the new coaster practically on top of the one his uncle had built, he’d asked his stepfather for more information. The older man had muttered something about letting sleeping dogs lie. Bruce Corbin’s heart was delicate, and Matt hadn’t pushed for details.

Why was Caroline so quick with the coaster’s name? She seemed to be a few years younger than he was, and the Loose Cannon was gone long before either one of them was born.

“How did you know about that?”

“I...studied a little park history. It’s no secret. A roller coaster named the Loose Cannon was built on this site back in the 1980s.”

Did she sound defensive?

“I’ll have to come find you if I ever need a history lesson on Starlight Point,” Matt said.

Caroline shifted her gaze to the side, refusing to meet his eyes.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to find a giant man in a black uniform.

“Is this guy bothering you?” the man asked Caroline.

“No,” she said. “He was asking directions.” She turned and pointed to the tree that concealed the entrance gate into the construction site. “That’s where you want to go.”

She walked away, leaving Matt with the giant police officer.

“Guess you ought to move along,” the man said. “Before she comes back and finds you hanging around.”

Matt let himself through the gate, shoved his hard hat on and went back to work. He considered opening a conversation with Caroline—or anyone—about the Loose Cannon. His stepfather brushing him off had been out of character. It made Matt wonder if there was more to the brief story in the family archive of things-we-don’t-talk-about. Considering his stepfamily’s connection to that ride, he was tempted to find out how much Caroline knew, just to be on the safe side.

Right now, he had work to do. This project would make or break Bayside Construction. And in the process, it would determine the fate of the people he loved most.

* * *

CAROLINE CLOCKED OUT, changed out of her uniform and headed for the filing cabinets in the corner of her chief’s office.

Some of her friends from the rides and foods departments were meeting up to play volleyball and picnic on the beach. Wasn’t the wide swath of sand in front of the Lake Breeze Hotel much more inviting than musty old files?

But she had a mission. Impress her boss and get his recommendation for the limited police academy class beginning in September. Just as important, she wanted answers about the Loose Cannon roller coaster.

She’d heard the rumors last summer, and she’d been curious about what had caused the accident. Then a few weeks ago, she’d discovered that the reclusive older couple who lived down the street from her parents had lost their daughter to the accident, but they’d never gotten any answers. The scars were so deep and wide, they’d moved away from Bayside to Yorkville where Caroline had grown up.

Caroline knew what it was like to lose someone senselessly. Perhaps that’s why the quiet Knights had finally shared their story with her.

She’d known them for years, stopping by their porch on her paper route, shoveling their sidewalk in the winter. She remembered walking past their house on the way to school one spring day when she was in sixth grade. Mrs. Knight had stood on the porch and stared at her sadly but kindly. “You remind me of my daughter,” she’d said.

Caroline had always wondered where the daughter was, expecting her to appear out of nowhere when she dropped off misdirected mail or stopped by with cinnamon bread her mother made on snowy days.

But Jenny Knight had died, her death on the Loose Cannon ruled accidental. It was hard to believe a life could be erased like a chalk drawing with no one to blame.

Somewhere in these rusty filing cabinets, there could be answers. But to find them, she’d have to spend hours scanning all the files.

“Are you sure you want to do this on your own time?” the police chief asked. “We could work it into your shift and cover you out on the midway.”

She shook her head. “It’s good experience.”

Chief Bert Walker sat in a roller chair and used his heels to shove the chair back and forth. “Raking leaves is good experience, but I still pay the neighbor kid to do it so I don’t have to. This is a lousy job.”

Caroline sent him a quick smile and opened the second drawer of the cabinet on the far left. Folders with dates ranging from 1974–1978 filled the drawer.

“Should I throw these away after I scan them?” she asked.

Walker shrugged. “Seems like it would be safe to do that, but you never know when someone’s going to want to see the real thing. And these are actual public and criminal records.”

Caroline’s heart thumped in her chest. “Do people request old records very often?”

“No. Big city departments, maybe. But not here, not in years. Especially not records from before you were born.”

She pulled out the first folder in the drawer and turned on the scanner. “Am I going to find anything interesting in here?”

The chief rolled back and forth in his chair, watching as she carefully laid papers inside the marked area on the scanner glass. She closed the lid, pressed a button and a blue streak of light slid out.

“Probably not,” Walker said. “In my career here, I’ve only seen a few things that would make it onto the evening news.”

“Such as?”

“Rash of car thefts in the 1990s, right from the parking lot. People stole cars and stereos.”

“Pretty bold.”

“They were,” the chief agreed. “That’s why we have the tower in the parking lot. Used to be the worst job sitting in that tower watching the cars.”

“Worse than scanning all these files?”

“Tough call.” He leaned back in his chair. “We also had some fights over the years, some of them ugly like the one last summer, but you already knew about that one ’cause you were there. Employee theft from cash registers,” he continued, “thefts in the dorms or the hotel. But quiet for the most part. I’ve had years’ worth of petty stuff and general peace.”

“When was your first summer?” Caroline asked.

“1985.”

Her heart flipped again. “You’ve been the chief that long?”

He laughed. “No. I started out just like you. Nonbond without a gun for a few summers, then the academy, then bonded officer for a few years before I moved up the chain.”

“Wasn’t 1985 the year of the accident on the Loose Cannon?” she asked, trying for a casual tone. This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for, a chance to bring up the old case with someone who was there. Who better than a police officer?

The chief spun his chair around so she couldn’t see his face when he said, “Yes.”

“And you were a nonbond?”

“I was.”

He completed the spin and met her eyes. “That was a real shame.”

“The accident?”

“All of it,” he said.

“Were you part of the investigation?”

He shook his head. “No. I was low man in the pecking order. And ride accident falls under the state anyway. They came out and did the inspection, wrote it up.”

“Did they find out what caused the accident?”

He scratched his head.

She waited.

Jenny Knight’s parents had already told her it was ruled as undetermined. But Caroline didn’t want to show her hand. She was more interested in hearing what he knew.

“It was an accident, they said. Sometimes you never know exactly what goes on.”

Caroline slid the paper off the scanner, replaced it in the folder and put it back in the drawer. She took out the next folder, marked February 1974, and began scanning the thin file of documents.

Chief Walker got up abruptly and his chair rolled into the wall with a solid clunk. “Happened a long time ago.”

Caroline finished the February folder quickly. Not much action in the winter.

“The Loose Cannon was in the same place the new ride’s going, wasn’t it?” she asked, as if she were just killing time with conversation. “It’ll be nice to have something fun there instead of just concrete and benches.”

