Fate Interrupted: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Moonstone Cove Book 3)

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “Well of course.” Mrs. Vink rose and motioned to the door. “I have lunch in ten minutes, so I could show you around a bit. Enough for some pictures anyway. You understand I’ll have to check your references and all those formalities before I can make you an offer for the assistant housekeeping manager position?”

  Which will show up as completely false, so we’d better get a move on!

  “Oh, of course,” Megan said. “Could we walk around the gardens? My mama is a big gardener.” Megan decided to add some honey. “Why, this time of year, her whole yard smells of magnolia blossoms and gardenias.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  “She lives out in the country. Never had much education, but I think that’s why she valued ours so very much.”

  Mrs. Vink was into it. She frowned and nodded thoughtfully. “I think that’s often the way it is. We value that which was unattainable in our own lives.”

  “I think so.” Lord, her mother would be giving her the stink eye in her Georgetown alumni sweater if she ever heard Megan in that moment.

  They walked out of the building and into the garden courtyard that overlooked a rocky bend of the Central Coast shoreline. Dolphin Cove was known for two reasons: the incredible whale watching off the point and the immaculate Mediterranean gardens terraced from the hill when the resort had been built in the 1930s as a luxury Mediterranean getaway for a rich industrialist from Los Angeles.

  The two arms of the hotel hugged the coastline, and gardens flowed down the hills below. The formal pool was central and bordered by long fountains running north and south of the garden, lined by sculpted bronze dolphins spouting water from their mouths.

  Megan chattered while she talked, flattering and questioning in equal measure as she led Mrs. Vink closer to the wrought-iron-and-glass greenhouses she could see in the distance.

  Megan had nearly gotten away with it when Mrs. Vink put a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, but that’s as far as we can go. Much of the garden is being renovated in that area, so it’s really not safe for us to explore there.”

  “Oh, I see. Of course.” Megan smiled. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “I really must get to my lunch. Ms. Calvo, the owner, is very conscientious of employees taking enough time for breaks during the day. She’s an excellent employer.”

  “That’s wonderful to know. Do you mind if I just wander a bit more down the point? I’d love to see if I could spot some whales or dolphins. I haven’t seen either yet.”

  Mrs. Vink hesitated.

  “I promise I’ll stick to the paths,” she said. “Heaven knows I don’t want to be falling over that edge.”

  “Of course.” Mrs. Vink waved a hand. “Guests can wander down there, so I’m sure it’ll be fine if you do. If anyone asks if you’re staying here” —her voice dropped— “just tell them you’re having drinks at the restaurant.”

  “Right.” Megan winked at her. “I sure will.”

  “Okay! Well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.” Courtney Vink waved and turned back to the house while Megan kept on the path that led out to the point. She didn’t need to walk down to the cliffs that overlooked the ocean; she needed to check out the greenhouses south of the hotel. But it made far more sense to walk down to the point and then cut back through the cypress trees rather than make a straight shot for the greenhouses.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

  You in? It was Nico.

  I’m wandering in the gardens for a while, she texted back. Finally on my own. I’ll have to sneak back to the greenhouses in a bit.

  The fog is going to start coming in. Be careful along the point.

  It was only two in the afternoon. How thick could the fog get at two?

  I’ll be careful.

  Nico worried too much. Megan kept walking, past the eucalyptus trees and through an alley of cypress shooting up from the rocky coastline.

  She poked her head over the edge, marveling at the deep blue waves crashing on the beach far below and the distant sliver of sand in the curve of the shoreline.

  Won’t be seeing surfers on that stretch. The waves looked absolutely brutal.

  While Moonstone Cove was a pleasant—if freezing—recreational shoreline, Dolphin Cove belonged to the wild. There was nothing on the beach below but seals and the promise of playful porpoises in the surf.

  Megan turned and started back toward the garden, walking along the edge of the trees to conceal her position. The light grew dim as the afternoon fog came in, just as Nico had warned.

  She quickly texted Nico. Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, it really does roll in.

