“Yeah, been meaning to ask you about that, too.”
“It was Prescott’s request. I only agreed to it if he made a personal appearance, arriving on the island at least one day prior to the party. I believe he issued a press release about having some sort of major announcement to make in conjunction with the party. My guess is that he intends to offer a solution to the mystery. Of course, it seems to me that would give away the ending for his book, but that’s not my concern.”
“Let me guess. Lexi’s identification and statement was timed to throw a monkey wrench into his efforts.”
“Very astute, Deputy Lansing. But not totally accurate.”
“Suppose you fill me in.”
“Suppose we continue this conversation in person rather than on the phone.” Land line or cell phone, either way it was possible for someone to be listening in. And arranging a private meeting would also prolong the time before he needed to provide Bud with at least some of the truth.
“Where and when? You want me to come there or do you want to come here?”
“You come here. I want control of the surroundings so there’s no possibility of an information leak. Besides, I don’t want to be away from the island at this time. How about three o’clock this afternoon? I’ll meet you at my dock.”
“I’ll be there. One more thing, before you hang up. Could you satisfy my curiosity about something else?”
A hint of caution entered Gable’s voice. “And what would that be?”
“I was wondering why you always use the water taxi service from the mainland when you have a perfectly good forty-five foot pleasure yacht moored at your dock?”
“Basically, I have neither the time nor desire to be playing water taxi for everyone who comes and goes from this island.”
“Don’t you have someone on staff who can do that? What about Hank? Or your security people…maybe Brian or Ralph?”
“My personal boat, not a community vessel. Besides, I’m not aware of anyone on my staff who has the expertise to safely operate it.”
“Makes sense. Like I said, just simple curiosity and since we were talking about truth it seemed like a good time to ask. I’ll see you at three o’clock.”
Gable disconnected from the call, then stared at the phone. A three o’clock meeting with Bud Lansing to discuss the truth had not been part of his agenda.
“Is everything all right? You look troubled.”
He whirled around at the sound of Lexi’s voice. “A little glitch in the plan. Bud Lansing held the press conference and read your statement.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes, but now he’s pressing me for some serious answers. I finally agreed to meet him here at three o’clock.”
“Uh oh. That gives us an interesting conflict.”
“What kind of conflict?”
“I just received an email from Prescott saying he’s arriving today.”
“Today? Damn! That probably explains the message I got from Jimmy at Ocean Transport saying someone claims to have permission to come on the island. I’d better give Jimmy a call and see who contacted him. First Prescott didn’t want to come here at all and now he’s arriving a day earlier than we wanted him. Sneaky bastard. But I guess I should have been prepared for the unexpected from the likes of a master manipulator like Winthrop Hollingsworth.”
“Not even lunch time yet and already it’s been a weird day.”
He brushed a quick kiss against her lips. “I’m afraid from here on out weird is going to be the norm. I suggest you keep that psychic radar of yours tuned in. We’re going to need all the help we can get. Right now it’s just you, me, and Uncle Robert against an unknown number of people and an unknown plan. Hopefully having control of the surroundings will let us control and direct whatever Prescott has in mind.”
Gable had a quick phone conversation with Jimmy, then reported the latest to Lexi. “It’s Prescott. He plans to be at Ocean Transport by three o’clock, assuming his flight into Seattle is on schedule, and wants to be transported to the island immediately.” He stared at Lexi. “That means he’ll be here at the same time as Bud and will be staying in the guest wing, same as you. I can put him at the other end of the hallway from your room, but you’d still be isolated in that wing. Maybe it would be better if you moved into my room starting tonight. I doubt that it’s much of a secret about our relationship. Regardless of how careful we’ve tried to be, I’m sure Brian suspects and he’s most likely reported his suspicions to Prescott. Maybe that’s why Prescott decided to arrive a day earlier than originally set. And I’m sure Hank and Dolly suspect, too.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. “If it wouldn’t compromise any of your plans, I think I’d be more comfortable away from Prescott.”
“All your sensitive research information is already securely locked away in my office safe along with your laptop computer, so any attempt to search your room won’t turn up anything suspicious or critical.”
“What do you want me to do? You’re meeting Bud here at three o’clock and Prescott will be on the island shortly after that.”