The chief grunted. “You seem awfully interested in this,” he said.

She smiled at him, trying to make her curiosity seem innocent. “I want to be an investigator someday. I have to practice asking questions.”

“And learn when it’s best to stop,” the chief said. He shuffled out to the dispatcher’s desk, said something to the officer on duty and left the station.

Caroline watched him leave and wondered how many questions she should risk asking. Was he right about learning when to stop? Or was he issuing a warning?

CHAPTER THREE

TRAFFIC DUTY. Not her favorite. There was no shade on the Point Bridge. There was no end in sight to the line of cars flowing across the bridge for a Saturday in the park. And why couldn’t people understand how to follow the orange traffic cones? Was it rocket science?

Last summer, she’d watched her partner bounce off the hood of a car whose driver wasn’t paying attention. That was an experience she’d never forget. Or repeat.

Caroline kept her eyes on the incoming cars, their drivers distracted by digging through purses and wallets for the parking fee or for their season pass. One more hour and she could hand this job to someone else and take up her post along the midway where she usually guarded the construction zone. A shade tree with her name on it was waiting for her.

A heavy-duty pickup truck, loud diesel engine rumbling, pulled up in front of Caroline’s post near the tollbooth. The driver cut the engine. What was he doing? There was a line of cars a mile long behind him and he was blocking an entire lane.

She tried to give him the move-it-along look she’d been practicing, but bright morning sun reflected off his window and she couldn’t see his face.

The window slid down a moment later and Matt Dunbar rested his elbow on the frame.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked. “I can’t work unless I know you’re outside my construction fence keeping me safe.”

“I don’t always work in that zone,” she said. “Nobody likes traffic duty, so we have to take turns.” She approached his truck so she wouldn’t have to shout over the traffic noise. “You have to move along. You’re blocking a lane.”

Matt drew his eyebrows together, erasing his easy smile. “Seems dangerous out here with unpredictable drivers. You don’t know what they’re thinking.”

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head.

“I know,” he said. “Like me.” He reached onto the floor of his truck and picked up an orange hard hat. “At least put this on, just in case.”

Caroline had already noticed Matt was wearing his safety yellow hard hat with Dunbar written in black marker on the side.

“I never go anywhere without mine,” he said. “Grocery shopping, golf course, piano lessons. I tell you, it’s a dangerous world.”

Caroline did not want to smile. She was supposed to be threatening him with the letter of the law if he didn’t get his giant truck out of the way. But he amused her, even if she did wonder what was under the surface of his ready smile.

“You take piano lessons?” she asked.

“No, but if I did, it would be dangerous. Probably need ear protection, too.”

Cars behind him started honking. The noise swelled into a chorus. The tollbooth supervisor poked his head out and gave Caroline a questioning look.

“You have to move your truck,” Caroline repeated.

“I know. I have work to do.”

“Then what are you doing idling here?”

“Just saying hello. I respect your diligence in guarding my project.”

“That’s my job,” Caroline said.

“I know. But you seem really dedicated. And I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate it.” He took off his hard hat and ran his fingers through his short blond hair. His usual easy smile disappeared and a worry line creased his forehead. “I have a lot riding on it.”

Of course he did. It was a multimillion-dollar venture. But something about his tone made Caroline wonder how deep his personal stakes went.

“If you appreciate my work, you can get moving so I won’t get fired,” she said.

“I’ll make sure you get doughnuts tomorrow. And I’ll bring some for your giant bodyguard, too.”

Matt smiled. Started his truck. And rolled away with the window still down. He waved a moment later, letting her know he saw her watching him pull away.

“He’s not my bodyguard,” she said, even though she was the only one within earshot.

She’d known Matt Dunbar for only a week, but already he mystified her. And confounded her. This summer was about two things: getting to the bottom of a mysterious death and getting into the police academy. Wasting her time chatting up construction engineers was not on her agenda.

Last night, she’d visited the records request website for the state department that handled inspection of amusement park rides. It was a long shot, but she’d hoped the records would be online. They weren’t. Instead, there was a form to complete with a promise of receiving the records via post in four to six weeks.

Four to six weeks. It was the end of May now, so it would easily be the Fourth of July before anything appeared in the post office box she’d rented in downtown Bayside. Waiting was an eternity, but she planned to fill the time by asking questions.

Caroline took out her frustration on the line of cars backed up on the Point Bridge, directing them into lanes with snappy, uncompromising movements. A man put on his turn signal, trying to move over to a lane he thought was better. Caroline stared him down until he sheepishly turned off the signal and fell into line.

When her tour of traffic duty was over, Caroline hitched a ride in the yellow traffic pickup truck to the front gate. She showed her employee badge at the turnstile on the far right, even though her black Starlight Point Police Department uniform probably made it unnecessary. Rules were rules.

She walked toward the old-fashioned carousel near the front gate. With its hand-painted horses, authentic organ music and brightly lit canopy, it had welcomed guests for decades.

After she passed the carousel, Caroline could see all the way down the midway to the spot where it divided into two paths. One would take guests past roller coasters and a swath of family rides. It also included a gate leading to the long, sandy beach and the historic Lake Breeze Hotel, which had reopened this season with a spectacular renovation. The brainchild of her new sister-in-law, Evie Hamilton, the century-old hotel had retained all its history while being upgraded with modern conveniences.

Instead of following the path to the beachfront hotel, Caroline took the left branch, which led past the construction zone for the new ride. That walkway eventually became the Western Trail, winding under shade trees and by a gristmill, blacksmith’s shop and the other historic attractions that made up the Wonderful West. In the far back of the park, both paths met near the Western train station, the Starlight Saloon and a shooting gallery.

Although Caroline enjoyed walking the Western Trail—it was the quietest place in the park—she had only thirty minutes for lunch before she would relieve the police officer by the construction fence. She headed for the station, where a peanut butter sandwich, an apple and an indulgent chocolate cupcake waited for her.

The cable cars overhead cast shadows on the concrete midway. Flowers spilled from planter boxes. The sound of roller coaster trains clacking up hills mixed with the screams of riders going down hills.

She loved it. Loved the smell of funnel cakes and the sound of the waves on the beach. Almost as much as she loved wearing a badge.

Caroline waved to a few friends on her way down the midway. Last summer, she’d met people who worked the food stands and rides, and many of them were back again this year, working their way through college.

Her college days were behind her, though, now that she had satisfied her parents’ number one requirement: a bachelor’s degree. After achieving that, she was free to do whatever she wanted.

