Hope Harbor

by Jill Sanders

  Barb, being a weathered vet herself, stepped into the room and took in the gruesome scene. “Well shit.” She turned to him. “That blows your romantic evening to hell.”

  “How did you…?” Then he remembered that Barb and his father were poker buddies. “Right,” he sighed. “Can we tell who it is?” he asked, but Eve had come up behind him and gasped. He turned to block her view but watched in horror as her face paled quickly. He caught her as she slid boneless to the floor.

  Carrying her out of the room, he glanced around and found a settee under a bay window and gently laid her down on it.

  “Here’s some water,” Barb said gently and handed him a bottle. “I’ll call this in.”

  “Thanks,” he said slowly, shaking Eve. “Eve?” He willed her to come to. When her eyelids started to flutter, he held onto her. “I’m here,” he said softly, his hold on her tightening as she moaned.

  “Steve,” she said, causing him to still. “That was Steve.”

  Suddenly, it dawned on him. The board shorts, the tank top. He’d been so consumed with catching Eve, the identity of the body sprawled out on the bed hadn’t registered.

  “Shit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Here, drink this,” he said when she sat up. He handed her the water Barb had gotten from the mini fridge.

  Just then, a group of people stepped into the hallway from downstairs led by Genie.

  “What’s going on?” Genie asked, seeing Eve laying on the settee. She rushed to her side. “Did she faint?”

  “We need to control the situation up here,” he said, looking around as guests started making their way down the hallway towards their rooms.

  “Genie, clear everyone from the floor. Tell them there’s…” Eve glanced at him.

  “A gas leak,” he suggested.

  “Yes, tell them that for the next couple hours, they need to remain on the main floor. Provide them with free drinks from the bar.” Eve sat up. He took her shoulders and stopped her from standing. “Have the kitchen bring up snacks. Do whatever it takes to keep them downstairs.” She started to get up.

  “Take a moment,” he warned, but it was too late. He could see that all the color had returned to her face and she had moved beyond the horrors she’d seen. She’d put back on her business façade and was thinking clearly again.

  “What really happened?” Genie whispered.

  “Later,” Eve said. “For now, let’s clear everyone out of here.” Eve stood and clapped her hands loudly. “Alrighty, everyone. We have an emergency. There’s a gas leak. We’ll need everyone to move downstairs in an orderly fashion. For the inconvenience, there is an open bar for the next hour until these wonderful people have things back under control.” Eve motioned to him and the two police officers.

  Upon the mention of free drinks, everyone who had gathered in the hallway turned and practically sprinted down the stairs.

  “They’re a party crowd.” Eve sighed and glanced towards the door. Then he heard her gasp. “Room four-thirty-two.” She lifted a hand to her head and for a moment he thought she was going to faint again. His arms wrapped around her, but she shook her head. “No, I’m okay.”

  “Was that the room you’d been staying in?” he asked, vaguely remembering.

  When she nodded, he felt his own stomach roll.

  “What was he doing in there? Didn’t he leave with the rest of your family?” he asked, not expecting her to have the answers.

  Her caramel eyes met his, and he could see the fear and the sadness behind them. “I don’t know, but you can bet I’m going to find out.” She marched towards the door, only to be stopped by Barb. “Until the coroner gets here, no one except us is allowed in that room. We have to take pictures, ID the victim, and…”

  “It’s my cousin, Steve,” Eve said with a shaky voice, her shoulders held straight as she raised her chin slightly.

  “You’re certain?” Barb asked, blinking a few times. Barb was in ten times better shape than Phil, who was still leaning against the wall, looking a little pale. Paler than Eve was, at this point. He had a bottle of water in his hands and was taking sips occasionally.

  “Twenty years on the force,” he was mumbling as he shook his head. “I’ve never seen…”

  “Suck it up, Phil,” Barb spat out. “Do your job.”

  That seemed to wake Phil up. The man looked around and, after seeing all eyes were on him, straightened.

  “Right.” He nodded. “Barb, you’ll need to call—”

  “Already done, chief,” Barb added dryly. “ETA ten minutes.”

  Phil nodded. “Right.” He shook his head. “Okay, then. Do we know who the poor sap is?”

  “My cousin,” Eve said, and Phil winced.

  “Sorry, miss.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry for your loss.”

  “He was murdered,” Eve said in a low tone. “I’d like to know how and why.”

  “Right, the coroner will determine the first,” Barb stepped in. “As for the second…” She glanced around. “We’ll need a list of guests and staff. Everyone on the property. We’ll give you the time of death, to help narrow down the list.”

  His arm went around Eve. “Thanks. I’m going to take her downstairs. I think she needs a stiff drink.” He pulled Eve towards the stairs.

  “At this rate, you’re never going to get any work done around here,” she joked as they descended the stairs.

  Seeing the crowded bar and dining hall, he steered her towards her office instead. “I’ll get you a drink,” he said as she unlocked her door.

  “No need. Reggie always kept a bottle of Scotch in the desk drawer.”

