“I don’t think I can explain.” Rachel shook her head. “It wasn’t me, and I certainly don’t think Barry went aboard your boat. Have you asked Vitis? He was walking the dock that night. Maybe he was returning the glove he thought was either yours or your sister’s.”
“By tossing it on the deck? Doesn’t sound plausible.”
“Sherry?”
She turned to see Evette leaning out her store’s back door. “I just spoke to your father, and he said the dumpster was fine where it is.”
“Dad’s a traitor,” Sherry whispered. “Thank you. Okay,” she called out.
“The last point I want to make is that Lonnie didn’t kill Crosby,” Rachel said.
“I didn’t say he did. By the way, you’re not speaking about his innocence with much conviction. If you were his lawyer and I were his relative, I’d recommend he fire you and get someone who believed what they were saying.”
“I know.” Rachel bowed her head. “The thing is, the more investigators learn, the more they might be convinced he not only had the motive, he had the means.”
“Maybe he did it, then.”
“I’ll be honest with you about my fears. I’m afraid Lonnie was the one who set the fire at the Augustin Marina. Out of anger over his crumbling marriage. He let Crosby take the blame because an angry man in his twenties was the obvious scapegoat. Once someone made the suggestion Crosby was the cause of Lonnie’s way of life ending in retaliation for letting the marriage dissolve without a fight, the blame game began. The family fell apart as a result. No one spoke of the past, present, or future. Ever. It was horrendously stressful. Whoever was guilty, the end result was the Currier family living in a bubble of shame for years.”
“Even if your theory about the fire is correct, what does any of that have to do with Crosby’s death? I mean, what happened in the past is the past, wouldn’t you agree?” She studied Rachel’s relaxing face.
“Have you read a history book lately? The present is basically the past with a modern twist.”
“Sounds to me like you’re trying to convince yourself Lonnie didn’t commit a number of crimes and you’re having trouble doing it.”
“He may have. He had his reasons. He may have cracked after all these years of suppressing the truth about Crosby’s guilt.”
“From what you’ve described, the two haven’t had much contact over the years. Had something recently aggravated their relationship?”
“The past is being stirred up by people who don’t understand it should be left in the past. Lonnie has suffered enough.”
“If the facts of the investigation lead back to Lonnie—well, there’s not much I can do about him getting convicted. The same way you may be found guilty because of developments over the last couple of days. How hard are you working to clear your own name?”
The intensity of the frown on Rachel’s face sent a chill through Sherry’s core.
“Sherry?”
“Yes, Evette?” Out of the corner of Sherry’s sight line, Evette was stepping out of her side door.
“I’d like to discuss the dumpster issue further,” Evette said.
“I’m in the middle of . . .” Sherry began.
“I’m on my way out,” Rachel said. “One last thought. You’re not seeing Crosby for who he truly was. Thank you for your time.” She turned and walked away down the alleyway between the Ruggery and Evette’s store.
Sherry approached Evette. Before she could express her frustration with the woman, Evette smiled.
“I thought you needed some help. I saw that woman pacing back and forth back here before you pulled your car in. I asked her if I could assist her and her reply was rather rude. She said she had pressing business with you and I should mind my own,” Evette explained. “When I saw the look on her face when she was speaking to you, I figured I’d provide you with an out if you needed one. If you want to tell me to buzz off, I won’t take offense. I’m a straight shooter. You need to know that about me.”
“Thank you. I did need an out. I owe you one. Let’s leave the dumpster where it is if the location helps you during your construction phase. Then we’ll reassess.” Sherry sent Evette a grateful grin before making her way to the Ruggery.
“Sherry, finally. What have you been doing out there? Poor Don has been subjected to shop talk for the last ten minutes,” Erno said.
“It’s so interesting,” Don said. “This artistry isn’t something you see every day. I’m trying to absorb every pearl of wisdom your father has to offer.”
