by Lee Hollis
“Why would he change his name if people didn’t think he was responsible for the fire?” Gemma asked.
Hayley stared at his picture again. “I have no idea...”
Gemma scanned a few more pages of the yearbook. “Here is another picture of him. He was on the track team with Trudy.”
The track team was lined up for their official photo with Trudy front and center, obviously a star runner. Erik was in the second row on the far left, gazing longingly at her.
“Look at that. He’s the only one on the team not looking at the camera. He’s too distracted staring at Trudy. He must have had a huge crush on her,” Gemma said.
“Excuse me.” Hayley reached into her bag for her phone and made a call. After a few rings, Tori answered. “Tori, it’s Hayley. I’m in Portland with a couple of private detectives.”
Sandra beamed and turned to Maya. “I love being called a private detective.”
“Private detective in training,” Maya snapped, not quite ready to consider her an equal just yet.
“Tori, do you remember an Erik Henderson?” Hayley asked.
“Of course. He was in my class. He had a huge crush on Trudy. But Trudy never gave him the time of day, so unfortunately for him it went unrequited.”
“Were you friends with him?” Hayley asked.
“No, not really,” Tori said. “I remember once he tried to get me to talk to Trudy and try to convince her that she should give him a chance, that they should be a couple, but I refused. I was going through my own turmoil at the time and didn’t want to play matchmaker for my twin sister, so I just told him to get over it.”
Hayley lowered the phone, her mind racing.
So Erik Henderson, aka Mark Garber, was in the vicinity of the high school the night of the fire. He was questioned by police shortly thereafter. And then he ultimately changed his look and name when he became an adult for some still-unknown reason and eventually got hitched to Mary and moved to Bar Harbor. Then, years later, Trudy and Ted moved to town and when Trudy met Mark at the restaurant, the night of their double date with Hayley and Bruce, Trudy later told Ted that someone reminded her of a boy she knew long ago in high school. And then, very soon after that, Trudy Lancaster was dead.
Chapter 37
It was already dark outside when Hayley and Gemma finished indulging in crabmeat rolls, haddock chowder, and a couple of cocktails at J’s Oyster Bar in the Old Port. Not wanting to drive all the way back to Bar Harbor late at night, Hayley suggested they check into a roadside motel off Interstate 295 and hit the road at dawn so Hayley could be in the office on time for her normal work day.
Gemma, who was yawning throughout dinner, quickly agreed, and so they left the restaurant after paying the bill, hopped in the car, and after stopping at a convenience store to stock up on some toiletries, arrived at the motel within ten minutes.
Although Hayley considered a more expensive hotel with robes and room service like the Regency or the Westin, they were both tired and just needed a bed to collapse in, and so it was more practical to go with a cheaper option.
After checking in and receiving their key card from the bored-looking college-age kid at the reception desk, Hayley and Gemma walked down to their room, on the bottom level of the two-story establishment, at the far end near the trash bin. Hayley was already missing her white robe and all-night dining menu she could have had if they had stayed right in downtown. Neither of them had bothered to pack an overnight bag because they had assumed they would just drive home after meeting with Sandra Wallage and Maya Kendrick, and they were way too exhausted to race to the Portland Mall before it closed to pick up some sleep wear, so it looked like they would both be going to bed in their street clothes tonight.
Hayley calculated enough time in their return trip so she would have a chance to go home and take a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes before reporting for work.
“Did you text Bruce and tell him we decided to spend the night?” Gemma asked.
“Yes, right after we left Maya and Sandra’s office. I thought I would have heard back from him by now.”
Gemma yawned again. “I’m going to go brush my teeth.”
“All right, I’ll try calling Sergio again,” Hayley said, grabbing her phone from her jacket pocket as Gemma padded into the tiny but relatively clean bathroom.
Hayley sat down on one of the two beds separated by a scuffed and dingy nightstand and put the phone to her ear. She had already left two messages, one as they had left Sandra and Maya’s office and another during dinner at J’s.
“Hello, this is Sergio, I can’t take your call right now so leave a message after the beep.”
Beep.
“Hi, Sergio, this is Hayley again. I’ve been trying to reach you because I’m in Portland with Gemma, and we got our hands on some important information involving Mark Garber and the Trudy Lancaster case. Please call me the minute you get this.”
She ended the call and set her phone down on the nightstand. She assumed Sergio had other police business to attend to and would get back to her as soon as possible. Perhaps somebody plowed into another rare bird.
Hayley was drowsy from all the food and drinks she and Gemma had gorged on during dinner and stretched out on the bed. She closed her eyes and started to doze off, on the verge of slipping into a deep sleep, when Gemma wandered in from the bathroom and announced in a sad voice, “Conner must be back in New York by now. It feels weird not getting a text from him telling me he got home safely.”
Hayley opened her eyes to see her daughter sitting on the edge of the bed across from her, wringing her hands, clearly distraught. “Gemma...”
“I know, I know,” Gemma groaned with a wave of her hand. “I need to get over him.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“Well, I do. We broke up. End of story. It’s time for me to move on and just forget about him.”
