Twilight at Blueberry Barrens

by Colleen Coble

  “Then don’t mess up now, kiddo. Take a firmer hand with them. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them. In fact, it means you love them enough to train them for living a productive life.”

  He studied her rugged face. She’d always been a no-nonsense sort of woman, and she made a lot of sense now. “Maybe you’re right. I’m just not sure about Kate.”

  She wagged a finger at him. “That girl’s had a tornado of events in her life, and she’s emerged still kicking. You want a strong mother figure for them, someone whose strength the girls can emulate.”

  He held up a hand. “Whoa, mother figure? No nanny will take Melissa’s place.”

  “Of course not. I should have said role model. That suit you better?”

  “It’s just for six weeks. I hardly think Kate or anyone else would have that big of an impact in such a short time.”

  “You’d be surprised.” Her voice was soft, and she turned to look out at the water.

  He counted back to how many days in total he’d been around his aunt and realized it wasn’t a whole lot more than that. He and Heath had come here for a week every summer starting when they were ten and until they were eighteen, and then a weekend here and there after they’d grown up. Maybe a total of sixty-six or seventy days. It wasn’t much more than the forty-five or so days a nanny would be with the girls. The impact Dixie had on him had been profound.

  He studied the topknot on her head and the sag of her shoulders. She’d been widowed when she was twenty-five and never had children, but that was about all he knew. “Why didn’t you ever remarry?”

  When she turned around to face him, a tiny smile lifted her lips. “I’m a slow bloomer, but I’m working on it. Walker Rocco didn’t work out, but there are still fish in the sea.”

  “You’re seeing someone now?”

  “Drake Newham, I might be old, but I’m not dead.” Her penciled-in brows were drawn together, and she folded her arms across her ample bosom.

  He knew from her steely tone that his aunt wasn’t about to give him any more personal information. “All right, I’ll hire her. But if it ends up poorly, it’s all your fault.”

  Her grin up at him held a triumphal gleam. “I think my shoulders can bear the burden.”

  “I love you, Aunt Dixie.” Slinging his arm around her, he motioned for the girls with his free arm. “Dinnertime.”

  Seeing Kate’s pretty face every day wouldn’t be a trial, but he wasn’t sure it was enough to compensate for her take-no-prisoners approach with his nieces.

  TEN

  The bar was mostly empty at only four in the afternoon. It was a little too early for the after-work and dinner crowds, but that was how Kate had planned it. The Wild Pelican was on a narrow side street that boasted peekaboo glimpses of the water from its windows. Kate had finally remembered the name of her uncle’s girlfriend, and they had come to this bar where she worked to question her. From what Kate had heard, this was the same bar Whitney Peece had partied in just before she disappeared.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Claire whispered as Kate led the way to the polished wood bar at the back of the barn-wood-encased room. “Danny might be upset if he finds out you didn’t tell him about this woman.”

  “He’s got more important things to worry about, like finding Whitney’s killer.”

  Kate gazed at a woman in her forties behind the bar. Her shoulder-length blonde hair held purple highlights. Her blatant sexuality would be a draw for every unmarried man in Folly Shoals. Kate had seen her once or twice at Uncle Paul’s trial, but they’d never spoken.

  Becky Oates put down a whiskey bottle and turned to face them. Kate stepped forward with a smile. “Hi, Becky, I’m—”

  “I know who you are.” Her husky voice held disinterest. “What will you have?”

  “Just sparkling water with lime for both of us. Listen, you probably know Uncle Paul escaped from jail.”

  “Heard that rumor.” Becky filled two glasses with sparkling water and dropped in two slices of lime, then slid them in front of Kate and Claire. “It’s not my concern. If you’re here looking for Paul, you can head right back out.”

  Kate masked her disappointment and took a sip of water. “He hasn’t gotten in touch with you at all? I really want to talk to him.”

  “You want to send him back to prison.” Becky’s gaze flitted to Claire, and her lip curled. “Your sister here sent him away for life. I don’t have anything to say to either of you.”