  We’ll talk about buttering your butt later. Be careful along that bluff.

  Seemingly from one moment to the next, the coastline around Dolphin Cove was blanketed in thick grey mist. The sun was still high in the sky, and she could see it shining dimly through the heavy shroud.

  Megan decided she could walk faster. After all, if she could barely see anything, neither could anyone else. She kept to the trees and hiked back toward the gardens along the ridge trail, coming at the greenhouses from the back of the estate. When she spotted the cloudy grey glass of the old greenhouses, she texted Nico.

  I see them. Now to break in.

  Brute strength, remember, Atlanta?

  “Brute strength.” She took a deep breath and raised her hands, only to have the wind knocked out of her by a blow to the back that pounded her facedown into the rocky ground. She felt her lip split open and rolled over, quickly dodging another blow from a large wooden plank wielded by Angela Calvo.

  “I don’t think we had an appointment to meet today.” Angela pretended to look at her watch. “I guess that means it’s time for you to go.”

  Chapter 27

  No matter which way she rolled, Angela seemed to meet Megan with a pummeling blow. She scrambled toward the shelter of a cypress tree, ducking under the low-hanging, heavy branches that blocked the swing of the other woman’s plank.

  “Do you lift weights?” Angela asked casually.

  Megan scurried from one tree under another. “Do I what?”

  “Do you lift?” Angela was almost conversational as she stabbed the thick, low branches Megan was hiding behind. “It’s so important for women as we age.”

  “Yeah, I enjoy a good dance class” —Megan scrambled back, only to find herself losing her footing on the pebble-strewn ground along the edge of the bluff— “but I’m not a big weight lifter.” If only she could get Angela to hold still. She’d love to yank that board right out of her hand, but it was hard to aim her energy when the target was moving so quickly. It wasn’t like a car or a wall or a post. Angela was fast and unpredictable.

  A jab through the tree branches caught Megan’s shoulder. “Fuck!”

  “That’s not very ladylike,” Angela said. “I have to say, I underestimated you and your friends.”

  “Is this all because of your sister?”

  “My sister’s life was ruined because of you three women.”

  Megan crawled right into a dense hedge of dried bushes, scratching her legs, arms, and face as she fought her way out of the direct line of Angela’s attack. She pushed her energy out in front of her, trying to clear a tunnel through the dense wild shrubbery.

  The ploy seemed to work. She could hear Angela turning in circles and poking random tree branches and bushes near where she’d been hiding.

  “Your sister tried to kill people,” Megan shouted. “And she didn’t care because she was going to make millions on a meditation app. There’s a word for that, and it’s psychopath.”

  “So?” Angela rushed toward the bushes where Megan’s voice was coming from and stabbed into the brush. “She’s a scientist. All scientific studies have dangers. The students agreed to that in the beginning.”

  Megan broke through the line of shrubs and finally made it to her feet. She looked for a weapon—any weapon—and her eyes fell on a rake handle that had seen bette
r days.

  Better than nothing.

  She grabbed it and turned to face Angela on the pathway next to the greenhouses. A scant five feet on the other side of the path, the bluff gave way and a steep, rocky hillside led nearly straight down to the waves of the Pacific.

  Megan glanced at the fog-shrouded ground that led to death and backed away, while Angela Calvo stalked her up the path.

  “Alicia worked very hard to build her reputation. Just like Whit planned very carefully to get those beautiful wine caves. And both times, I hear that three middle-aged housewives from a stupid little town in the middle of nowhere spoiled their plans.”

  The woman’s hair was pulled back into a smooth ponytail at her neck, and her fitted taupe pantsuit was barely mussed. She was holding the cedar plank she’d used on Megan. She didn’t look angry, she looked incredulous. “You’re nobodies.”

  “And you think you have the right to play with other people, kill, and steal to get what you want?” Megan asked. “Who do you think you are?”

  “Angela Calvo.” Her eyes were wide and dead inside. “Obviously. And nobody tells me what I can and can’t have. Especially not a nobody from Moonstone Cove.”