“Dad is the king of pearls of wisdom.” Marla laughed.
“I was talking to Rachel, and then to Evette,” Sherry said.
“Rachel Currier was outside?” Marla asked.
“Did she change her mind about selling me Crosby’s boat?” Don added.
“Yes, Rachel was outside. She just appeared when I was walking from the car. And no, we didn’t talk about the boat; sorry.”
“Evette is a nice gal,” Erno said. “I told her not to worry about moving the dumpster until her construction was complete. You don’t mind parking in the municipal lot until then, right, Sher? She mentioned you had a tough time parking in the tight space.”
“I’ll get used to it. And yes, Evette is very nice.”
“What did Rachel have to say?” Marla asked.
“Nothing that makes me sure either she or Lonnie didn’t have anything to do with Crosby’s death,” Sherry said. “Marla, shouldn’t we get you home? Your ride will be picking you up in about an hour and a half. Don, what time is your train?”
“I’ll check the schedule,” Don said.
Marla bid her goodbyes to her father and Ruth. After Sherry edged her car out of the tight parking spot, they set off for Sherry’s house.
“Would anyone mind if we stopped at the cleaners for two minutes?” Sherry asked as she slowed her car.
“If we ever went from point A to point B as planned, I’d be flabbergasted,” Don said. “Please, do what you need to do.”
Sherry checked her rearview mirror.
Marla was peering at her phone. “We have plenty of time. Need us to come inside with you?”
“Nope, thanks. I’ll be right back.” Sherry backed the car into a spot in front of the store. Sherry went inside Shore Cleaners.
Effi handed the only person in line at the sales counter her dry cleaning. The woman brushed past Sherry with her arms full of plastic-wrapped clothing.
Sherry stepped to the front of the counter. “Hi, Effi.”
“Sherry. How nice to see you. Are you dropping off?” Effi scanned Sherry, presumably for any laundry she might be holding.
“Not this time.” Sherry raised her empty hands.
“Or last time,” Effi added.
Sherry lifted her purse strap from her shoulder and set the bag on the counter. “I’ve changed my mind. I’d like to take you up on your offer for Ivy’s blue wool coat. Retro fashion is back in and this is my chance to be stylish.”
Effi squinted in Sherry’s direction. “I have to check whether Sal has already given the coat away. We’re not a storage facility, you know. I told you that. You should have jumped on the chance when we offered it to you.”
Effi’s unexpected resistance deflated Sherry’s determination to convince the woman of her reason for wanting the coat.
“If you wouldn’t mind taking a look, I’d appreciate it. I have plenty of dry cleaning I’ll be bringing in later this week,” Sherry said.
Without a further word, Effi headed out of sight. She returned a few minutes later to a long line. Sherry was engaged in a conversation with the couple behind her, who’d lamented over this being Sal’s day off, but it was their only chance to bring in vacation wear before their cruise ship sailed.
“You’re in luck. I found the coat. One word of warning. It’s been waiting to be picked up for so long, it may not be as fresh as it was when it was first cleaned. Another reason why we aren’t a storage facility.” Effi handed ove
r the coat.
Before Sherry draped the plastic-protected garment over her forearm, she pulled some cash from her purse. “This covers the cost of the dry cleaning.” She pulled the ticket from the bag and laid it on the counter. “Thank you.”
“I knew you’d go back for the coat,” Marla said when Sherry returned to the car.
“While you were gone, Marla and I discussed her situation,” Don said. “Your sister gave you, your dad, and Amber credit for setting her straight and sending her home to where she belongs.”
Sherry cast a fast glance Marla’s way. “She told you that?”
“It’s true,” Marla said. “That’s what big sisters are for. Their wisdom. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably take the easy route and move home. Instead, I’m going to give my marriage the effort it deserves. Now, would you like to explain what led you to return for the coat?”