  “He tried to kill me.” Claire’s voice echoed off the bar mirror.

  “Yeah, so you told the judge. And like I said, I haven’t seen him.”

  Kate knew she was hiding something by the way she kept turning her back to them and the way her gaze never landed for long. “But he’s called, hasn’t he?”

  Becky shrugged. “I’ve talked to him a time or two in prison.”

  “But not in the last few days?”

  Becky held her gaze, then looked away. “No.”

  She was lying. “I think he’ll probably call. When he does, could you tell him I need to speak to him as soon as possible?”

  “I’m not your messenger.” Becky went to polish a row of shot glasses on the back cabinet.

  Claire nudged Kate. “Let’s go.” She laid five dollars on the bar top.

  “What about Whitney Peece? Were you working the night she disappeared?”

  The woman’s blue eyes turned even colder. “When did you get a deputy badge? I already talked to Sheriff Colton about what I saw. Or didn’t see would be more accurate. Now if you’re finished interrogating me, you can leave.”

  Two men entered the bar and Kate sighed, then nodded. If Becky had been cold before, she was downright glacial now. Kate dug out a pen and jotted down her cell number on a napkin. “Here’s my phone number. Please call me if you hear from him.”

  Becky stared at her with expressionless eyes. She picked up the napkin and dropped it into the trash, then moved past them to talk to the men at the other end of the bar.

  Kate shrugged and followed her sister out into the sunshine. “That was a waste of time.”

  “You never know. Paul could be watching her, or she may tell him we came in and harassed her. That might convince him to give you a call. At least we tried.”

  Kate forced a smile. “And we’re right here by the ice cream shop. That’s reason enough to get some maple nut ice cream and forget all about the way she acted.”

  When they exited the bar, Kate saw Kevin in his warden-service truck and waved. About six-two, with chiseled features and reddish-brown hair, he attracted female attention wherever he went, but he never noticed once he’d married Mallory, who was sitting in the passenger seat. He pulled to the curb and got out, then opened the door for his wife. “I was just about to call you. I got the information you asked for about Drake Newham.”

  Marriage agreed with both of them. Kate hugged Mallory. “You’re going to have a baby!” She’d graduated with Mallory but hadn’t seen her until she moved back to Folly Shoals when her father was murdered. Her teenage romance with Kevin had quickly rekindled.

  Mallory had cut off her long, dark hair, and the short style suited her. She touched her rounded belly. “I’m barely showing. Most people haven’t noticed. We’re due around Thanksgiving.”

  “Congratulations!” She glanced at Kevin. “Come get ice cream with us and you can tell me what you found out.”

  They fell into step beside Claire and Kate. Kevin took a piece of paper out of his pocket. “You probably already figured out your guy isn’t hurting for money. He didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth though. He came by his money the hard way and has a successful hobby-drone business. His drone designs are pretty unique, and Newham Drones is booming. He’s on the board of several charities, and he’s a deacon at his church. When his dad retired as a union ironworker, Drake told his parents he’d buy them a house wherever they wanted to retire, and they went to Costa Rica. He might regret that now bec
ause he doesn’t see them much.”

  Kate stopped outside the ice cream parlor. “He sounds like quite the paragon. No vices or faults you could find?”

  “Well, he’s a bit of a daredevil and likes flyboarding, if you call that a fault.”

  Kate blinked, remembering when she’d seen men flying over the water on the jet-propelled hoverboards. “That’s pretty extreme and more than a little dangerous for a man who has two little girls to raise.”

  “Some guys need a little thrill from time to time.” Kevin grinned and draped his arm around his wife.

  “It’s not something I want to watch.” Kate shivered, then stepped through the door he opened for them. Everything she’d learned about Drake intrigued her more and more.