Scott had used his fire science degree to catapult him to leadership on a local fire department and now as the chief at the Starlight Point Fire Department. She planned to use her criminal justice degree to accelerate to the top of the class at the police academy.

A petite blonde girl stepped out from the caricature stand and waved to Caroline. “Come over, we’re having a slow day,” she said.

Like most of the teenagers who worked at the booth, Agnes was an art student. Her job was to persuade visitors to slow down, have a seat in the shade and wait while their picture was drawn. Caroline had seen the cartoonish drawings many times, such as a woman with a big smile holding a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. A man wearing a chef’s hat and holding frying pans in both hands. A little girl wearing ballet slippers with musical notes swirling around her head.

Caroline wondered what her caricature would look like. Would she be depicted as a dog sniffing out crimes? A big stern face at the wheel of a police car? She smiled at her friend and said, “I’m on lunch right now.”

“Good. Sit down and I’ll draw you.”

Caroline laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“Come on, why not? It only takes a minute for me to get the outlines of your face, and then you can come see the finished product later.”

Caroline hesitated. She was in uniform. If guests saw a police officer sitting for a portrait, they would either think this was the safest amusement park in the world or the most lackadaisical.

“Maybe later,” she said. As she spoke, she noticed a framed caricature on the wall. An example made to entice customers, it was fully colored and remarkably well-done. The man in the picture was wearing a yellow hard hat and driving a dump truck. A big blue and green ball representing the planet Earth was in the bed of the truck.

“That’s a really good one,” Agnes said, noticing Caroline’s stare. “Done by one of my friends this year. I think it’s his brother in the picture.”

“Is his last name Dunbar?”

Agnes tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, how did you know?”

“I’ve met him.”

“Then maybe you can tell me why he’s got the whole world in his truck. I asked Lucas, but he just shrugged and said you had to know the guy.”

Interesting. Matt had a younger brother who was an artist. And the artist chose to depict Matt like this.

“I...uh...don’t actually know him,” Caroline said. “We’ve just met a few times. Sorry I can’t help you. I better grab my lunch before break’s over.”

“Come back and I’ll do your portrait when you’re not wearing that ugly uniform,” Agnes said. “I’m going to draw you in a red evening gown. With a badge and gun, of course.”

When Caroline finished her lunch and took up guard duty, the hours ticked by. Slowly. There were no heavy machinery noises from the other side of the fence. Probably because it was Saturday, she thought. For all she knew, Matt had stayed for less than an hour and was now home catching up on whatever was on his DVR. She wondered where he lived. Did he have a house in Bayside? Had he lived there all his life?

What did she know about the guy? He was a construction engineer entrusted with a massive project. Jack Hamilton seemed to like him. He had broad shoulders, a smile that lit his eyes and a line around his head from wearing a hard hat.

Caroline shifted from foot to foot. Heat curled the hairs that escaped her long ponytail and stuck to her neck.

She made up sarcastic answers to the summer’s number one question, even though she forbade herself to ever use them. What are they building, you ask?

A funeral home and crematorium.

A baseball diamond.

A track for camel racing.

She watched the Scrambler flash and swirl across the midway. Counted the number of ice cream cones passing her by. Watched children skip along beside their parents.

And tried to put Matt out of her mind so she could focus on her summer goal: figure out what happened that night on the Loose Cannon back in 1985.

* * *

MATT SAT ON the tailgate of his pickup, waiting for his stepfather to stop by the construction site after closing the office for the day. While he swung his legs, taking the weight off his tired feet, he thought about Caroline.

He found her interesting. She guarded his construction zone, an invaluable ally making sure no one got in to vandalize or slow down their work with a moment of misplaced curiosity. He liked having her outside the fence with her look of determination.

But he also wondered why she was so quick with the information about the Loose Cannon and then so evasive when he questioned her. No matter how much she intrigued him, nothing was more important than securing Bruce Corbin’s trust by making sure his family never had another failure like the one long buried.

Matt knew his stepfather believed in him. Bruce hadn’t been forced to give Matt the job of construction engineer; there were other choices. But this job was also a test. Could someone with only a few years of on-the-job experience complete such a massive project? Was a master’s degree in construction engineering a substitute for age and experience?

Bruce Corbin drove through the open gate and Matt shoved it closed and locked it behind his stepfather’s truck.

Looking every one of his sixty-five years, Bruce climbed slowly out of his truck. His face was deeply lined from years of working outdoors. Since his brother John’s death over the winter, Bruce seemed to have aged ten more years.

“Looking good, Matt,” Bruce said, his voice raspy.

He leaned heavily on his truck, took a deep breath that moved his entire chest and gestured toward the construction area. Mounds of dirt. Holes ten feet deep. Dump trucks. Earthmoving machinery.

It was a mess.

“I love the smell of dirt,” Bruce said. “It’s the smell of something getting done.”

“Most people would think we’re not getting much done.”

“Most people don’t know diddly about building something this big.”

Do I know diddly about building something this big?

Matt leaned against the truck next to his stepdad. “It’s been slow work digging out concrete footers from the previous construction on the site.” He watched his stepfather’s face, then added, “Big footers.”

“I know what you’re talking about,” Bruce said. “It was that roller coaster my brother’s company built. I knew they were there when I bid this job.”

Although he was tempted to ask about the taboo subject, Matt saw the grief in Bruce’s expression and didn’t press him. Bruce’s congestive heart failure took more and more out of him every day, and Matt knew his mother was worried.

“We’ll have them all out in a few more days.”

“Good.”

“So we’re still on track with the project,” Matt said. “It would help, though, if some of the old blueprints were still around.”

Bruce shook his head. He drew another long breath. “Destroyed. All of them. Years ago.”

“It’s a little ironic,” Matt said, his voice quiet. “Digging up something Uncle John built and putting something new in its place.”

He was taking a huge risk. The Loose Cannon was a shadowy topic in their family, something he’d realized in subtle ways in the twelve years his mother had been married to Bruce.

The ride was a failure, but it wasn’t the construction company’s fault. Starlight Point had decided to dismantle the ride after only one season, and his uncle’s company got the contract to tear down something they’d just built. It had, according to whispered family stories, broken his uncle’s spirit and caused him to sell the company to his brother. A boon for Bruce Corbin, but Matt suspected his uncle had never been the same since. John moved thirty miles away and started a small home renovation company with a few trusted employees.