“The coat was an excuse.” Sherry steered the car onto Augustin’s scenic, winding North Avenue, one turn away from her house. “I wanted to get back in there to have another look at the note the Forinos received.”
“And did you?” Marla asked.
“I got lucky. It’s Sal’s day off. Only Effi was working, and for a brief time, I was the only one in the store when she went to find the coat. I was going to snap a photo, but a couple came in as I snatched the note from under the cash register.”
“So, you didn’t get a picture?” Don asked.
“No. I had to think fast. All I could do was pop the note in my purse. I doubt she’ll be revisiting it anytime soon. She knows what it says, and both she and Sal want to keep it a secret.”
Chapter 21
“I’m really going to miss Marla.” Sherry watched the airport van pull out of her driveway. “Chutney will miss having the extra body in the house for company.”
“I’m sorry I have to leave, too.” Don put his arm around Sherry.
“We have a half hour before we need to head to the train station. Would you mind if I asked you a favor?”
Don beamed a brilliant smile. “Anything for an Augustin celebrity cook.”
“I want your expert boating opinion on a photograph.”
Don tipped his head to the side. “Not exactly the favor I had in mind. I wouldn’t call myself a boating expert, but I hope I can be of help.”
Sherry retrieved her laptop from the kitchen and brought it to the living room couch. She swatted the empty spot next to her and Don obediently sat beside her.
“Take a look at this photo of the marina fire that happened twenty years ago.” Sherry adjusted the laptop for better viewing.
Don leaned in and studied the photo.
“What sticks out to you?”
“The interesting pattern of the fire’s destruction. I don’t know much about the origin of the fire, except that I have heard it may have been intentionally set.” His index finger hovered over the section of the photo by the skeleton of a small, outdoor storage structure. “This storage locker is metal and still seems to have the worst damage. I’d say the fire started just outside it. If so, the fire would have traveled down the wooden dock, fed by the old wood, and taken out any boat in its path. Then the fire seems to have lost its fuel. The destruction line stops partway down the dock. Down here, the fire starts up again, or a second fire started up near this giant sailboat. It suffered so much damage it nearly sank.”
“Do you think this man owns that huge sailboat?” Sherry pointed to a figure with the slumped posture standing on what remained of the dock, facing the partially submerged boat.
“If he does, he must like Hawaii,” Don said.
“What makes you say that?”
The name of the boat, Ha wah e.”
“I thought letters were missing. Burned off or melted. I never said the name out loud. You’re right. Hawaii.”
“First time for everything,” Don said.
“It could be Lonnie’s boat. He and Ivy went to Hawaii on their honeymoon. Rachel told me Crosby’s middle name is Kai, which, if I’m not mistaken, is a Hawaiian word.”
“Absolutely. Kai means ‘the sea,’ ” Don said.
“How do you know that?”
“When I thought I was on the receiving end of Crosby’s boat, I began an intensive research for a new name. The boat was named Rachel’s Way, and that didn’t have any meaning for me. I found so many references to ocean, water, and sea, and Kai was one word that stuck out to me. I wouldn’t have used the name, though, because I have no connection to Hawaii, other than that the state is on my travel wish list for a second visit.”
“Lonnie was the dockmaster in those days. Explains why this woman in the background is most likely Ivy, his wife. Doesn’t explain why she’s so intently watching the man, who isn’t her husband.”
“She does have a serious expression. These old black-and-white photos always seem to capture the mood better than modern color prints. Not sure whether it’s the viewer projecting the mood onto the photo to some extent.”
“If I had to write a dialogue between the two, I’d have him saying, ‘Goodbye, my love.’ ”
“You’re such a romantic.” Don glanced at his phone. “I think we’d better get over to the train station. As much as I’d like to help solve the riddles you’re involved in, I have a meeting I can’t miss and not much wiggle room to get there on time.”
“You’ve helped more than you can imagine. Come on, Chutney. We have a train to catch.” Sherry clapped her hands and her willing dog appeared.