“What I was going to say was, if you can’t stop thinking about him, which clearly from my point of view you can’t, then maybe you should call him.”
“No, he broke up with me. I’m not going to humiliate myself and beg him to take me back. That would be pathetic.”
“No one is suggesting you beg. But you seem to be forgetting that the only reason he ended your relationship is because you turned down his marriage proposal, and you had every right to do that, especially if you believe things were moving too fast.”
“I was scared.”
“Believe me, I get it. Marriage is a big step. You want to make sure you get it right the first time. I should know!”
Gemma chuckled.
“But why were you scared? Was it because you’re not ready for that kind of a commitment or do you honestly believe Conner is not the one for you?”
Gemma sat up, suddenly more certain and self-assured. “No, of course I love Conner, more than even I realized before all this happened—”
“Then maybe he needs to know that.”
Gemma slumped over again. “It’s too late. I’ve made such a mess of things. And he’s already looking around for someone else obviously.”
“Oh, Gemma, I don’t think Ted’s daughter, Alyssa, has anything to do with this. Conner was hurt, he needed to lash out somehow, and Alyssa was the perfect excuse. Do you honestly believe Conner is interested in Alyssa, other than as a way to make you jealous?”
Gemma looked down at the floor. “No.”
“Call him.”
Gemma, eyes still fixed downward, slowly nodded. “Let me sleep on it. Maybe I’ll do it in the morning. He must be so busy right now, getting ready for his first rehearsal.”
“Don’t put it off too long,” Hayley warned.
Gemma looked up and smiled at her mother. “Yes, Mother. Good night.” She then crawled under the covers and switched off the light.
Hayley closed her eyes and heard her daughter ask through the darkness, “Is your mattress as hard as a rock too?”
“It’s like
something out of The Flintstones,” Hayley said, rolling over, trying to get comfortable.
“I pray there are no bedbugs,” Gemma moaned.
“Try not to think about it.”
As hard as the bed was, Hayley managed to drift off to sleep for perhaps a minute or two before Gemma’s bloodcurdling scream startled her awake again and she bolted up in bed.
She reached over and turned on the lamp to see Gemma sitting upright, the covers pulled up to her neck, a wide-eyed, frightened look on her face.
“Gemma, what is it?”
“Someone was staring at us through the window!”
“What?”
“I couldn’t get to sleep because the streetlight was shining through the window because we forgot to close the curtains, and when I started to get up to close them I saw someone right there, standing at the window, looking in here at us!”
“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming?”
“No, Mother! I know what I saw!”
“Okay, calm down,” Hayley said, jumping out of bed and crossing to the door.
“No, don’t open it! He might still be there!” Gemma cried.
“Well, we’ll never get any sleep if we don’t check for ourselves,” Hayley said, unlocking the door and stepping outside. It was eerily quiet with no signs of anyone around. After scanning the entire parking lot and surrounding area, Hayley walked back into the room and fetched her bag. “There’s no one out there. I’m going to go get us some bottled water from the vending machine.”
“And leave me here alone?” Gemma gasped.
“You can come with me, if you want,” Hayley said, fishing for some change.
Gemma decided to stay put, huddled in her bed, the cheap covers with their minimum thread count still pulled up to her neck.
Hayley padded to the vending machine next to the main office. The clerk was gone but the light was on inside. She inserted enough coins for two bottles of water, glanced around to make sure she was still alone, and returned to the room where Gemma waited for her, still anxious and shaken by what she had claimed to have just seen.
Hayley handed a water to Gemma and plopped back down on her bed. “Are you going to be able to get any sleep tonight?”
“I’ll try,” Gemma said, popping the cap off the bottle and taking a swig. “But let’s leave as early as possible in the morning. I don’t want to hang around here too long. This place gives me the creeps.”
“Agreed,” Hayley said, setting her bottle down on the nightstand next to her and swinging her feet back up on the bed. She closed her eyes, but had a harder time falling asleep again.
Not two minutes had passed by when they heard a loud smashing sound, like glass shattering.
Gemma snapped on the light again. “What was that?”
“Someone broke a window,” Hayley said, trying not to panic.
“Where is it coming from?” Gemma cried.
As more glass crashed to the floor, they heard a thumping sound as if someone was right on top of them. Gemma turned to the bathroom door, which she had closed. “Someone’s breaking into our room through the bathroom window!”
“Gemma, run!”
They both leaped out of bed and shot out the door, screaming. Hayley instantly collided with someone who wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. She pounded her fists against her assailant’s chest in a desperate attempt to get him to let her go so she could run away.
“Hayley! Hayley!”
She immediately stopped fighting her attacker because she instantly recognized his voice. Hayley pushed away from him. “Bruce, you scared me half to death!”
Hayley turned to find Gemma, who to her surprise had fallen into the waiting arms of Conner, who was hugging her tightly, quietly comforting her.
“What’s going on?”
Hayley pointed back toward the room. “Someone’s trying to break into our room!”
Bruce dashed off toward the motel room.