Matt hoped he wouldn’t follow in his uncle’s footsteps. He wouldn’t let this ride be a failure if he could help it. He wouldn’t let down his family, not when there was so much at stake—for Starlight Point and for himself. A success in the location of an old failure might help Bruce let go of his grief for his brother and give him hope for the future.

Bruce cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.

Matt was sorry he’d brought it up, sorry for the sorrow on Bruce’s face. He needed to change the subject or he was afraid his stepfather would cry, and tears from the venerable old man who had changed his life were not something Matt could handle.

“I’m giving this project everything I’ve got,” Matt said. “I’ll make you proud.”

Bruce laid a huge hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I know you will, son.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“IS THIS THE best you can do on your day off? Have lunch with your brother?” Scott asked.

Caroline pointed at the windows of the employee cafeteria, which were streaked with heavy raindrops. “You’re my rainy day plan. And you usually buy my lunch, unless I’m being particularly difficult and you’re mad at me.”

“If I spring for an extra pudding parfait, will you consider my alternate career plan for you?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. This was a conversation so old it was practically scripted.

“I’m not going to become a kindergarten teacher.”

“Zoologist?”

“No.”

“Librarian?” he suggested.

“No.”

“Dog walker. And that’s my final offer.”

Caroline grabbed a handful of fries from her brother’s plate and took her time chewing them. “I’m thinking of joining the Marines. I want to work on my upper body strength.”

“No pudding parfait for you,” Scott said.

Caroline laughed. “I’ll go easy on you and be a nice safe cop instead of a marine.”

Scott cleared his throat and drew his eyebrows together. Caroline knew the expression well, had labeled it the big brother look. Here it comes.

“You know Evie and I have an extra room in our apartment downtown. In case you’d like to escape the heat in the employee dorm. You’d have your own shower. Air conditioning. A fridge full of whatever you want.”

“And the privilege of living with two newlyweds who are disgustingly in love. One of whom is my boss.”

“I’m not really your boss.”

“I didn’t mean you,” Caroline said. “And I like the employee dorms. My friends are there. It’s a short walk to work. If there’s any serious action going down, I’m right there ready to get in it.”

Scott’s frown deepened. “Those dorms are a fire hazard. I’m trying to tolerate them for one more season knowing they’re being replaced this fall,” he said. “I may burn them down myself in October.”

“My brother, Mr. Fire Safety, would burn something down?”

“It would be a good training session for the fire department. Can never get enough training.”

Caroline shoved her tray aside and uncapped her bottle of water.

“I probably shouldn’t be eating this greasy food. If the rain stops, I’m going to go for a run along the water downtown later.”

“Are you worried about passing the running test for the police academy?”

“Not worried about passing. I want to beat all the other guys.”

Scott laughed. “You probably will.”

Caroline leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. She watched her brother shovel in his food.

He wore his Starlight Point Fire Department uniform. His name tag said Chief Bennett, a promotion he’d earned through a combination of his education, experience and a heroic rescue of Evie Hamilton from a burning building the previous season. No doubt, her brother was a hero. He’d always been hers.

He worked part-time for the city of Bayside’s fire department, acted as the fire inspector for new construction in the city and led the department at Starlight Point. His inspector’s job was a major area of conflict between him and Evie when they were working through the hotel renovation plans last summer, but they’d both managed to come out with their dreams intact. And he might be able to help his little sister, too.

“Do you have access to construction plans from a long time ago?” Caroline asked.

Scott glanced up from his plate. “How long?”

“1985.”

“That depends on a lot of things. What’s in the plans you want to see?”

“A roller coaster. The Loose Cannon that was here for just that one season.”

He shrugged. “The museum in the town hall back in the Wonderful West probably has pictures of it. You could start there.”

“There aren’t any,” Caroline said. “I looked.”

Scott crossed his arms and gave her the big brother look. “Is this how you’re spending your summer?”

“A girl was killed on that ride. Maybe you could ask Evie what she knows about it.”

“The Hamiltons didn’t own this place in 1985, and I don’t plan to ruin dinner any night this week by bringing up what is probably a sore subject.”

Heat crept over her neck and face and her heart hammered. Of all people, she would expect her brother to understand her quest for justice and answers. “The girl who was killed, do you know who she was?”

“Should I?” Scott looked perplexed but interested.

“The Knights who live down the street from Mom and Dad’s old house.”

“The Silent Knights?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Do you know why they were so quiet and reclusive, why they moved to Yorkville years ago? They were trying to get away from here. It was their daughter who was killed. She was only twelve. And they never found out what caused the accident. They never got closure or justice. It’s not right.”

“How do you know this?”

“They told me a few weeks ago when I was helping Mom and Dad move. I was wearing a Starlight Point sweatshirt while I was hauling stuff to the moving van. I guess they decided to say something before our family moved away for good.”

Caroline swirled a fry through a puddle of ketchup. Her jaw was tight and she couldn’t look at her brother. “She was only twelve,” she whispered.

Scott reached over and squeezed Caroline’s hand. “Sometimes you have to let things go and move on. No matter how hard I enforce fire safety codes, it won’t bring back our sister. And no matter how doggedly you seek justice for every crime, it won’t—”

“Hey, you two.” Evie stood at their table holding a dripping umbrella in one hand and two pudding parfaits in her other. She put the parfaits in the center of the table. “You look like you need these. I could see you were bickering clear over there.” She cocked her head, indicating the cafeteria line.

“We weren’t exactly squabbling,” Scott said. He moved over a chair and made room for Evie to sit. As soon as she did, he put an arm around her and kissed her temple.

“Very cute,” Caroline said. “And thanks for the dessert.”

“Is your brother harassing you about becoming a police officer, living in the fire hazard employee dorms or both?”

Caroline gave Evie a lopsided grin and dug into her dessert without responding. Evie already knew the answer. It was nice that she’d shown up when she did. Caroline and her brother had had this conversation before. They used to be more in tune, both of them using their chosen profession to right an old wrong. But Scott had changed in the past year, letting the tragic death of their older sister, Catherine, go.

Caroline was afraid to let it go, afraid she’d forget the sister she’d never even gotten a chance to know.

* * *

DOWNPOURS ON CONSTRUCTION sites were the worst, Matt thought as he gave up and sent his crew home after lunch on a relentlessly rainy Tuesday. He sat in his truck for half an hour, refreshing the radar on his phone over and over, but it was no use. The rain might move off and make a beautiful evening, but the work day was doomed. Judging from the rivers running through the mud, the next few days weren’t going to be pretty.

