Return to Osprey Cove

by Luisa Marietta Gold

  "This afternoon at 1:00 PM. Mr. Castlebury seems anxious to get it on the market. He says he's leaving Puerto Vallarta."

  "Well, let me know as soon as you get back from your meeting with him."

  . . .

  As soon as Doug hung up from Tim, Isabella brought his breakfast out to the terrace. Thankfully, there were no signs of the dark sedan since Doug had returned home. He hoped it stayed that way until he could get out of Puerto Vallarta.

  "Isabella, would you sit down with me for a few minutes. There is something that I need to discuss with you."

  "Yes, Mr. Castlebury."

  Isabella sat across from Doug at the table there on the terrace.

  "Isabella, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I need to sell the villa and leave Puerto Vallarta. I hope to get it on the market today. I may move out even before it sells. I would like you to stay working at the villa until it sells, even after I move out. We will need to keep it in good order so that it will show well to potential buyers. You won't need to be here as many hours after I move out, but I will keep you at the same salary until it sells. I am telling you this now so that you can start looking for another position. I have been more than pleased with your work. I will give you the highest recommendation to any future employer."

  "I am sorry you have to move, Mr. Castlebury. I have enjoyed working for you. I will miss you. Thank you for telling me now. I will start to look for another job. But I will be happy to take care of the villa until it sells, as you ask."

  "Thank you, Isabella. That is all I wanted to tell you. You can go back to your work. Thank you for breakfast. It looks delicious."

  . . .

  Tim came by promptly at 1:00 PM for his listing appointment with Doug at The Villa Castlebury. He did not have to give much of a listing sales pitch; Doug could hardly wait to sign on the dotted line. He made it clear to Tim that he wanted the villa listed and on the market ASAP. He also told him that he would be moving out almost immediately. Isabella would be at the villa keeping it presentable and allowing entrance to potential buyers.

  Tim left The Villa Castlebury ecstatic. He could hardly believe that he had the opportunity to list this expensive property after just selling it to Doug and making the huge commission on it. He got back to the office beaming. Jason immediately recognized that the listing appointment had been a success. He was as happy as Tim. He planned to do his best to get his new clients, the Harrodsons, whom he had just taken on an overview, to schedule an appointment to view the property.

  While Tim worked on getting the listing up and running in the computer system, Jason tried phoning the Harrodsons but got no answer.

  "Max, your phone just rang, why didn't you answer?"

  "It was Riviera Real Estate. Jason probably wants to show us property. I'm surprised he hasn't been hassling us more since we haven't gotten back to him. I don't want to have to deal with him right now. We have to figure out a new plan to get me into the villa. Have you got any ideas?"

  "I've been trying to think of something, Max; I really have. But I haven't come up with anything. We have to think of a reason for him to spend time with just me."

  "The only thing I've thought about, I'm not sure you are going to be too keen about."

  "And what is that -- I'm almost afraid to ask?"

  "Well, we know from our social media research that Doug likes parasailing. I could call him and ask him for a favor. I could tell him one of the things you had your heart set on doing here in Puerto Vallarta was to go parasailing. But I can't go with you because of some fear of heights or whatever. We can ask him if parasailing is something that he has done here in Puerto Vallarta and if he would be willing to go with you. What do you think?"

  "Parasailing? Really, Max? I'm the one that doesn't handle heights too well."

  "I know, Eva, that's why I haven't mentioned it until now. But it's the only thing I have come up with so far. Let's both think about it for a while. Maybe we'll come up with something else."

  "Okay, sounds fair enough. Max, I hate to ask, but I was looking through the excursion pamphlets at the concierge desk. They have a snorkeling excursion that sounds like fun. Do you think we could take a day off today and go on it?"

  Max smiled at his wife. She had an expression on her face of a small child asking her parent to go somewhere -- full of doubt that the request would be granted.

  "I don't see why not. In fact, we may have a better chance of getting Doug to agree to the parasailing idea if we give him a couple of days to recover from his ordeal with the hijacking. He seemed to be still shaken up about it at dinner."

  "I noticed that, too. Well, who wouldn't be? He must have been in bad shape when the man found him if he took him to the hospital and they admitted him overnight."

  "Okay, then," Max said, "let's get changed and go down to the concierge and book a snorkeling excursion."

  "Did I ever tell you that you are the greatest husband, Max?"

  "I think you may have mentioned it once or twice, but I never get tired of hearing it!"

  . . .

  After Tim left the villa, Doug immediately set to work continuing his search for a new place to move. He was immediately attracted to Aruba. It appeared to be the ideal place for water sports, including diving. It also was known for its excellent restaurants and nightlife. And most important, Doug would not have to give up his double latte every morning -- Starbucks was in Aruba!

  It also appeared that he could probably get a luxury oceanfront property there for much less than the $10 million he had paid for The Villa Castlebury. He knew he had to scale back after the tragic loss of the diamonds.