  They were close enough to the building now. The only question was if Megan could control the collapse enough to pin Angela to the ground and not send her over the cliff. She felt for the energy around the greenhouse. It was metal and glass, nothing as easy to manipulate as rock or trees.

  Too late to debate.

  Angela pulled a small revolver from her pants pocket. “Guns are irritating and messy. I really wanted to make this look like an accident, but you’re not cooperating.”

  “So you think you’re gonna just shoot me and get away with it?”

  Angela shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  Megan gathered all her strength and pulled hard. The building screeched and bent, rivets in the walls popped, and glass panes shattered, but it didn’t come apart.

  Angela let the arm holding the gun drop and stared at the greenhouses, seemingly unaware of the glass shattering around her. A drop of blood dripped down her cheek, but she didn’t flinch. “How are you doing that?”

  “Damn.” Megan pulled once more. “This is solid…” She twisted herself in knots, trying to bend the metal. “…construction!”

  “What are you doing?” Angela was angry now. She raised the gun again and pointed it at Megan. “Stop breaking it! It’s mine!”

  With one final heave, Megan thrust the whole of her energy into the building and forced it out, exploding the side of the greenhouse in a shower of rivets, metal scraps, and glass.

  The impact of the explosion hit Angela directly in the side. She pulled the trigger but the shot went wide, and Megan saw her eyes as she was forced—along with a twisted mass of metal and glass—over the bushes that guarded the side of the bluff and down the rocky hillside, tumbling toward the ocean below.

  Megan fell to the ground, covering her face as the greenhouse came apart at the seams, glass shooting in all directions. She felt a shard hit her thigh and another one slice her back. Eventually the chaos turned to calm, and she tentatively raised her head to see a neat line of budded grapevines in the middle of the broken greenhouse, twisting fog licking at their leaves.

  Megan stood and limped to the edge of the cliff. She knew she was bleeding. She couldn’t see anything below; the fog was too thick. But she could hear a faint sound coming from somewhere below.

  “He… Help.”

  Megan sighed in relief. She really didn’t want to have killed anyone, even in self-defense. “I think I hear people coming. I’m gonna tell them you tried to shoot me though. Just letting you know.”

  Did they go down and rescue you if you still had a gun? Megan was really glad she wasn’t a cop and didn’t have to make those decisions, because she just didn’t have the mental energy to figure that out when she was pretty sure she had glass sticking out of her back.

  Angela managed to force more words out. “Going to… going to tell them… what you did.”

  “Really? And you think anyone is going to believe you?” Megan started laughing. “Oh, Angela… Bless your heart.”

  Drew sat in Megan’s hospital room, his notebook stuffed in his jacket pocket. “One of you gets out of the hospital and another one goes in.” He shook his head. “I don’t know about you, but it seems to me like you and your girlfriends might be living wrong.”

  “Or living right.” Megan winced and shifted her position, which just was not comfortable no matter which way she turned. She had stitches on her back, her thigh, and her face. Thank God she could feel the pain medication kicking in. “Living on the edge, Drew.”

  Nico wasn’t amused. “Maybe a little less living on the edge, Atlanta. Just a suggestion.”

  “Is Katherine on the way?”

  “Yes. Baxter called me about five minutes ago. He’s staying with the younger kids and Katherine is coming with Trina.”

  “What are you going to report about the greenhouse going all…” Megan waved her hands. “Sideways?”

  Drew pointed to the blank notebook in his pocket. “I don’t know. Maybe you can tell me?”

  “Well, it sounded very much like an explosion.” She cleared her throat. “At the time.”

  Nico shook his head. “You pulled apart hundred-year-old steel rivets.”

  “Which was hard. I am not gonna try that again. ’Cause it’s very hard.” How much pain medication had they given her? Maybe when you had twenty-two stitches, they gave you a lot. It might have been a lot.

  “Oh!” She pointed at Drew. “Hey. Hey, Drew.”