Matt drove through the gate onto the outer loop, turned on his truck’s flashers, and ran back in the rain to close and secure the gate. As he snapped the lock together, he saw a familiar figure dashing across the road with an umbrella.

Caroline appeared to be leaving the marina gate and crossing over to the employee dorms. She wasn’t wearing her uniform and Matt realized it must be her day off.

He dashed back to his truck and pulled onto the road to head to his office. Caroline didn’t really live in those old dorms, did she? Somehow, he’d imagined the sister-in-law of the owners living in the Hamilton compound or in the luxury employee dorms. Which didn’t seem to exist, now that he thought about it.

It would be a few hours before he saw his own small house in Bayside. His crew couldn’t pour footers and prep the site for the new ride, but he could always find work to do at the construction office.

The Shooting Star/Super Star roller coaster was not the only project Bayside Construction had going on. For the sake of the family business, he needed to prove he could juggle multiple projects without dropping one.

Through his office wall, he heard his stepfather coughing. He ignored it for a few minutes out of habit, something he’d gotten sadly used to over the past year. After hearing body-wracking coughs for almost ten minutes, though, Matt went to the small office kitchen and made a cup of tea with a healthy dose of honey. He walked into Bruce’s office and set it quietly on his desk.

“Sounds like you need this,” he said.

“It’s the damp weather. I’d say it’s the damn weather, but your mother doesn’t like that.”

Bruce inhaled the steam from the tea and gestured for Matt to sit.

“Marrying your mother is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Likewise, I think,” Matt said. He didn’t like his stepfather’s gray skin and labored breathing. He watched the older man drink the tea. “Want me to call your doctor for you?”

His stepfather shook his head. “Won’t do any good. He’s said what he’s got to say about it. Truth is, I don’t have much time left and there’s no sense denying it.”

“I hope that’s not true,” Matt said. He swallowed, his throat thick.

“I might as well tell you, I love you like a son. But my main concern is making sure your mother’s provided for. She volunteered at the church and women’s shelter all these years, so she has no retirement money coming.”

“I’ll take care of her.”

“I know you want to. And I believe in you. But running this company is hard. Takes a lot out of you.”

“It sounds like there’s something you want to tell me.”

“Haven’t decided anything. Seems I’ve got two options. Sell the company and set your mother up with a nice amount of money to live on. It would pay for Lucas to finish college, too.”

Matt held his breath, wondering and fearing what his stepfather’s choice would be.

“I appreciate you paying for my college,” he said slowly. “Lucas deserves the same.”

“My other option is to leave the whole business to you,” Bruce said. He put both palms on his desk and looked at Matt expectantly.

Matt didn’t know what to say. He wanted the business. Had been training to run it. Believed he had the knowledge and work ethic. But how did he look his stepfather—the man who had practically saved his mother, brother and himself—in the eye and talk about taking over when he died?

A fit of coughing distracted Bruce while Matt sat there feeling helpless and miserable. Would his mother have greater security and comfort from the revenue of the sale of the business or would she be better off if he took it over? What if he failed?

“I would do anything for my family,” Matt said. “Our family.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

Later in the afternoon, the rain gradually lessened and the skies brightened. Matt was glad to see the clock on the office wall indicate closing time. His stepfather had gone home an hour earlier, so Matt unplugged the coffeepot, turned out the lights, and walked to the parking lot with their secretary and bookkeeper, Nelma.

“Nice evening,” Nelma commented.

“It is,” Matt agreed. “But what we need is good construction weather. Dry weather.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” the older lady said as she got in her car.

Matt drove to the brick house he rented. It was larger than a single guy needed, but he liked the style and the price was right. He had a back porch and a yard, an adequate kitchen and a living room where he could watch home improvement shows. He had more shows recorded than he’d ever find time to watch, but he was saving them up for winter, the slow season for construction in Michigan.

Instead of microwaving dinner or parking himself in front of the television, he went upstairs and put on his running clothes. He was often too tired for an evening run after working on-site all day, but he’d spent the afternoon behind a desk. And he had plenty of stress to burn off.

He rode his bike downtown to the waterfront, locked it in a bike rack and started a warmup jog on the asphalt path that wound along the water’s edge. Almost three miles long, it provided views of the harbor, the boat docks, a park and the bay. Across the bay, on a peninsula jutting between Bayside and Lake Huron, was Starlight Point. The roller coasters, the giant wheel and the Star Spiral dominated the skyline and provided a light show at night. He often walked, ran or biked on the path, a habit he’d developed in junior high and never outgrew.

He passed the city marina, where his stepfather had a sailboat docked. Bruce hadn’t been out on the boat this year, and Matt wondered if he’d be able to this summer. Would he live to see next summer? Each day seemed to take a greater toll. As he jogged along, Matt tried to imagine what it would feel like to be facing the end of his life and trying to leave things sorted for the people he left behind.

He picked up his pace, wishing he could outrun his problems. He’d tried outrunning the fact that his biological father spent his days in a ten-by-ten-foot prison cell, a punishment he richly deserved even though serving the sentence didn’t erase what he’d done to his family. What he’d done to his trusting wife and two young sons.

His heart hammered and his breath was short. A stitch tortured his side and one of his shoelaces started flapping. Matt made himself slow down to a walk. Put his hands on his hips and breathed deeply.

“I was going to challenge you to a race,” a voice said behind him. “But you were running as if you were trying to dodge a tornado.”

Matt turned to see Caroline, hands on her hips, catching her breath. Her long dark hair was in a ponytail and she wore a sleeveless red shirt and black shorts. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes bright. It was the first time he’d talked to her when she was not wearing a black police uniform.

“Never outran a tornado,” he said. “But I did see a waterspout on the lake once.”

“Here?” Caroline asked, gesturing at the lake.

“Just a little ways down the shore. We were at a family picnic that folded up pretty fast after that.”

“So you grew up here in Bayside?”

“I’ve lived here since I was fourteen.” He didn’t care to explain the first part of his life in a city a few hours away. “So, are you staying in shape so you can chase the bad guys?”

She laughed. “Of course. I just hope you don’t commit any crimes. I couldn’t catch up to you.”

“I don’t usually run that fast. And I can’t do it very long. It was just one of those days.”

She smiled and nodded sympathetically. “I have those days.”

Matt was afraid he was on the brink of telling her every single one of his problems. He controlled himself and did the sensible thing instead. He knelt and tied his loose shoelace.

“It was my day off,” Caroline said. “But it rained.”

“Is it better to have a rainy day off than to stand in the rain outside my construction fence?”

