Read Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 04 - Any Port in a Storm for Free Online Page A

ignored my own question.
    I collected the folder that had my measurements of the house I’d just been to and walked into Harry’s house.
    “Ahoy, Jolie.”
    I dropped the folder. Aunt Madge was sitting in one of Harry’s office chairs.
    “Whoa. Am I in the wrong house?” I looked for Harry as I picked up the folder, but he wasn’t in our joint office.
    She smiled serenely. “Harry and I have a date for a milkshake.” She knew this was the first time she had said the word ‘date’ in reference to Harry, and she was enjoying the look on my face too much.
    “Did you want company on your date?” I asked.
    “That’s a definite no thank you.” Harry had walked in.
    Aunt Madge stood. “We’re going to walk into Newhart’s holding hands.”
    “That’ll be a scandal,” I said, and as soon as they left I called George and told him to meet me at Java Jolt instead. There’s only so much I can deal with when it comes to Aunt Madge’s blossoming love life.
     
    GEORGE HAD SPREAD one of the small tourist maps on the table in front of us and I was trying not to spill my iced tea on it. Joe Regan had made a point to bring me my iced tea instead of me fetching it from him, and George had covered the map with his hand. Joe was now half-sulking behind his counter.
    George jabbed a spot on the map. “A red X means a real estate agent found something left behind, like a beer can. A blue X means they think someone was there because the toilet paper is gone or a screen is torn, but nothing was left.”
    “How could they be getting in so many places?” I mused.
    George shrugged. “If a house doesn’t have an alarm it’s not that hard, not for the beach cottages anyway. Most of them were built long before people thought much about security.”
    I looked at the map again. The locations were all within walking distance of the center of town. Some would be a longer walk than others, but none were in any of the neighborhoods just off the highway that leads into town. “Looks like they probably don’t have a car,” I said.
    “Likely kids. Could be some of the homeless group that sleeps on the beach on the far edge of town. I could ask Josh and Max. I think they’re still in town,” George said.
    I nodded slowly. Josh plays bongo drums on the boardwalk and Max is his sidekick. In truth, Josh is almost Max’s caregiver, and Max will tell anyone that Josh is an Army vet. I thought them more likely to talk to Scoobie than George, but held my tongue.
    “All those guys usually head south about mid-October or so.” George continued. “If it stops then, that’ll tell us whether it’s any of them.”
    “My guess is high school kids,” I said, and pointed to the high school on the map. “Look, the houses radiate out from the high school, almost like bicycle spokes.”
    “Yeah, you’re right.” He traced a spot from the high school almost to Aunt Madge’s. “They’re getting closer to the B&B,” he said.
    “I can’t believe they’d be that methodical,” I frowned. “But I still don’t get how they are getting in.”
    He snorted. “Hell, Jolie,” George looked around and lowered his voice. “I have a set of lock picks.” He saw my expression. “Not that I use them for anything illegal.”
    “If he does he wears gloves. Good day, me beauty.” Scoobie pretended to take off a pirate hat, bowed, and then slid into a chair across from George. We had been so intent about the map I hadn’t seen him come in.
    “Got you out of a jam once,” George said.
    I have finally realized that Scoobie and George know each other pretty well, but it took me awhile to get that. I never asked how well, or even what they did or do besides go to some of the twelve step meetings together. “Like when?” I asked.
    “Forget it,” Scoobie said, and scowled at George.
    “I think I’ve seen someone else that Alicia’s hanging out with,” Scoobie said, “but I don’t have a name.”
    George pulled his stubby pencil from the