“Bruce, no! He could have a weapon!” Hayley cried.
But Bruce didn’t listen. He disappeared inside the room and emerged a few moments later. “You’re right. The bathroom window is smashed to bits but there’s no sign of anyone. Your screaming might have spooked him and he ran off.”
“How... did you find us?” Hayley gasped.
“You texted me where you were going to stay when you were at dinner,” Bruce said calmly.
“But what are you doing here?” Hayley asked.
Bruce threw Conner a knowing look before returning his gaze to Hayley. “Go back in the room. I’m going to search the area to make sure this guy is really gone.”
“I’ll come with you,” Conner said bravely, stepping back from Gemma, who was still in a state of shock.
After a brief sweep of the area, Bruce and Conner joined Hayley and Gemma back inside the motel room, where both women were still visibly upset by what had just happened.
“I went to the main office but no one is there. The clerk must be on his break or something,” Bruce said.
“We should call the police,” Conner said.
Gemma was less interested in reporting the crime than finding out what Conner was still doing in Maine. “Did you miss your flight?”
“What? Oh, uh, yes,” Conner mumbled.
“I don’t understand,” Gemma said. “You left in plenty of time. What happened?”
Conner hesitated in answering her question. He just fidgeted with the sling on his arm.
“Are you going to tell her or should I?” Bruce asked, losing patience. When Conner still didn’t respond, Bruce turned to Gemma and sighed. “We were on our way to Bangor, and the whole way there I had to listen to Conner drone on about how he hated leaving you in Maine, how he didn’t want to end things the way you did, how he felt like he had made the biggest mistake of his life, but then we got to the airport and he checked in and we had some time for a drink at the bar, and when it came time to board, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get on the plane. And so instead of going home, after I got the text from Hayley that you were staying in Portland for the night, we just got in my car and kept driving all the way down to Portland. You said you were going to have dinner at J’s Oyster Bar so we swung by there first, but the hostess said we just missed you, and so here we are.”
“But what about the play? Don’t you start rehearsals tomorrow?” Gemma asked.
Conner sat down on the bed next to Gemma. “You’re a whole lot more important to me than some stupid play.”
Gemma’s eyes welled up with tears and her head dropped down on his shoulder as she quietly sobbed. He caressed her hair with his hand. “Listen to me, Gemma, you don’t have to marry me. But you need to know just how much I love you. I love you with all my heart. Look, I know nothing is guaranteed in life. We may break up and go our separate ways, no one can ever predict what might happen one day, but I would never be able to live with myself if I didn’t tell you how I truly feel about you.”
Gemma wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, being careful not to lean in and crush his injured arm in the sling. She finally raised her head from his shoulder and turned so she could whisper in his ear, “I love you too.”
Now it was Hayley’s turn to cry.
Island Food & Spirits
by
Hayley Powell
Starting from when I was in high school, when something good or exciting happened in my life, my mother would make me one of her mouthwatering club sandwiches to celebrate. Come to think of it, when something bad happened and I was in desperate need of cheering up, she’d, well, make me one of her mouthwatering club sandwiches. I guess club sandwiches can do it all!
I happily carried on the tradition with my own children, even now that they’re fully grown. I will always remember the time the club sandwich cure-all had gotten started. I was fourteen, a freshman in high school, and I had a huge crush on a boy in my class. Don’t all high school stories start out like that?
It was
around Halloween and Beth Sanborn was having a huge Halloween party for all the kids in our class at her house. Well, you can imagine my excitement when I learned Calvin, my crush, had been invited to the party too. This was my chance to finally make my move!
Calvin and I had hit it off the first day of the school year in English class with our shared love of movies, especially Jurassic Park since Calvin was an unapologetic fanatic about everything dinosaurs, and wanted to study to one day become a paleontologist.
Truth be told, I didn’t give one whit about dinosaurs. I was more of a Fugitive kind of gal when it came to big summer blockbuster movies mostly because I thought Harrison Ford was adorably cute for an old guy. But that didn’t stop me from gushing to Calvin about how much I worshipped Jurassic Park, which, to be honest, I had not even seen.
Calvin was exceedingly good-looking and there was always a swarm of girls around him in the cafeteria during lunch, so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I had to stand out at that Halloween party so he would notice me and all those other girls would just melt away, unable to compete. I already had a home field advantage because Calvin thought I was funny and liked dinosaurs so he would always want to walk together to class and sit with me at lunch. Finally, it dawned on me how I could win his affections over all those other smitten girls who were so much prettier than me: I would get him by wearing the perfect Halloween costume!
I would literally transform into his true love: a dinosaur!
The night of the party arrived, and I could barely contain my excitement as I stepped into my blow-up dinosaur costume in the living room so my mother could inflate it with the plug-in air pump that came in the packaging.
My first clue that this might not have been the perfect costume for me was when it was inflated, and I could barely see out of the mouth of the dinosaur. It was also a lot harder to walk in than I had expected. But if it caught Calvin’s attention, then it would be well worth the discomfort and all my babysitting money I had spent on it, not to mention the expedited shipping expense.