Suddenly, Grace catches a whiff of something that smells like a passing garbage truck, and she realizes a new threat is about to enter the hotel. She swoops down to the lobby, which is warmly lit, with Norah Jones playing over the sound system. Lizbet is at her post at the desk, perusing summer dresses on the Alice and Olivia website. Grace can hear people in the Blue Bar, chanting “Don’t! Stop! Believin’！,” which is par for the course. The disco ball dropped over an hour ago.
Everything seems to be in order, but nevertheless, Grace’s hackles are up. There’s a predator approaching.
She hears footsteps on the stairs. A figure walks through the doors of the hotel.
Really? Grace thinks. This guy?
Lizbet is so tired when she interviews Richard Decameron—a fifty-four-year-old father of three from Avon, Connecticut, who has answered her prayers and applied for the job of night auditor—that the exchange has a dreamlike quality. He arrives at the hotel at ten thirty at night, fresh off the late ferry, but he’s as ebullient and chipper as a QVC host trying to sell you the leaf blower that will change your life. He’s dressed like it’s casual Friday at the hedge-fund office, in a navy-blue spring suit, a navy-and-yellow-checked shirt, and chocolate suede Gucci loafers without socks. He has a dad bod—a bit of a paunch—and gray hair thinning on top, but his smile and his twinkling eyes are appealing. He gives Lizbet strong vibes of guys she knew in college, the fun, good-natured best friends of the hot-jock jerks everyone was in love with. Richard Decameron—he asks her to call him Richie—was the guy who actually stuck around to make sure you got in a cab after you did that last, ill-advised shot of tequila.
Lizbet prints out his résumé. He was an executive in the insurance business in Hartford for thirty years, and for the past two years, he’s been working for something called Kick City.
“This…Kick City? I’m not familiar with it,” Lizbet says.
“It’s a sneaker-broker website,” Richie says. “When athletes or rappers drop a limited-edition shoe, our brokers snap them up and resell them. I’m sure it sounds like kid stuff, but trust me, it’s big business.”
“What inspired you to make the switch?” Lizbet asks.
“I wanted a change from insurance, something with a little more sex appeal.”
“And what brings you to Nantucket?”
Richie sighs. “I’m divorced, my ex-wife has recently started dating again, the new guy lives in the same town that I do, and it got claustrophobic, so I decided to treat myself to a summer at the beach. I’m a night owl by nature, so when I saw you advertising for a night auditor, I thought I’d reach out.”
“Do you have housing?” Lizbet asks. Please say yes, she thinks. She wants a night auditor so badly, she might let Richie sleep in one of the empty rooms. （The rest of the staff would, no doubt, mutiny.）
“I’m staying at the hotel out by the airport tonight,” he says. “Tomorrow I have an appointment with a woman who’s renting a room in her home on Cliff Road.”
“Ah, wonderful. And you’re familiar with FreshBooks? You’ll be fully responsible for preparing guest invoices…”
“I have all kinds of systems-software experience,” Richie says. “I’m a numbers guy. I was a math major at UConn back in the day.” He pumps a fist. “Go Huskies!”
She likes his energy, especially so late at night. “How comfortable are you with guest interaction?”
“I talk to everyone. My kids find it embarrassing.”
“How old are your kids?” Lizbet is asking just to be polite. She’s going to hire this guy.
“Kingsley is thirteen, Crenshaw is eleven, and Millbrook is eight.” He pulls out his phone. “Here’s a picture of our family in happier times.”
Grace hovers above so that she can scrutinize the photo. There’s a slightly younger version of Richie posing next to a pretty brunette with three smiling children arranged in front of them. There’s a river, a waterwheel, trees aflame with color—it’s autumn. The youngest child is holding a basket of apples.
This family looks happy. Grace notices Richie’s hand trembling ever so slightly as he gives the phone to Lizbet, who beams at the photo. Is she, like Grace, wondering what happened to the marriage?
“Will your children get a chance to visit Nantucket this summer?” Lizbet asks.
“Haven’t gotten that far yet,” Richie says. “I’m just trying to get a viable situation in place.”