Claire reached over to her purse and pulled out a tissue to dab her eyes.
From her position, seated in the sand below the deck, Mary watched all the girls eyes grow huge, as they listened to the Jamisons tell their story.
“See, I told you,” Lola whispered to the girls.
“Shhhh,” Piper responded.
“Well, I certainly can’t explain it either,” Tim replied. “But I have no reason to think you are lying to me. What would you possibly get out of lying about it?”
“Nothing at all,” Steve replied. “In fact, it probably would have been better if we had just kept our mouths shut. At least everyone wouldn’t think we were crazy. Just horrible parents.”
No one laughed at his attempt to lighten the situation they found themselves in.
“Look, all I know about that weekend is that there was that huge hurricane-like storm when you were there. I’ve heard some rumors about people disappearing during big storms like that. But I always figured they meant that the people were swept out to sea. It’s been known to happen.” Tim shrugged his shoulders.
“You know that the owner, Sam, was convicted of killing you, don’t you?” Tim added.
“We know,” Steve replied.
“And that’s another thing,” Claire added. “We would never have knowingly let someone spend decades in prison, just because we wanted to run away. What kind of horrible people would do that?”
She had a point, Tim thought. He couldn’t see them doing that to anyone. He also couldn’t see the nice couple sitting in front of him taking off and leaving their young children to be raised by someone else. He barely knew them, but they didn’t come across as people that would do something so unspeakably cruel.
“Oh, and I don’t know if it means anything at all,” Tim added, “but the current owner, Heath, took over right after Sam was arrested. He asked a lot of questions about the two of you, kind of like Sam did. I think he was worried that they would get sued, or maybe that he could go to jail also. I really don’t know for sure. I didn’t work there much longer after he took over.”
“That might be helpful,” Steve told him. “We may need to contact him to see what he knows.”
Chapter 23
The day had finally arrived. Dustin was coming home, and his parents were overjoyed. Both of their children were going to be back home with them again. The family would be complete.
Steve and Claire had been visiting Dustin in jail every week since they got home, so Dustin was not surprised to see them standing at the gate when he was released. Well maybe he was a little surprised. Even though they had all gotten along very well while he was in jail, there was still something in the back of his mind that said they were going to disappear on him again. He still didn't fully believe their story about that weekend at the Miranda Inn, but what was the point in arguing? He would probably never know the complete truth.
He really was happy to see them, but at the same time he had a hard time not being bitter and angry. He knew that was something he needed to work on. As Steve took his son’s box of belongings from him, Claire tried to hug him. Dustin let her, but just briefly. He still felt that the people standing before him were strangers, and it was a little bit weird, all of it.
“So, Dustin,” his father began, “what are your plans now?” Steve was trying to make conversation on the drive home.
“I’ve been out like five minutes. Can I have some time to figure everything out, or do I need to have my entire life planned by the time we get home?”
The anger in Dustin’s voice was palpable. Both of his parents were stunned at his overreaction to Steve's simple question.
“Dustin, why are you so snappy? Your father just asked a simple question. If you don't have an answer right now, that's fine. But that's no reason to be rude to either one of us."
“You two don't even know me. Yet you sit there and grill me about what my plans are. I have no idea at this point. I literally just got out of prison,” Dustin replied. “I don't have a job yet, if that's what you are asking."
“No, that's not what I was asking," Steve said back. “I just thought we would have a nice talk on our way home. But if you don't want to talk, then that's fine. We have our entire lives to talk."
“Do we?” Dustin shot back. “How do I know you aren’t going to disappear on me again?”
The question hung there in the air while the three of them contemplated the complex answer.
“Well…I guess you don’t,” Steve answered honestly. “Since we don't actually know, and will probably never know, the reason why we disappeared in the first place, then I guess we can't promise that it won't happen again. Can you promise that you won't ever commit another crime and go back to jail?”
“Whatever.”
Dustin crossed his arms in the back seat and didn't say anything else for a while. He just stared at the back of his parents’ heads as they chatted with each other. They occasionally tried to draw him into the conversation, but he wasn't interested. He sat in the back and sulked.
“There they are. They just got off the ferry!” Mary yelled to the adjoining bedroom, where Frankie and Lola lived. She had been at her bedroom window watching for the ferry to arrive ever since she heard that the Jamisons had left the island to go pick up their son. “Something’s going on, I just know it!”
“Mary,” Piper whispered, “Mom and Dad are going to hear you. Keep it down.”
“What? They aren’t even up here. They’re down in the cafe. They can’t hear me,” Mary argued.
“Yeah I know, but you never know when they might come up those stairs and hear you," Piper told her. “How are we going to explain spying on those people?”
Just then, Frankie and Lola burst into the bedroom, causing Mary to jump. Lola walked over and plopped herself on Mary's bed. Mary gave her a look that Lola didn't even notice. Or didn't care. Mary wasn't sure. For some reason, that she could not explain, it weirded Mary out whenever Lola was on her bed. She actually didn't like anyone on her bed, but it bothered her more when Lola did it.