She shrugged. “I have a raincoat. And I’ve made friends with a huge tree that probably attracts lightning but also keeps me dry.”

“Want to run together?” Matt tried to use the same tone he might use with a friend or with his brother. Although there was something about Caroline that made him feel cautious, he knew he’d miss her company when he went home tonight.

She twirled her earbuds. “My batteries are dead, so I’d rather walk. If you’re ready for a cooldown,” she added.

“Sure.”

They fell into step together. It reminded Matt of the first time they met several weeks ago when she marched him back to his tent.

“Do you live in the employee dorms by the marina?”

“I do.”

He caught her glaring at him. She stopped and threw up her hands. “Stop it,” she said. “That’s the same look my brother gives me whenever the subject comes up.”

“He doesn’t like it?”

“He’s the fire chief at the Point and he’s sure the dorm is a big matchbox.”

Matt was relieved to see a small smile return to her face. She wasn’t mad.

“I’d be more worried about it falling down,” he said. “Have you ever looked at the roofline? It waves like a flag.”

“Maybe they built it that way,” she said, resuming her walking pace.

“Right,” Matt said. “More likely it’s sitting on unstable ground and it’s shifted here and there until you could probably shove it over with your car.”

Caroline’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “Is the ground at Starlight Point unstable?”

An odd question for her to ask. Her expression right now said investigative cop.

“It’s a peninsula on the lake. Of course there are moisture issues and sand.”

“And that contributes to the failure of a building or...other things over time?”

“Tough questions,” he said. “You’d be better off asking a soil engineer.”

They walked in silence a few minutes until they got to the parking lot at the end of the path. Matt stopped at the bike rack. “Here’s my ride,” he said.

“Mine’s over there.” Caroline pointed to an older vehicle that looked like a former police car. It didn’t have official decals, but it still had a spotlight attached to the driver door.

“Nice, huh?” she said, smiling. “I bought it at a police auction for five hundred bucks.”

He laughed. “You don’t drive that on dates, do you?”

“Not yet,” she said. She waved and walked across the lot.

“See you tomorrow,” Matt yelled.

She acknowledged him with a head bob as she climbed into her silver car. Matt watched her drive away, already looking forward to seeing her the next day at Starlight Point.

CHAPTER FIVE

IF IT HADN’T been so early in the morning and so quiet, Caroline might not have heard the crunch and the swearing. Without the luxury of air conditioning in the employee dorms, she kept her window open night and day. Her window faced the construction zone, and she considered it her responsibility to keep watch even when she wasn’t on duty.

She jumped out of bed and went to the window. A dump truck was creeping away from one of the traffic pickups parked outside the construction gate. The traffic truck wasn’t usually there. And she could see how the dump truck driver might not have seen the smaller truck as he backed through the gate. It was understandable.

The dump truck driver got out and slammed his door. Caroline watched as he walked back and inspected the front fender of the yellow traffic pickup. He pulled the hem of his work shirt loose and rubbed the paint on the fender. Looked around. Looked over his shoulder.

And got back in his truck as if nothing had happened.

Caroline took in a sharp breath and grabbed the shorts and shirt she’d worn last evening after she got off work. Slid her feet into sneakers without slowing down for socks. She grabbed her phone and raced down the stairs. The truck was making a careful three-point turn and it was obvious what the driver’s plan was.

He was fleeing the scene.

She dashed across the road and held up her hand, traffic-cop style, in front of the dump truck. The sun was just up, but she had no doubt the driver could see her. His window was down and he had one thick arm resting on the open frame. He stuck his head out the window.

“Problem, lady?”

“Yes, there is. You backed into that truck,” she said, pointing at the yellow pickup without taking her eyes off the driver.

He cocked his head and Caroline could see him thinking about a way out of it.

“Is it your truck?”

What kind of stupid question was that?

“No, it belongs to Starlight Point,” she said, trying to keep her voice cool.

“Then it’s none of your business.”

“It’s everyone’s business, especially those of us who work here.”

“Did you actually see me back into it?”

Rage bubbled up in her throat. She wanted to lie. Desperately. Wanted to say that she had seen it with her own eyes. But it wasn’t the truth. Not exactly the truth. And she was an officer of the law. She risked a glance at the damaged truck. The morning sun glinted off the yellow fender’s large dent. The bumper was crinkled and the headlight broken.

“I heard it,” she said. “And when I looked out my window, I saw you rubbing your truck’s paint off the fender. Trying to destroy evidence.”

“Maybe I was just cleaning it,” he said. “Construction zones are dirty. There wasn’t nobody in the truck, and nobody actually saw anything. You should go back to bed and let me do my job.”

Caroline put her fisted hands on her hips and shook her head. “You know what you did. I’m Officer Bennett of the Starlight Point Police Department. Step out of the truck.”

She had no badge, no gun, no uniform and no radio. All she had was tangled hair, a college T-shirt, good posture and the cop face she’d practiced in her mirror. She had no backup, but she had justice on her side. If she did nothing, some seasonal employee would be blamed for the damage to that traffic truck. Starlight Point’s insurance company would be stuck with the bill. She wasn’t standing by and letting it go.

The burly dump truck driver sat back in his seat and stared at her through his windshield. I’ve got him. He’s going to give up without a fight.

And then he laughed at her. Crossed his arms over his belly and laughed. Caroline stood her ground in the middle of the road, snapped a picture of his license plate with her phone and hit the speed dial number for Starlight Point’s police dispatcher. She relayed a quick report of a noninjury accident and gave her location so a uniformed officer could come out and write a report.

The driver stared defiantly while she called it in, and Caroline realized she was in for a long two-minute wait for someone to come over from the station. If she could arrest the driver for mocking her, she’d do it. But she would settle for busting him on leaving the scene of an accident if he tried to drive away before backup arrived.

Her indignation churned into adrenaline when the driver swung open his door and stepped out. He was twice her size and moved toward her with an ugly expression. Even if she called dispatch again and asked for emergency backup, it would still take a few minutes for anyone to arrive. Caroline had self-defense down to a science, but the truck driver had size and anger in his arsenal.

The last thing she wanted to do was back down, but she was almost considering it when she heard a loud truck right behind her on the outer loop road. Given the time of day and location, it was almost certainly a construction vehicle.

Great. Construction workers probably stick together.

The driver turned off the engine. She heard the squeaking of a window being rolled down.

“Is there a problem?” a voice behind her asked.

A familiar voice.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Matt Dunbar at the wheel of a blue pickup, his yellow hard hat in place as always, but his usual smile replaced with a look of worry. His eyes met hers for a moment as if he was assessing her.