  * * *

  Kate dragged her attention from the view outside the window and held her breath as Sheriff Colton lumbered into his office. He was so tall that he ducked coming through the doorway. His basketball days with the Celtics were far behind him, but he still exuded competence. She exchanged glances with Claire. Danny wouldn’t be happy they’d talked to Becky, but they’d both decided he should be informed.

  He settled into his chair, then pulled his computer closer and plopped a pair of reading glasses on his nose. “Paul was spotted up near Machias this morning. So we know he’s in the area. I thought maybe he was headed for Canada, but it’s hard to say. You didn’t see him out there today, right?”

  “No. But someone was using a crossbow, and that’s his weapon of choice.” They’d been through all this last night when Danny and Jonas showed up in response to Luke’s call.

  The sheriff leaned back in his chair, and it squeaked in protest. “Lots of hunters use a bow. There was nothing definitive about the bolts either. Easton Carbon Raiders.”

  “That’s what Uncle Paul uses.”

  “So do I and a dozen other hunters I could name off the top of my head.” He tossed his reading glasses onto the desk. “I tend to think it might have been an accident. Claire was lucky.”

  Everything in Kate rebelled at the thought. “We saw Becky Oates yesterday too. I wanted to see if she’d heard from Uncle Paul. She says she hasn’t.”

  Danny’s face reddened. “Tarnation, Kate, you know better than that.” He shook his huge, sausage-like finger at her. “You stay out of this from now on. Every time I turn around you’re sticking your nose into things and assuming you know more than me.”

  He leaned forward in his chair. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. This is my job, not yours, though I’m beginning to think I need to retire with all these deaths happening on my watch. Maybe I’m getting too old for this job.”

  Kate’s throat tightened. “You’re right, Danny. I’m sorry. I thought maybe she’d talk to me since I’m Paul’s niece, but she was downright hateful.”

  He sank back into his chair with a huff, then eyed her face. “We already have a viable suspect in Whitney Peece’s homicide. A witness saw her old boyfriend outside the bar, and we picked him up. He hasn’t confessed to raping and murdering her, but he has a history of violent behavior. We’ll keep investigating.”

  “What a relief.” She and every other woman in town had been tense since Whitney’s body had been found.

  She straightened as a familiar set of shoulders walked by outside. Hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts, Drake strolled by with a little girl on each side of him. She rose and headed for the door. “Thanks, Danny. I’ll let you know if I hear from Uncle Paul.” She rushed down the beige hallway and stepped outside into the bright sunshine. “Drake!”

  He turned at the sound of his name and squinted in the late-afternoon sun shining into his eyes. “I was about to call you.”

  Her stomach clenched at his tone. She didn’t get the job.

  She hadn’t admitted to herself how much she was depending on it until she realized it wasn’t being offered. She could always wait tables for the summer, and at least he was renting the house, which would help her bank account.

  She lifted a smile his direction, and a dazzling grin bounced back to her. Good grief, she was acting like a high school girl around a football jock. His strong, tanned legs stretched out from his shorts, and his biceps flexed when he pulled his hands from his pockets. It was all she could do to drag her stare away from his muscles and focus on the girls.

  She squatted in front of Phoebe as Claire came out of the sheriff’s office to join her. “What have you been doing today?”

  “We saw whales! Uncle Drake took us out on a boat. One jumped out of the water.”

  “One of my favorite things to do.” She glanced at Emma and saw her sidling closer to her uncle. “Did you see any calves?”

  Emma nodded. “Two. They stayed close to their moms. Then we watched Uncle Drake go flyboarding. He was up in the sky!”

  She held back a wince at the mental image. He needed to grow up and remember his responsibilities to the girls. They both seemed friendly enough, probably because they knew Drake wasn’t going to hire her.

  She rose. “Good to see you guys. I’d better let you get on with your day.”

  He frowned. “I think we’d better discuss your salary and hours. You have time?”

  She blinked and realized her mouth was hanging open. “Um, sure.”

  A sparkle of amusement lurked in his dark eyes. “You thought I wasn’t hiring you.” He turned and pointed to a park on the other side of the building. “You girls can play while I talk with Miss Kate.”