“Now what? Should we follow them?” Mary asked the three girls.
“No. Not right now,” Lola replied. “We know where they are going. I'm sure they're going home, since their son just got out of jail, or prison, or whatever it was. I doubt he wants to go anywhere but straight home right now. So we are in no hurry to follow anybody."
“I know, but I thought we might want to go over there and eavesdrop," Mary admitted.
“In the middle of the day? Are you insane?" Piper asked her. “How do you think we are going to do that without getting caught?"
“Let's just go tonight after dark. We can sneak around to the side of the house and listen without anyone seeing us," Frankie added to the conversation.
Later that evening, around 8 p.m., Tim and Roxanne retired to their room for the night. They enjoyed spending a couple of hours watching TV before going to sleep most nights, especially after a long day of running the inn and cafe. Even then, they sometimes were awakened in the middle of the night by a guest that just had to have his extra towels at 2 a.m. It was almost always something that could have waited until morning. They didn’t keep a desk clerk on duty all night. They didn’t see the need to pay someone to just sit there all night with nothing to do. Because of that, they knew that they were the ones that were going to get awakened when something came up with the guests.
The four teenage girls living with them knew this routine and used it to their advantage. They quietly tiptoed down the hall, and carefully walked down the stairs, avoiding the known squeaky steps, to the main floor of the Wildflower Inn. No one dared whisper a word until they made it outside. They didn't have the nerve to ‘borrow’ Tim's car, so they rode their bicycles to the Jamisons’ house. It wasn't that far away.
The street was very dark and quiet at that time of the night. The air was damp, as it tended to be most nights on the island, and the girls were chilled by the moisture on their ski
ns. A gull flew overhead and the smell of fish wafting through the air was quite pungent.
Though it wasn't that late, most people didn't venture out past 8 p.m. There really wasn't that much to do on the island that time of night, unless you were hanging out at one of the bars.
When they arrived at a neighbor’s house, three doors down from the Jamisons, the girls all quietly got off their bicycles and laid them to the side, behind a large Jacaranda tree that was in full bloom. Their bikes weren’t very easy to see, unless someone was looking for them. No one would really come across them accidentally. Besides, they didn't plan on being there very long.
“Come on, let’s go this way,” Piper whispered, as she reached up and pulled the cord to open the wooden gate on the left side of the house.
Without uttering a word, the girls filed in through the gate while Piper held it open for them. Mary was the last one through and Piper closed the gate quietly, without actually latching it closed. She thought they might need to get out of there quickly if they were discovered.
As inconspicuously as possible, all four crouched under the open kitchen window. The light was on and they could hear voices.
For several minutes most of what they heard was just idle chatter. The twins recognized Sissy's voice, as they had known her for several years. At first they weren't positive who the others were that were speaking, but assumed it was Steve and Claire. They also knew that Hope and her husband, Andrew, lived there, but they did not hear Hope’s voice. Since she worked at the Wildflower Inn, they all knew what she sounded like.
“Why can't you believe what your parents are telling you?" they heard Sissy asking someone.
“Because their story is ludicrous," Dustin responded.
“Look, I know how it sounds, and if it were anyone else, I would agree with you. But this is my sister, and I believe what she's telling us. I've known her my entire life and she is a terrible liar.” Sissy looked over at Claire and smiled uncomfortably. “That’s not a bad thing, you know,” she said directly to Claire.
Claire smiled.
Then back to her nephew, “Dustin, I really wish you would believe her also.”
It was clear to the girls that Sissy was trying her best to convince Dustin of something. However, they hadn't figured out what that was yet. Frankie’s knee started to cramp and she shifted position, almost knocking Lola over. Lola said nothing, but the look on her face was enough to convey her feelings about it. Frankie ignored the look.
“Do you seriously expect me to believe that they time traveled?" Dustin spat out.
“See, I told you," Lola whispered to the girls, all crouching below the window.
“Yeah, we get it. You keep reminding us,” Frankie whispered back as she gave her a look and shushed Lola with the index finger over the lips gesture. Lola glared at her and nodded. No one in the kitchen heard them.
“Yes, I expect you to believe it,” Sissy replied to her nephew.
They heard someone get up and walk over to the refrigerator and open it. Then they heard something being poured into a glass. Up until then, Steve and Claire had not said anything. At least not since the four girls started listening in.
“Sweetheart, believe me when I tell you, that we know how crazy this whole thing sounds. But can’t you try to believe us? Or at least try to just forget about it? Or maybe forgive us?” Claire tried to reason with her son. “No matter whether you ever believe us about the weekend at the Miranda Inn or not, please try to believe that we would never have left you and your sister on purpose. We love the two of you more than anything in this world.”
The four girls could hear the sadness in Claire’s voice. They fully expected to hear her break down and blubber at any moment. But she didn't. She kept it all together.
“Yes, I’ll try,” Dustin responded to his mother. “I know that you loved us. That’s why this whole thing has been so hard on us. Me especially. I remember you more than Hope does. I was devastated when you never came home.”