  Now that the villa was listed and Isabella was on hand to care for it, he decided to book the first available flight to Oranjestad. He had brought nothing with him to Puerto Vallarta except his clothes. Packing up to leave would be a simple task. The only other thing he had to pack was the scuba gear he had purchased. He managed to get that into his suitcases. Some of the more fragile items, he put in his carry-on. He had nothing else to coordinate before leaving. He said goodbye to Isabella and wished her well. He told her he would keep in touch with her while she was caring for the villa. He had to get out of Puerto Vallarta before whoever was stalking him took action. He had no intention of returning to Puerto Vallarta. He had given Tim a power of attorney to act for him at closing. He would not even have to return when the villa sold.

  He had arranged a flight early the next day, so the night was spent packing up his suitcases. Of course, there was one expensive-looking leather bag that came with him to Puerto Vallarta that would not be leaving with him.

  He called a taxi the next morning and left for the airport at 6:00 AM.

  . . .

  Max and Eva had a great time on the snorkeling excursion except for the fact that they both got too much sun. But they woke up the next day ready to get back to the task of getting back the diamonds. Eva finally agreed to the parasailing plan for lack of a better idea. It would certainly provide plenty of time for Max to enter the villa. They just needed to coordinate the hours of operation of the parasailing hut with when Isabella would be away from the villa.

  While they were getting dressed, Max's phone rang. He saw that it was Jason from Riviera Real Estate calling again. He decided to take the call and deal with it. He would just tell him they were not ready this trip to proceed with buying in Puerto Vallarta.

  "Hello, Jason, how are you?"

  "I'm doing fine, thank you. In fact, I have some great news for you! Do you remember the last property I pointed out to you, The Villa Castlebury? I had explained that it had been bought by an American for $10 million and was one of our finest properties."

  Max was wondering where this conversation was going. "Yes, I remember it well."

  "Well, Mr. Harrodson, the property was just listed yesterday afternoon. I can get you in to see it today. What time would you like to set up an appointment?"

  Max's face went pale. Eva immediately knew so
mething had happened. She couldn't imagine what Jason could have said to have created this reaction in her husband.

  Max was at a loss for words. There were too many thoughts running through his head.

  "Well, I'll have to check with my wife. I'm surprised about it being for sale so soon. I thought I had heard you say that the owner had just bought it recently."

  "Yes, that's true. I don't know the circumstances, but the owner is leaving Puerto Vallarta. In fact, he is moving before it sells."

  Max thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to adapt to this new circumstance.

  "Well, perhaps we will go ahead and schedule a viewing of the property," Max replied, "How about in about an hour?"

  Jason was smiling through the phone. "That's perfect. Shall I meet you at the property?"

  "Yes, we will meet you there at 10:00 AM."

  "See you there, Mr. Harrodson."

  By this time, Eva was overcome with curiosity and concern about what Jason had told Max.

  "What's going on, Max?"

  "We have an appointment at 10:00 AM to see The Villa Castlebury."

  "WHAT?"

  "My sentiments exactly. Your guess is as good as mine, Eva. Jason just said Mr. Castlebury was leaving Puerto Vallarta, probably before the villa sells."

  "What do you think happened? Do you think he is on to us, Max?"

  "I don't see how. It could be he was so shaken up about the hijacking that he just wants to get out of Mexico. Maybe he just doesn't feel safe here anymore."

  "I suppose that's a possibility. But why did you schedule an appointment to see the villa?"

  "What we don't know now is how long Doug will be here and how long the diamonds will be here -- if, in fact, they were here in the first place. If we get inside, maybe somehow we will get a clue as to what time frame we have before he leaves."

  "This is bizarre, Max."

  "It's certainly not working out like we planned. Well, get dressed, we need to meet Jason there in an hour."

  Jason was at the villa waiting for Max and Eva. In fact, he was inside and greeted them at the door. He had all the lights turned on inside the villa and soft music playing in the background. He was ready to make a sale.

  Max and Eva greeted Jason and played the role of interested home buyers while watching and looking for opportunities to gather more information about Doug. They showed particular interest in the master bedroom. When they opened the master closet, they saw that it was empty. Eva purposely opened the bathroom drawers to see if there were any personal products -- there were not. In the bedroom itself, Max questioned whether all the furniture was staying. He opened the drawers of the dressers feigning interest -- they were also empty. He then seized the opportunity to ask more questions.

  "It looks like the owner may have moved out already?"

  "Yes, I just found out from the housekeeper that he left this morning. I was surprised myself. He hadn't mentioned to me yesterday when I listed it exactly when he would be leaving. He had only said he might move out before it sells. But that is good news for the buyer. There could be a quick closing and occupancy once the financing is arranged."

  As Jason spoke these words, he was hoping for a response that would show further interest in both the property and the fact that they could take possession of it quickly.

  The last thing that Max and Eva were expecting was that Doug had left already. Something sounded strange. It did appear like he was running -- getting out of 'Dodge' as fast as he could. But why? He couldn't have known that they were after the diamonds.

  Chapter Forty-seven

  NEW YORK

  The next two weeks at work flew by for Catherine. The interviewing process only took a couple of days as she had anticipated. She hired an extremely qualified young woman, Madelaine Carson, who had held a similar position at another, less prestigious, marketing firm. She was thrilled with the opportunity to come to work for Raynott. And Catherine was happy to have found someone with her experience that could step right in and take over the job with little handholding. This was especially important since Catherine would be out on leave for the next few months.

