frowned at her refection in the mirror. “Yeah, it is a little chilly in here.”
Although the temperature in the room actually resembled that of a sauna, Tara and I remained fully clothed for the entire hour. The class was fairly intense for a beginners’ group, but as far as I was concerned it was still fun. Poor Tara, though, looked like she was going to die by the time our instructor called for us to begin our cooldown. I hoped Tara would stick with the class this time around. I’d tried to get her to commit to a regular exercise routine in the past, but every time we registered for a class Tara would end up with an excuse to quit before we even began.
“Wonderful job,” our instructor, Bitzy Biner, who looked like an airbrushed Barbie doll, complimented us as the class began to break up. “I hope you both enjoyed yourselves and plan to return.”
“I had a good time,” I said, though I was pretty sure Tara was too winded to speak. “I think Tara and I can fit two mornings a week into our schedules.”
My friend didn’t say anything, but I was willing to bet that if she could, she’d offer a counter to my statement.
“I heard you were the one who found Keith Weaver’s body,” Bitzy added.
“Yes. Unfortunately, I stumbled over him while Tara and I were taking a look at the cannery. It’s such a shame.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Bitzy shrugged. “Most of the folks who showed up at the meeting last night seemed to think that Keith’s death wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.”
“Meeting?” I asked.
“The show-and-tell seminar about the condo development Bill Powell is proposing,” Bitzy explained. “Most everyone seemed to think Keith Weaver was intent on blocking the project before it ever got off the ground. Personally, I’d like to see some affordable housing on the island.”
I frowned. “I thought the scuttlebutt was that Keith had changed his mind and decided to support the project. I heard he planned to help push it through the island council.”
“That’s not what people were saying last night. Bill Powell wanted us all to think the project was a slam dunk so those of us who were interested in buying the units would put down deposits, but behind the scenes the chatter was contradictory at best. More than one person there told me that Keith had made a move to stop last night’s meeting from even happening. It seems he was in possession of some pretty compelling evidence that the island’s current infrastructure would never hold up with all the new units. The general feeling in the room seemed to suggest that if Keith hadn’t died, the entire project would have been dead in the water.”
“Bill Powell was trying to get people to put money down on the units even though the project hasn’t been approved yet?”
“Yup. And there were people lining up with their checkbooks out. Bill is offering some sort of a discount to anyone who commits in the next few days. I don’t have all the details, but I suppose if you’re interested you could ask that handsome district manager from the bank.”
“Mr. Bradford was at the meeting?” I asked.
“Yeah, he was there representing the bank. I guess they’re backing the project, so he was there to talk to people about financing.”
I frowned. I suppose it made sense that the bank would provide the funding, but something felt off about the whole thing.
Bitzy wandered away to speak to other class members, and Tara and I made our way out to my car. “Didn’t you say Kim told you that Keith had decided to back Bill’s project?” I asked her as she slid into the passenger seat.
“That’s what Kim told me, but I guess she was wrong.”
“I feel like something isn’t adding up. We need to speak to Kim again. If Keith was against the project we have an entirely different set of suspects than if he supported it.”
Tara pulled her sweatband off and tossed it in her gym bag. “Why do you even care who the
Although the temperature in the room actually resembled that of a sauna, Tara and I remained fully clothed for the entire hour. The class was fairly intense for a beginners’ group, but as far as I was concerned it was still fun. Poor Tara, though, looked like she was going to die by the time our instructor called for us to begin our cooldown. I hoped Tara would stick with the class this time around. I’d tried to get her to commit to a regular exercise routine in the past, but every time we registered for a class Tara would end up with an excuse to quit before we even began.
“Wonderful job,” our instructor, Bitzy Biner, who looked like an airbrushed Barbie doll, complimented us as the class began to break up. “I hope you both enjoyed yourselves and plan to return.”
“I had a good time,” I said, though I was pretty sure Tara was too winded to speak. “I think Tara and I can fit two mornings a week into our schedules.”
My friend didn’t say anything, but I was willing to bet that if she could, she’d offer a counter to my statement.
“I heard you were the one who found Keith Weaver’s body,” Bitzy added.
“Yes. Unfortunately, I stumbled over him while Tara and I were taking a look at the cannery. It’s such a shame.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Bitzy shrugged. “Most of the folks who showed up at the meeting last night seemed to think that Keith’s death wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.”
“Meeting?” I asked.
“The show-and-tell seminar about the condo development Bill Powell is proposing,” Bitzy explained. “Most everyone seemed to think Keith Weaver was intent on blocking the project before it ever got off the ground. Personally, I’d like to see some affordable housing on the island.”
I frowned. “I thought the scuttlebutt was that Keith had changed his mind and decided to support the project. I heard he planned to help push it through the island council.”
“That’s not what people were saying last night. Bill Powell wanted us all to think the project was a slam dunk so those of us who were interested in buying the units would put down deposits, but behind the scenes the chatter was contradictory at best. More than one person there told me that Keith had made a move to stop last night’s meeting from even happening. It seems he was in possession of some pretty compelling evidence that the island’s current infrastructure would never hold up with all the new units. The general feeling in the room seemed to suggest that if Keith hadn’t died, the entire project would have been dead in the water.”
“Bill Powell was trying to get people to put money down on the units even though the project hasn’t been approved yet?”
“Yup. And there were people lining up with their checkbooks out. Bill is offering some sort of a discount to anyone who commits in the next few days. I don’t have all the details, but I suppose if you’re interested you could ask that handsome district manager from the bank.”
“Mr. Bradford was at the meeting?” I asked.
“Yeah, he was there representing the bank. I guess they’re backing the project, so he was there to talk to people about financing.”
I frowned. I suppose it made sense that the bank would provide the funding, but something felt off about the whole thing.
Bitzy wandered away to speak to other class members, and Tara and I made our way out to my car. “Didn’t you say Kim told you that Keith had decided to back Bill’s project?” I asked her as she slid into the passenger seat.
“That’s what Kim told me, but I guess she was wrong.”
“I feel like something isn’t adding up. We need to speak to Kim again. If Keith was against the project we have an entirely different set of suspects than if he supported it.”
Tara pulled her sweatband off and tossed it in her gym bag. “Why do you even care who the
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