Read Trouble Vision for Free Online Page B

so long, Clara thought she might actually agree. She really wasn’t surprised, however, when her cousin said quietly, “You know we can’t do that.”
    “Yes, I do.” As if to convince herself, Clara pressed her foot farther down on the accelerator. The sooner they got this over with, the better.
    It took several minutes to track down the owner of the Searock Inn. The quiet-spoken woman behind the front desk seemed reluctant to notify him that someone wanted to speak with him. She kept smoothing back a lock of her straight blonde hair from her forehead, while her startling blue eyes looked everywhere but directly at the cousins. “I don’t know where he is,” she insisted when Clara again asked to see him. “He’s never in one place for very long.”
    “I assume he has a cell,” Clara said, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. “Call him on that.”
    The blonde’s gaze wandered up to the chandelier hanging over the entrance. “He doesn’t like salespeople. You’ll have to talk to the manager.”
    “We’re not salespeople.” Clara exchanged a glance with a worried-looking Stephanie. “We’re here on personal business.”
    The receptionist met Clara’s gaze for the first time. “You’re family?”
    “Not exactly.” Clara hesitated. “Look, just tell him that a couple of sympathizers want to talk to him.”
    Creases appeared in the young woman’s forehead. “Sympathizers?”
    “He’ll know what that means.”
    With doubt written all over her face, the receptionist picked up the phone and dialed. Seconds later, a sour-faced man with a partially bald head and a beer belly hanging over his belt barreled through a rear door and charged into the foyer.
    “Who are you and what do you want?” he barked, sending Stephanie back a nervous step or two.
    Clara was happy to note she was taller than Lionel Hampton by at least two inches. Sometimes earning the high school nickname of “Lofty” had its advantages. “We’d like a private word with you, sir,” she said, trying to sound forceful.
    Lionel’s gaze darted from her to Stephanie and back again. “What it’s about?”
    “It’s about the construction on the bluff.”
    Clara’s heart thumped as Lionel’s brown eyes bore into hers. Finally, he nodded and beckoned as he turned away. “Come on.”
    Stephanie’s face looked drawn as she followed her cousin behind the counter and through the rear door. Lionel led them down a narrow hallway and into an office stuffed with papers, files, books and an assortment of coffee mugs scattered about the room. A globe on a stand, covered in cobwebs, stood in one corner. Apparently Lionel didn’t have his office cleaned too often.
    The owner grunted as he squeezed behind the desk in the corner and lowered himself onto a chair. “Now, what’s this all about? I’m a busy man, so make it short.”
    Clara had rehearsed her speech the moment she’d climbed out of bed that morning. She’d learned from past experience that it helped to have her questions locked into her mind. That way, she could fire them off without giving the other person time to think too long about the answers.
    “We’re doing a survey of people’s opinions,” she said, giving Lionel an expansive smile. “I understand you’re not in favor of the project.”
    Lionel’s face was creased in suspicion. “So what?”
    “We’d like to know your reasons.”
    Scowling, Lionel leaned forward, his fingers gripped together in front of him. “My reasons are the same as everyone else’s in this town: we don’t need the traffic, the congestion, the destruction of our scenic highway, or the problems a dump like that will create.”
    Clara widened her smile. “The resort can hardly be called a dump, Mr. Hampton. From what I hear, it will be a very upscale, expensive establishment, bringing lots of money into the town.”
    Lionel’s dark brows drew together in a fierce line. “We don’t need that kind of money. Finn’s Harbor has