  He was fighting a smile. “Yeah?”

  “I know what you should do. You should question Rodney now. Because… I think he might… He might be willing to talk now. I think…” The sadness was heavier than she expected. “I think he was there when Angela shot that man. I think it was him driving.”

  “Did she say something?” Drew asked. “Your ex wasn’t very forthcoming when I questioned him last time.”

  “He limped. And it wasn’t his usual limp. It was a different kind of limp. And we were married a long time, so I know how he limps.”

  Drew frowned. “A limp?”

  “’Member?” She snapped her fingers. “Val in the pickup. The city boy was driving, ’member? She said he hurt himself.”

  “Riiiiight.” Drew nodded. “She said he jarred his ankle. I’m curious if anyone else noticed it. Either way, I’ll be questioning him again. The limp is good ammunition, Megan.”

  “Is Angela still on the side of the cliff? She had a gun. Like a real gun. I told you that, right? Because you should not send someone down that cliff to get her without…” Megan blinked hard. “I am so tired.”

  Nico brushed her hair back from her forehead. “You told us all the things, Megan. Try to get some sleep, okay? Just sleep. We’ll be here when you wake up.”

  Megan sighed. “I like you.”

  Nico smiled. “I like you too.”

  “Your lips are so… Mmmmm. They’re just mmmm.”

  Drew muttered. “Yeah, I’m gonna go now.”

  “Seriously, don’t you— I mean, Drew, you’ve got good lips too. You’re completely hot. But I would not kiss you. Ever. Because you are married. And I respect Jordyn.”

  “That’s good.” Drew started laughing. “Nico, let me know when she wakes up.”

  “I will.”

  Megan tugged on Nico’s arm. “You should get in bed. You smell really nice. I feel pretty good now. You won’t hurt me.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, but I’ll stay right here, okay?” He pulled over a chair and sat beside Megan, his head leaning on the bed next to her pillow. “Want me to kiss you?”

  “Yes. I do want that.”

  Nico gently kissed her bruised and cut forehead. Then he gingerly angled her shoulder and kissed next to her stitches. Then he kissed her hip over the hospital gown.

 
; “The stitches are kinda more by my butt,” she whispered loudly. “But you can kiss that later.”

  Nico’s shoulders were shaking, and the look he gave her wasn’t something she recognized. Rodney had never looked at her that way.

  “Why are you looking at me that way?”

  “What way?”

  “I don’t know.” She closed her eyes. “I’m tired.”

  “Then you should sleep.”

  She opened her eyes, and the look was still there.

  Wait.

  She had seen that look before, but only in movies. And it was always right at the best part. Megan took a finger and traced around Nico’s kissable lips. “You said… you could fall in love with me.”

  He kissed the tip of her finger. “Uh-huh.”

  “And I told you…” She wiggled her finger, but he’d captured it between his lips. “I told you to slow down. Slow. Down.”

  “I am.” He smiled. “I promise.”

  “Cross your heart?”

  Nico finally leaned over and pressed the softest kiss to her lips, just as her eyes got too heavy to hold open.

  “Cross my heart.”

  Chapter 28

  Toni, Megan, and Katherine sat in the observation room since no one was willing for them to sit in an interrogation room with Angela Calvo, least of all the woman’s high-priced attorney.

  “Ms. Calvo,” Drew started. “I’m here to formally interview you about the events of March eighteenth of this year.”

  Her attorney spoke. “As I have informed you, my client will be availing herself of her right to remain silent and will not be speaking to the police in this interview or any other.”

  Drew didn’t take his eyes off Angela. “We have the gun, and the gunshot-residue tests confirm you shot at Ms. Alston.”

  Angela said nothing.

  “I’m going to be questioning Rodney Carpenter right after I finish with you,” Drew said. “Do you think he’s going to remain silent too?”

  Angela reached for the bottle of mineral water her attorney had set out for her, drank from it, and stared at the mirror that Megan and the girls were sitting behind.