Don caught his train back to Long Island with only minutes to spare. As the train chugged away from the station, Sherry’s cell phone rang.
“Hi, this is Sherry.” She didn’t recognize the number, and it didn’t conjure up a name from her Contacts list.
“Sherry, this is Rachel Currier.” Rachel paused, during which time Sherry’s surprise at learning the identity of the caller left her momentarily mute. “Are you there?”
“Yes. What can I do for you?”
“I answered a call from the Forinos to pick up my mother-in-law’s coat from the cleaners, and when I got there, I was told you have it. I admit I was a bit late picking it up, but I’m sure you understand I’d like to have the coat. Sentimental reasons.”
Again, Rachel’s surprise left Sherry speechless.
“Are you there? We must have a bad connection,” Rachel said. There was a hint of desperation in her tone.
“It’s your family’s coat. You have first dibs on it, even though the Forinos said they made multiple attempts to get a Currier to pick it up and pay for the cleaning. It’s here, so whenever you can pick it up I’ll leave it on the porch if I won’t be home. Just give me a heads-up when you can come by.” Sherry was quick to add, “Rachel, there was a note in the pocket. I read it when I thought the coat was mine. It said, ‘Aloha, my love.’” Sherry listened for a response. None came. “In Hawaiian, ‘aloha’ means hello and goodbye.”
“In this case, goodbye.”
“So, it was your note?”
“It doesn’t matter who the note was for, or from,” Rachel said in a monotone.
“Rachel, you asked me for help and provided me with no answers. Do you know how frustrating that is?” Sherry’s voice picked up a momentum that couldn’t be stopped. “Yes, it matters. If you were having an affair, there are plenty of implications, and none of them favor your innocence when it comes to your husband’s death. The coat was at the dry cleaners for over six months. If you divorced because of an affair, this note confirms it.” Sherry ran out of breath.
“Ivy had the affair. She never spoke of it until she was on her deathbed. The name of the man was her closely guarded secret. That was the way it was in that era. The affair ended for the sake of her marriage to Lonnie and her son, Crosby. The damage was done. No one involved ever really recovered. But these things happen. History can’t be changed. Crosby was innocent in all the shenanigans between Lonnie and Ivy.”
“If the note was Ivy’s, and she carrie
d it in her coat pocket all those years, that’s sad. Means she was never truly happy.”
“I think she was happy enough.” Rachel sighed. “Who really is ever truly happy?”
“I am.” Sherry waited for an additional comment. None came. “I’m at the Ruggery tomorrow. Would you like to pick it up there? Or I could leave it on my porch.”
“I’d rather avoid doing this in public. Would you text me your address, please?”
“Okay.” Sherry hesitated while considering whether to give Rachel access to her property. “I’ll put the coat on the front porch. It’s nicely wrapped in plastic and I paid the cleaning bill.”
“Thank you. I’ll reimburse you. I have one more question. When Ivy was on her deathbed, she told me about her affair. She’d been carrying the burden of the secret for so long, she felt it had contributed to her health’s decline. She stopped short of telling me who she was involved with. Would you be able to confirm who it was?”
“First things first. Can you provide an alibi for your father-in-law during the afternoon of the cookie bake-off? An alibi that would get Lonnie off the suspect list?”
“You know he was with me at the bake-off. I can vouch for that. But not every single moment. He spent most of the time in the bathroom, out of my sight. That point is moot, because Crosby survived the bake-off. There’s no association there.”
“What did you two do after the bake-off?”
“I took Lonnie back to Sunset Village, as I would after any of our outings.”
Sherry considered what Rachel had said.
Rachel cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I’m mistaken. That day I didn’t return him to the Village. Barry gave him a ride. I had an errand to run. Not sure if they went straight back to the Village or took a drive, which is something Lonnie loves to do. Barry would have to tell us what they did after the bake-off. My guess is they did what Lonnie often has me do with him.”
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