  Catherine's last day of work was bittersweet. There were lots of hugs and kisses and well wishes. Catherine was excited to be leaving for The Osprey, but somehow she felt even if she returned to Raynott, things would never be quite the same. She also knew that depending on her final decision after the baby was born, she may never return to Raynott. This could really be goodbye.

  The office held a baby shower luncheon for her in one of the conference rooms complete with a fabulous cake and decorations. Instead of gifts they gave her a generous gift certificate at one of the city's baby stores. Catherine was grateful for the wisdom behind a gift certificate instead of a lot of presents since she did not know where she would be living after the baby was born.

  Saying goodbye to Jill was especially difficult for Catherine. They were friends as well as boss and secretary. Catherine promised she would keep in touch with her. Jack had made it clear to Catherine that she should not worry about phoning into Raynott during her leave. And he promised he would not be calling her back to the office as he had done when she was on vacation in Saint Martin.

  Catherine did not tell anyone at the office where she would be spending her time during her leave. She knew no one would understand why she would be going to The Osprey Cove Lodge.

  The next day, Catherine called Mary, her cleaning lady, and went over all the details of what she was to do during her absence. Included in her instructions was that of getting rid of the leather carry-on bag filled with Doug's clothes. After calling Mary, Catherine proceeded to add the final few things to her bags. She would be leaving for the airport early the next morning. She was looking forward to having Alex meet her at the airport and drive her to the lodge.

  THE OSPREY COVE LODGE

  Catherine woke up her first morning in the master bedroom of the the owner's quarters at The Osprey Cove Lodge. She immediately walked over to the large window that overlooked the lake and pulled back the draperies. The cove was waking up to a new day. The sun was rising above the water. Catherine sat down in a chair by the window and watched the sun slowly rise in the sky on the horizon across the water. She felt like her life was also starting a new day. The storm clouds of days gone by were passed.

  Catherine was glad she had returned to The Osprey Cove Lodge. Her return held a promise of new beginnings, of new memories, and of new happiness.

  She tore herself away from the almost mesmerizing spell the view out the window was holding on her. She got dressed and went down the stairs to the dining room. She made her way to the corner table which offered yet another view of the beautiful new day. As she stared out onto the cove, she heard a voice behind her say,

  "Excuse me, but is this seat taken?"

  The smile that Catherine and Alex shared over these familiar words spoke volumes. The smile spoke of the hope each of them had for new beginnings in their lives that Catherine's return to The Osprey Cove Lodge had made possible.

  Epilogue

  TEXAS

  It was a cold December night in the small Texas town that Emma and Will called home. But it was anything but cold in their small ranch home at the end of the cul-de-sac. They peeked in the doorway of the nursery they had so lovingly decorated and found their precious baby girl, Mary Catherine, fast asleep. It had been just a week since they brought her home from the hospital. Everyone thought she looked just like Emma. Emma wasn't so sure; she saw a lot of Will in her, too. Surely, as she grew, she would resemble both of them. Catherine was the first person they called when their daughter was born, even before their parents. The only thing that would have made the day even more special for them would have been if Catherine could have been there. At least their Skype conversations allowed Catherine to see the baby, and Emma could see Catherine blossoming in her pregnancy.

  PUERTO VALLARTA

  Max and Eva sat on the terrace admiring the beaut
iful view of the Bay of Banderas at The Villa Castlebury drinking their morning coffee. The view was quite different from the view from their former Central Park apartment. Max had come through on his promise to buy Eva a place in Puerto Vallarta even though they had not recovered the diamonds. They both felt it was time for a change. Max never was happy with his executive job, and Eva was only too glad to leave behind her decorating business.

  They hardly ever discussed the diamonds anymore. The safe in the library came in quite handy for a few items that Max and Eva brought with them -- things they had collected in their extracurricular activities over the years that would enable them to live comfortably in their new life. On the few occasions when they did discuss the diamonds, they could not come up with what seemed like a good explanation for Doug's quick departure from Puerto Vallarta other than his hijacking experience. They guessed they would never know for sure. They came to grips with the fact that they would never see their diamonds again. And they were okay with that, at least for now.

  Isabella came out on the terrace with their breakfast. There was no one happier than Isabella that they had purchased the villa. Well, perhaps there were two other happy people -- Jason and Tim from Riviera Real Estate!

  ARUBA

  When Doug arrived in Oranjestad, Aruba, he had no doubt that he had found his next home. The city seemed alive and teeming with activity. He could hardly wait to explore. He went on a Harley Davidson bike tour of the island his first day on the island. Most people in Doug's situation would have taken things slow. They would have rented for a while before purchasing a property in a place that they had never been to before. But Doug -- never patient, always impulsive -- was out looking at property the day after his bike tour. Within three short weeks, he was sitting on the terrace of his new villa overlooking the clear blue Caribbean water enjoying a rum punch that his newly-hired housekeeper/cook named Brooke had made for him.