  Kate glanced past his shoulder at Claire, who waved and mouthed that she’d see her later.

  Phoebe set off toward the playground. “Ooh, a teeter-totter.”

  He waited until Emma followed her, then led Kate to a park bench. “Have a seat.”

  She expelled a hard and fast breath as she settled on the edge of the wooden slats. “I did think you weren’t going to hire me. I was a little bold with the girls. I’m sorry about that.” The apology sounded grudging to her ears, and she added a quick smile.

  “Aunt Dixie set me straight. She said I was undoing all the good discipline the girls had gotten from their parents. I’m not totally convinced she’s right, but we’ll give it a try. Just remember they’ve lost both their parents.”

  “Of course.” Maybe she had been too harsh. She’d taken their iPads without thinking. “They’re very sweet, and I think we’ll get along just fine. What do you have in mind?”

  He looked out to where the girls were laughing as they bounced up and down on the teeter-totter. “There’s something you should know before you agree to take the job.” His head swiveled back toward her. “I believe their parents were murdered. I’ll need you to keep the girls safe while I do some digging.”

  “Until last night I didn’t realize they were dead.” She exhaled and leaned against the back of the bench. “You’ve never said how you happened to have the girls. I just thought they were out of the country.”

  “Law enforcement believes my brother murdered his wife, then killed himself, but I don’t believe it. My brother was a defense attorney. He had some threats related to a high-profile case before they died, but he was never one to back down.”

  Drake gave a vigorous shake of his head. “My brother loved his family. He would never do something so heinous. And my house was broken into after they died. I’ve been tailed. It could be about one of my drone designs, but it might be more than that. My attorney is checking out any companies who might have wanted to steal my designs, but my gut tells me everything is tied to Heath’s death.”

  It all sounded a little far-fetched to Kate. And why come here to investigate anyway? Surely there were people to watch the kids in Boston. But maybe he’d wanted peace and quiet to look things up.

  He frowned. “I can see the doubt in your eyes, but you’ll need to trust me on this and take extra care with the girls in case the danger isn’t over. Can you do that?”

  She nodded. “I have good instincts and I’ll watch them well. What are my hours?”
>
  “You might need to be flexible with the schedule. Sometimes I might need to check on something at night, but you’re right across the road. I’ll pay you well.”

  He named a sum for the six weeks that made Kate catch her breath. It was more than she usually made in a year from the blueberries. “I’ll take it.”

  Keeping her head when she was around this guy would take some effort, so she didn’t feel a bit bad about accepting that amount of money.

  ELEVEN

  Drake dropped into the chair opposite Sheriff Colton’s desk. “Thanks for seeing me, Sheriff.” Colton’s small office held the stench of desperation. How many suspects had sat in here under the sheriff’s stern gaze? Drake felt a rising sense of impatience to get this over with and get back to the girls, who were with Dixie this morning. Kate would start on Monday when the cottage was ready.

  Colton was a big man, easily six feet seven inches. He wore his height well. “I’m not sure what I can do to help you, Mr. Newham. I’m wicked sorry about your loss though.”

  “Thanks.” Drake pulled out his iPhone and pulled up a blank note screen. “Can we talk about that day? I’d like to understand the events as they unfolded.”

  The sheriff glanced at the big watch on his wrist. “I only have about ten minutes before my next meeting.”

  “So you still believe Heath killed Melissa, threw her off the top of the cliff, then jumped himself?”

  The chair squeaked as the big man shifted. “Ayuh, I do. One of the employees out at the Tourmaline heard them arguing the night before. The employee reported that Mr. Emerson said, ‘I could kill you for this, Melissa. I don’t know how I can live with this.’ ”

  Drake reined in his initial flinch. He couldn’t see Heath ever saying something like that. “Lots of people argue and say things they wish they hadn’t, Sheriff. It’s hardly grounds for suspecting my brother of something so heinous.”