  She sat down at the desk and pulled out two glasses. She poured the amber drink into them, then handed him one. Without waiting, she tossed back the drink. He had to admit, it was sexy as hell watching her throw back a drink like that. When their eyes met, she smiled. “Reggie didn’t just teach me the trade.” She smiled and poured another drink. “That man could always drink anyone under the table.” She took a sip of the glass this time.

  Without drinking, he set his glass down and moved over to rest his hands on her shoulders. “You okay?”

  She rested her head back against his stomach and sighed. “Who would kill Steve? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wanted to at times, but…”

  “Your family has been gone for how long?” he asked.

  She looked up at him. “Since last evening.” She sat up straight. “You don’t think… someone in my family?” She shook her head and then reached down and drank the rest of the drink.

  “Happen to know what time they left?” he asked.

  “No, but I could ask Genie. She was working the desk.” She picked up her office phone and he waited while she asked, “When did Mr. Strommen check out?” she asked, writing everything down on a notepad. When she hung up, she shared the information with him.

  “Mr. Strommen checked out the day before your family left apparently. He must have left sometime in the night when Patrick was working the desk. Genie says that my family left shortly after six in the evening. I went to check on DarCee around three-thirty, after you left to pick up Palmer from school. Then we met up for dinner. I got back to the inn just after eight.”

  “Right,” he nodded, trying to gauge what he’d seen inside the room. He’d been so worried about Eve, he couldn’t really remember much.

  “Did you happen to notice if his camera was there?” Eve asked out of the blue.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “It’s just… the video. It had to have been uploaded and delivered to the news stations sometime after I left to visit DarCee.” She tilted her head as he leaned against her desk. “Right? I mean, if he was alive Monday night, that would narrow the time of death down to yesterday.”

  Without answering her, he dialed his buddy who worked at the local station on the mainland.

  “Hey, Tom,” he said when his friend answered.

  “Hey, Dylan,” Tom answered.

  “Sorr
y to bother you during work hours.”

  “No problem, man. What’s up?” Tom asked.

  “Did you get that information I asked you for earlier?” He waited as Tom shuffled the phone around, most likely trying to find someplace quiet to answer him without anyone listening in.

  “Yeah. The video came from an email Monday around four in the afternoon. No money was exchanged,” Tom answered.

  “What’s the email address?” he asked and bent down to write the address Tom gave him. “Thanks. See you next poker night.”

  Tom laughed. “Sure thing. Next time I’ll be the one taking home the pot.”

  Dylan laughed. “Not if my dad has anything to do with it.”

  “Shit, your old man has the luck of the Irish,” Tom joked.

  Dylan laughed. “Tell me about it.” Dylan hung up and handed Eve the notepad. “The video was sent from this email address. Is it Steve’s?”

  She frowned down at the email and shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She glanced up at him. “Then again, I don’t…” She opened her laptop and went to her cousin’s YouTube channel. “It doesn’t match the one he has on here.”

  “Okay.” He sighed. “What are the chances we’ll be able to leave this all behind this evening?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Slim, but…” She stood up and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, stepping between his legs, and he felt her brush against his sex. The damn thing jerked and came to attention in response to the softness of her next to it. “One thing is clear. I am not going to want to be alone tonight. No matter what happens.” She leaned in and kissed him. “I want to be with you.”

  16

  Just the facts

  Eve took charge and oversaw the quiet removal of her cousin’s body out the back door of the inn. Thankfully, most of the guests were too busy drinking and partying in the hall to notice anything was wrong.

  She blocked off that room in the computer so it wouldn’t be rented for the next few weeks and told all the staff not to enter it until the investigation was over.

  After things settled down and Dylan was busy downstairs working, she pulled out her phone and debated calling her aunt and uncle.

  The guests may not know what was going on, but she doubted the staff would keep the gossip quiet for too much longer.

  Steve was the only child of her uncle Roger and Aunt Regina. One they had spoiled from the moment he’d been born, or at least for as long as she’d know him. Steve was a few years older than her, and her aunt and uncle had given the man anything he’d ever asked for.

  So, who would have wanted to kill him?

  “Mom?” she said surprised when her mother answered on the second ring.

  “I know what you’re going to say,” her mother broke in with a huff. “We had to leave. After that embarrassing show your cousin put on. Roger and Regina are livid that Steve has taken off. We’ve all headed to Seattle for a few days in hopes that the gossip will die down and Steve will come to his senses and apologize for embarrassing us.”

  Embarrassing them? What about the damage? The physical harm he’d done to DarCee? Then she remembered seeing Steve’s lifeless body sprawled out on the bed of room four-thirty-two and closed her eyes as her stomach rolled.

  “I’m not calling about that. Are Roger and Regina with you?” she asked.

  Her mother was quiet for a moment. “Yes, we’re all having lunch at the club. Why?”

  What club? Eve thought but then shook that thought from her mind. Focus, she told herself.

  “Mom, I need to tell you something, but don’t freak out. I need you to remain calm.”

  “What is it Evelyn?” her mother asked, impatience in her tone. Eve hated hearing the temper.

  “Steve’s dead,” she replied in a low tone.

  “I’m sorry, what?” her mother asked.

  “We found his body…” The phone was jostled, and suddenly her father came on the line.

  “What’d you do?” he asked, his tone just as impatient as her mother’s.