That was what did it. Claire couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer, and started openly crying. The girls heard Steve trying to to comfort her. Though they couldn’t see what was going on, they knew Steve had his arms around his wife. Piper looked over at her sister and saw a tear slowly easing its way down Mary’s cheek. It made her smile to herself. Her sister was so attuned to the emotions of others. She loved that about Mary.
“Come on sweetheart, let’s go to bed. I think Dustin needs some time alone,” Steve told Claire.
With that, Piper gave the ‘let’s go’ head tilt toward the street. The three girls followed her away from the window, crouching as they went. When they reached the front yard, they all stood up, stretched their cramped legs for just a moment, and walked back to their bicycles in a casual manner. They didn’t want to attract attention by running.
Not one of the girls noticed the tall man, lurking in the shadows, watching them. He didn’t know exactly what they were up to, but he didn’t like it. He had seen them riding up to the house, sneaking to the back yard, then leaving on their bicycles a few minutes later. All under cover of darkness. He knew two of the girls, recognized them as the twins from the Wildflower Inn. He knew that he needed to find out what they were up to.
No one said a word as they all pedaled home. They knew there would be plenty of time for talking when they got back to the safety of their bedrooms. They made it back inside the Wildflower Inn and up the stairs without being noticed by anyone. Before discussing the events of the night, they all changed out of their soggy clothes and headed for the kitchen. No one said a word about what had happened until they settled down for the evening.
“So, I think we should take a trip to the Miranda Inn,” Lola told the group, as they all sat in their pajamas in the main room of the Inn, eating popcorn.
It was their favorite place to hang out after everyone went to bed. They had full use of the kitchen since they wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. Tim and Roxanne knew that’s what they liked to do on Friday nights. They didn’t mind as long as the girls cleaned up the kitchen after themselves. It was way better than them running all over the island unsupervised.
“What would we do that for?” Frankie asked her, as all eyes turned to Lola.
“We can ask some questions about the time the Jamisons disappeared. And about the big storm that weekend, and stuff,” Lola told them, right before she crammed a fistful of popcorn into her mouth.
“Does anyone from 20 years ago even still work there?” Piper asked.
“That’s what we need to find out,” Lola mumbled, with her mouth full. “Somebody knows something, I can feel it in my bones.”
Chapter 24
The next morning, the girls sheepishly asked Tim to borrow his car for a few hours. When he asked what they wanted the car for, they lied. Piper told him that they wanted to go visit some friends at the beach for a while, and they would just be hanging out on the beach a few miles up the road for the day. They would be back in a few hours. It was a warm day, with just a slight breeze. Perfect beach weather.
“Why can’t you just hang out here?” Tim asked them. “The beach is literally right there,” he said as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the ocean.
“We just want to go to another beach,” Piper answered. “That’s where our friends are. Is it okay?” She gave him a cheesy smile and he relented.
“Sure, that’s fine. I mean I get it. You don’t want to always be within sight of the parents.” Tim smiled back.
Tim often let the girls use his car because he trusted them. They were pretty good girls. So he didn't even think twice about letting them hang out on the beach for the day with their friends.
Though the girls had no intention of going to any beach, they made a good show of it. They got beach bags and stuffed them with all the things they would need, such as bathing suits, towels, and sunscreen. They even brought their beach chairs and put everything in the trunk of the car. Lola slammed the trunk shut w
hile Tim and Roxanne watched them. As they all piled into the car, guilt overtook them and not one of the girls would look Tim in the face as they waved goodbye and Frankie pulled the car out into the street.
“Holy crap! Do you think they fell for it?" Mary exclaimed as she peered out the back window of the car to see if her parents were still standing there watching them. They were.
“Oh Mary, don't be so dramatic. They don't have a clue. We are fine as long as we don't do anything stupid to give ourselves away," her sister, Piper, told her.
“Why are your parents helicoptering us?” Lola asked the twins.
“Huh?” Mary narrowed her eyes at Lola.
“You know, hovering. It’s like they don’t trust us or something.”
“Well, look at us,” Frankie replied. “We aren’t really that trustworthy right now, are we?”
No one responded to the question.
After a minute of uncomfortable silence, the four girls chattered away about boys as they drove up the coast toward the Miranda Inn. Soon, the conversation inevitably turned to their mission for the day.
“So, what are we going to actually do when we get there?” Mary asked.
“Let’s just start by walking around and observing. We can have lunch at the cafe while we are there. I’m assuming they have a cafe,” Lola responded.
“What are we going to observe?” Mary continued her questions.
“I don’t really know yet. That’s why we will start by just watching what people are doing. Then we can figure it out,” Lola replied.
“But, what do you think we are going to find out by watching people 20 years after everything happened?”
“Mary,” Lola was beginning to get irritated with all the dumb questions, “I don’t know yet. I don’t really have a plan. We may not find out anything at all. Let’s just see.”
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