The driver had stopped his advance, but his menacing expression and tense body language remained obvious and reminded Caroline how lucky she was Matt had come along at the right moment.

“There is a problem,” she said clearly, her words reverberating off the fence in the silent morning air. “One of your trucks backed into that parked vehicle. And the driver is trying to deny it.”

Matt’s attention swung from the pickup to Caroline and his look of concern deepened. “Anybody hurt?”

“Not yet. Just property damage,” Caroline said. She liked that his first question was about potential injuries. It was a definite mark in his favor. Arriving just in time to save her from a fight was also a giant red check in the plus column.

“Good,” he said. “Let me pull off the road and we’ll do the paperwork.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Your driver is denying it.”

Matt laughed, his tense expression replaced by something closer to his usual smile. “That man behind you is not my driver, but he is delivering stone for my project so I feel responsible for his actions. If he worked for me, I’d fire him.”

“For an accident?”

Matt shoved his hard hat back on his forehead. “I’d fire him for trying to lie his way out of it. And whatever else he was about to do. That’s not how I operate.”

“Come on,” the dump truck driver said. “That damage could have been there already. I can’t stick around all day and fill out reports. I’m supposed to be back at the quarry for another load of stone right now.”

Although it was technically her jurisdiction and she was the one standing in the middle of the road stopping traffic, Caroline waited, curious about how Matt would handle the situation.

He took off his seat belt. Got out of his truck. Stalked over so he was nose-to-nose with the driver. “You will pull off the road. You will cooperate with this police officer. Or your company will never do business with mine again.”

The hard steel in Matt’s voice made Caroline glad she wasn’t in the other man’s shoes.

“You don’t really think that girl’s a cop, do you?” the burly driver asked.

And that’s the end of my sympathy for that guy.

Caroline dialed on her phone and gave the dispatcher an update as she watched Matt reach in and take the keys out of the dump truck’s ignition.

* * *

MATT INSPECTED THE back of the dump truck. A minor dent and some yellow paint would probably not be noticed by the truck’s owner. But the yellow Starlight Point traffic pickup was not so lucky. It needed serious attention to its front corner, bumper and headlight.

Despite the relatively small section of damage, Matt knew the cost could run into the thousands. When his mother had backed into his stepfather’s car in the driveway last year, it was a similar toll.

A Starlight Point police cruiser pulled up and the chief got out. Matt waited while Caroline approached her boss and gave him a quick explanation. His day would be going a lot more smoothly right now if he were inside the gate supervising his crew as they used the stone to pack the newly poured footers for the ride. But there was no way he was going to make an enemy of anyone at Starlight Point—especially Caroline—by glossing over a serious infraction.

She was gesturing with her hands as she talked with her boss. No doubt she’d already exchanged words with the dump truck driver before he’d pulled up. What would have happened if Matt hadn’t shown up when he did? Would the other guy have continued to give Caroline a hard time? Left the scene of the accident? Or worse?

Matt had an odd sensation in his chest when he thought of Caroline facing down big burly jerks like the guy driving the dump truck. Smart and tenacious, she could take care of herself as well as anyone. But life wasn’t always fair. He’d learned that the hard way watching his father make the mistake of flouting the law.

He would never forget the day his biological father was led off in handcuffs, despite his assurances it would never happen.

Caroline usually wore her long brown hair in a tight ponytail, but her clothing and the time of day made it clear she’d just gotten out of bed. Matt pictured her flying from her bunk in the dorms to stomp out injustice. He smiled just imagining it.

Caroline glanced in his direction and he felt as if a searchlight had caught him making a prison break. He hoped she wouldn’t ask him why he was staring at her and grinning. What if she thought he was mocking her or not taking the accident seriously?

He sobered his expression. She was waving him over to talk with her and her boss. Matt crossed the road, the keys from the dump truck jingling in his shirt pocket.

“Dunbar,” the chief said. “Heard you happened along at the right time.”

Matt wondered what Caroline had told her boss about the driver’s apparent refusal to cooperate. He didn’t want to imply Caroline couldn’t have handled it herself.

“Or the wrong one,” Matt said, shaking the chief’s hand. “If I’d been here a little earlier, I might have prevented the dump truck from backing into your pickup. Wish I had.”

“That would have ruined Caroline’s fun. She hasn’t gotten to arrest anyone this season.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes at her boss. “Hey, it’s only June. Give me time.”

“If it’s okay with you,” Matt said, addressing Caroline, “I’d like to get that truck off the road. Can I pull it inside the construction fence while you write up the charming driver? It seems like a hazard on this narrow road.”

“Fine by me,” she said.

Matt started the engine while the dump truck driver leaned sullenly against the fence. The police chief inspected the yellow traffic truck while Matt drove through the gate. He stepped down from the driver’s seat and found Caroline waiting by his door.

“Thanks,” she said. “For what you did.”

“I didn’t do much,” he replied. “Just encouraged him to own up to his mistake.”

Matt held out the keys to the dump truck but Caroline shook her head.

“We’ll release him in a few minutes after we get a copy of his license and write him a ticket. He can make his trip to the quarry for more stone.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that. But he might want to trade jobs with someone and send a different truck back here,” Matt said.

“Do you have a lot more stone trucks coming in?”

Matt nodded. “Shoring up the footers for the top secret ride you probably don’t know anything about.”

Caroline smiled. “I heard they were building an office supply store here.”

“A thrilling one.”

Caroline glanced over at her boss who was writing on a clipboard while the truck driver stood there, arms crossed over his chest.

“So you already poured the concrete footers,” she said. “Are you on track with the project?”

“Almost,” Matt admitted. “There are always surprises.”

“Like remains from a previous construction on this site?”

Matt took a deep breath. Why was she asking him about that? “I’d rather not think about the past when I’m trying to make darn sure the future ride is a success.”

Caroline’s expression reminded him of cop shows on television where someone was getting interrogated in the police tank.

“You’ve seen the...uh...evidence of the old ride, the Loose Cannon,” she continued. “Was there anything that would explain the accident back in 1985?”

Did Caroline know that the company that had built the ride belonged to his stepfather’s brother? Was that why she was asking him these questions? If she didn’t know already, it wouldn’t take her very long to discover the connection. For the sake of honesty and keeping his relationship with her friendly, he should probably just tell her right now.

But he couldn’t. The story of that ride had been forbidden in his family for so long it felt strange to talk about it, especially with someone he hardly knew. Someone who seemed to have a dogged sense of justice and a love of investigation.