  “Me?” Eve stood up, shocked. “What do you mean?”

  “Your mother is pale as a ghost. What did you say to her to make her almost pass out?” her father spat out.

  “Steve’s dead,” she repeated, sitting back down. “He was found in a room here at the inn.”

  Her father was silent. “We’re coming home.” He hung up sharply.

  It took her almost five minutes to come to the realization that their rooms, all of them on the top floor, now sat empty. All except for her new rooms.

  She’d had the movers remove most of her grandfather’s old furniture. They’d dropped it off at the secondhand store in town where it sat for sale on commission. They’d replaced his smaller bed with a king-sized one which she’d slept on for the first-time last night. She’d brought the painting of her grandparents and the old clock down to her office, setting them above the small fireplace tucked in the corner of her office.

  Her boxes of charred items were still stacked against the walls upstairs, waiting for her to unpack and clean everything. But, for now, she finally felt like she had a place of her own.

  She’d tossed the old sofa and chairs, knowing she would need to purchase new ones when she had the time.

  Where was she going to put her family? With the wedding party, all the rooms were booked. According to the books, it was the first time that had been the case in almost a full year.

  When Dylan stepped into her office, she was still debating whether to have all the furniture replaced in the upstairs rooms.

  “You look like you have a difficult choice to make,” he said, sitting across from her.

  “My family’s coming back,” she said with a frown.

  “And?”

  “They… won’t have beds to sleep on anymore.” She sighed.

  He surprised her by chuckling and then trying to cover the sound by coughing. “Um, so what’s the problem?”

  “This is not funny.” She shook her head.

  Dylan leaned forward and touched her hand. “Forgive me if I find the idea of your family sleeping on the floor humorous after what they’ve done to you.” He moved closer. “They waited until you turned your back and purposely held your grandfather’s services without you. If that doesn’t scream ‘screw you,’ then I don’t know what does. They deserve worse, but for now, I’ll rest easier knowing they’ll be put out just a little.”

  She rested back in the chair. “Okay, you’re right.” She nodded. “I was about to have all of the beds taken back up to their rooms.”

  He shook his head and stood, then moved around the desk to pull her up into his arms. “Have any of them lifted a finger to help you out since you returned home?”

  She thought about it and shrugged. “My great-aunt Ramona, but she didn’t leave with the rest of them. She’s practically bedridden now. My family thinks that she should be moved to a home.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think she’s perfectly happy where she is. She was the only one, other than Reggie, who cared about something beyond herself. Half of the time, I forget she’s even here.”

  “And she’s still comfortable in her room on this floor, correct?”

  “Yes. I didn’t want to mess with her. Reggie wasn’t going to force her out, just the rest of them.”

  He nodded. “Then leave it as it is. They’ll find out sooner or later that there’s nothing left for them here.” He smiled. “Besides, they can book rooms down at Harbor Inn.”

  Eve faked a gasp. “Our competitor? My family would rather…” She was about to say die, but then she remembered Steve and instantly felt bad.

  “Hey, they’ll make do. You’re booked solid, or so Genie has mentioned a few times. Besides, if I had already revamped those rooms and they’d been booked, what would you have done? Kicked out paying guests for non-paying family?”

  He was right, Eve knew, but that didn’t stop her from worrying for the rest of the day. The p
arty in the dining hall continued into the evening, even thought she’d cut off the free drinks.

  Just before the dinner hour, Barb and Phil returned, requesting to speak with her.

  Eve sent a text message off to Dylan requesting that he be there with her for the news. He showed up a few moments later and stood by her while Barb explained that her cousin had been killed with a heavy blunt object.

  “The coroner’s initial findings claim Steve was killed sometime Monday evening between the hours of three and six. She’ll have a better idea of TOD later, but for now…”

  Eve glanced over at Dylan. “My family left around six Monday night. It could have been any one of them.” She felt all her blood drain and leaned against her desk.

  “Speaking of times… Can you tell us where you were between those times?” Barb asked. “I hate to do it, but…”

  “I was in my office until around three-thirty. Dylan had stopped by at fifteen after and informed me he was heading out. I took a few minutes to close everything down and followed him out the door. I drove to the health clinic to check up on DarCee. I was there until around four-thirty, then ran into town and had a burger at Island Burgers, where I ran into Dylan and his daughter Palmer. We had dinner and hung out until around eight. I got back here a few minutes after and went up to my rooms.”

  Barb’s eyes went between them and a slow smile curved. “There’s still time to go out on the water,” she suggested.

  Eve sighed. “My family’s heading back here.” She practically groaned it.

  “So, isn’t that what you have employees for?” Barb asked with a wink.

  “I think we’ll try to hit the water another time. Maybe when we can spend the entire day out without stressing about… things,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. “They’ll be plenty of time for sailing.” He looked down at her and squeezed her hand in his.

  She relaxed slightly. He was right. She wouldn’t be able to focus on anything other than the stress of her family coming home and Steve’s murder.

  “For now, we’ll need a list of everyone on the premises during those hours,” Phil finally said. He turned to her. “About earlier… I’m sorry about… the mess I caused in the hallway,”