Might she turn up something he didn’t want to know? Not that he believed his family was covering something up, but the failure and subsequent sale of the company made him wonder. He didn’t want it dredged up, especially with his stepfather’s poor health.

“That was before I was born,” Matt said. “I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong guy.”

Caroline blew out a breath. “I keep trying to find the right person to ask, but—”

The police chief walked up and started taking pictures of the back bumper of the dump truck.

“We’ll have him out of here in a few minutes,” the chief said, “and then the insurance companies can fight about it.”

Matt handed the chief the keys to the dump truck, nodded at Caroline and walked to the open gate to wave in another truck full of stone that had just arrived. Dwelling on an old story wasn’t going to help him meet his deadlines, and Caroline’s questions made him wonder if he should try to keep his distance from her or keep her close by.

CHAPTER SIX

STARLIGHT POINT TOOK its role as the flagship business of the local community seriously, Matt thought as he ran through the park in the early morning hours. Already this summer, he had endured the Campout for Charity, purchased advance tickets for the Beer and Barbeque for Bikes event on the July Fourth weekend, and today he was running with his brother in the Starlight for Shelters 5K, a race benefiting the local homeless shelter.

The running part was easy. Turning off his brain was the challenge. Everywhere he went, Matt Dunbar saw structures that ignited his engineering imagination. The roof of the Starlight Saloon’s porch that probably didn’t slope enough for rain runoff. The authentic copper rain gutters on the train station’s passenger depot. The emergency staircase spiraling down from the ride platform on a roller coaster.

Although he was no architect, he appreciated the thought and science behind every construction decision. Loved the smell of blueprints and the feel of the paper rolled out under his fingers—even though laptops were replacing paper blueprints on construction sites.

Matt remembered the home he’d grown up in. The wide sandstone steps where his mother had taken his picture on the first day of kindergarten. He should go back there sometime, just to see the Craftsman-style house with an engineer’s eye. An adult’s eye.

When his mother had remarried, he and his brother had a much larger and finer home. His stepfather’s construction company had built it, and Matt and his brother, Lucas, had reveled in having their own rooms joined by a walk-through closet and bathroom. It was a nicer home in every way, but someday nostalgia might take him back to the place where he’d taken his first steps.

Someday. Maybe running with his brother was making him nostalgic.

“Walk break,” Lucas said, holding his side and slowing down.

Matt instantly adjusted his pace to match his younger brother’s. Their first mile had been strong and they almost kept up with the lead pack, but they had gradually slowed somewhere around the Wonderful West railroad station.

The early morning run had drawn a sizable crowd. Possibly because the entrance price for the race also included a ticket to Starlight Point for the whole day. And a very cool neon orange T-shirt with a roller coaster motif.

“Sorry,” Matt said. “I’ve been running a lot in the past year, but you’ve probably been too busy at college to run.”

“Busy,” Lucas said. “Out. Of. Shape.” He took breaths between each word and wiped his forehead with the edge of his race T-shirt. “Sorry to...slow you...down.”

“Heck, I don’t care,” Matt said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m here because it’s a good cause. They’ll get my donation whether I win or not.”

They walked along the Western Trail, shade trees blocking the morning sun. Some runners passed them, but there were other walkers around them. The race had started three hours before the park opened, and even the slowest runners would be off the course before the day’s crowds arrived.

“Thanks for paying my entrance fee,” Lucas said. “I’m thinking of volunteering at the shelter in Bayside. Maybe they need some art on their walls.”

“That would be nice. Maybe you could do a mural.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Lucas said. “I remember the white walls in that shelter where we ended up when the police locked our house and seized everything.”

Matt’s chest constricted and he risked a look at his younger brother. The brother he’d always tried to protect. “You were only five,” he said. Matt had been eleven—too old to be protected from the truth but too young to understand it. “Long time ago. And things have improved considerably for us since then.”

“No thanks to dear old Dad,” Lucas said. “If he was going to steal all that money, I wish he would’ve put some away to pay my tuition.”

“You can’t go to college on embezzled money. Besides, Bruce is covering your tuition. Just like he did mine.”

“Two years to go,” Lucas said. He cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the trail ahead of him. “I’m sure you’re worried about Bruce, too.”

Matt thought about the doctor’s prognosis that had Bruce making plans for the company’s future. His stepfather obviously believed his time was short, but Matt hoped the doctor was wrong, overly solicitous.

“It was a hard winter for him,” Matt said. “When Uncle John died, it seemed as if... I don’t know.” He almost said it seemed as if his stepfather had lost the will to live, but Matt didn’t want to think that. Not with the well-being of his mother, his brother and Bayside Construction on the line. Bruce was not a selfish man. He wouldn’t want to leave the people he cared about.

Unless he knew they were provided for.

“If things go bad with him,” Lucas asked, “what do you think will happen to the family business?”

“We talked about it, Bruce and I,” Matt admitted. “He’s worried about the future. Wants to make sure you get to finish school and Mom is set.”

“How’d we get so lucky to end up with a stepdad like him?”

“Believe me, I’ve wondered the same thing,” Matt said. “But we’ve earned his love. And his trust.”

“Does that trust include letting you take over the business?”

Matt did not want to talk about this. Not now when so much was on the line. But his brother deserved to know. They’d never held secrets from each other, each of them somehow knowing that their father’s legacy of lies ended the day he was sentenced to jail and permanently out of their lives.

“Bruce believes he has two options. Sell the business soon and invest the money for our family. Or take a chance on leaving it to me.”

Lucas sucked in a breath. “That’s a lot of pressure. But if I were him, I’d take a chance on you.”

Matt’s throat was tight. The stress of building a major project combined with wondering what the future would bring made his shoulders feel like ropes holding a wild horse. And hearing his brother’s confidence in him only made the stakes seem higher.

“I think he’d be taking a chance on us. The company will be yours, too, when you’re ready.”

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, and their breath returned to an easy rhythm.

“I could run again,” Lucas offered.

They jogged past the midway train station, the Sea Devil and along the fence at the construction zone. The five-kilometer course had started in the parking lot, wound all the way down the Starlight Point peninsula and back, and would end under a balloon arch near the marina. Bagels, bananas and a live band awaited them at the finish, but there were water stations staffed by off-duty employees along the way.

With only a half mile to go as they ran past the scrambler ride, Matt wouldn’t usually have stopped at a water station. He didn’t need a drink, but he couldn’t resist taking a cup from Caroline Bennett’s outstretched hand.

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