“Let’s have Brian pick up Prescott at the dock. That will give him a chance to make a report in person so that Prescott will know everything we want him to know. It will also make it appear that Brian isn’t on our suspect list. You’ll have to greet Prescott here at the house and explain that I’m tied up with the sheriff’s department with more details on the discovery of the skeletons. We’ll let him worry about what the more details consists of. Besides, it would be an understandable thing for you to meet with Prescott. After all, he’s the one who hired you and sent you here for the specific reason of gathering information. To all outside appearances, you’ve only done what you were hired to do and can’t be held liable for the extenuating circumstances that resulted.”
He leaned back enough to be able to see her face. “Are you okay with that? Meeting Prescott by yourself and keeping him occupied? Keep in mind that you’ll be surrounded by people who are on his payroll in one way or another. As far as I know, Ralph doesn’t have any involvement in any of this, but he also doesn’t know anything that’s going on beyond what’s common knowledge. He’ll be around, but there’s no reason for him to be keeping a protective eye on you. I gave some thought to taking him into my confidence in a limited capacity, but I’m not sure that’s really a good idea. I don’t want him behaving any differently toward you or anyone else, especially Brian.”
She took a deep breath. “I can handle it.”
He brushed a tender kiss across her lips. “I know you can.”
****
Lexi couldn’t decide if time flew by or crawled along. It seemed to vacillate between the two extremes until three o’clock finally arrived. Gable met Bud Lansing at the dock and took him to the Victorian mansion so they could talk without being disturbed or overheard. Did Gable plan to include his uncle in the meeting or would Robert remain safely hidden from sight? She checked her watch. Jimmy had called Brian as he left the mainland with Prescott so Brian could meet them at the dock.
Meanwhile, she had some follow up details to coordinate with the caterers for the party and needed to email last minute instructions to the party guests. All the invited guests were to gather at Ocean Transport so they could be taken to the island together rather than stragglers coming and going. The head of the catering company would make a personal inspection of the mansion’s ballroom and kitchen facilities the next morning. As far as the party itself was concerned, everything moved along smoothly and on schedule.
A nervous jitter fluttered in her stomach. An uncomfortable sensation pulled at her consciousness. A vision flashed through her mind, but disappeared so quickly she didn’t have a chance to recognize it. Her previous vision had turned out to be frighteningly real. The nervous jitter turned to a sick churning. She hadn’t been able to discern the vision, but she had latched on to the fact that something bad w
as going to happen. If only she knew what and when. The only thing she felt for certain was a sense of danger for someone, but she didn’t know who.
After checking with the caterer and sending the emails, she returned to her room and moved her personal belongings before Prescott arrived. She watched from Gable’s bedroom window as Brian drove the electric cart to the dock.
Sucking in a deep breath, holding it and slowly exhaling did not do anything to calm her anxiety. Another fifteen minutes or so and she would be face to face with J.D. Prescott. Somehow she had to maintain her composure and project a persona that said there wasn’t anything wrong.
Then, sooner than she wanted, she saw Brian returning with a passenger in the cart…a passenger whose face she couldn’t see. The cart disappeared into the garage. She steadied her nerves, then headed for the kitchen to greet the guest. She arrived just in time to see Brian’s back as he escorted the new arrival toward the guest wing in the back.
She paused in the kitchen to get a drink of water. As she raised the glass to her mouth, the vision flashed through her mind again only this time it lingered long enough for her to get a fleeting glance at it. A man…a faceless man…pointing a hand gun and firing point blank range at someone standing in the shadows. A cold chill jolted through her body. With a shaking hand, she set the glass of water on the counter. The sick churning tried to work its way up her throat. It took all her will power to keep her panic in check.
The man had fired the gun at Gable!
She tried to force the vision to return. There had to be something there to help her identify the gunman even without any facial features. His clothes. His hair. His size. The setting. Any background details that would tell her where it would take place. There had to be something—
“Miss Caldwell.”
Brian’s voice shattered the silence, cutting through her icy panic. She looked around and saw him standing at the kitchen door with another man. A moment of total confusion assaulted her senses. Was this supposed to be J.D. Prescott? Something was drastically wrong. Winthrop Hollingsworth would be sixty-five years old. The man with Brian looked about fifty and stood a couple of inches shorter than Winthrop’s known height of six feet. Was the entire premise she and Gable had put together about Prescott really being the long missing Winthrop Hollingsworth nothing more than wishful thinking without any basis in fact?
The man stuck out his hand and extended a polite smile. “It’s nice to be able to greet you in person, Miss Caldwell. May I call you Alexandra?”
She rallied her senses, forcing the confusion from her mind while trying to present a calm and casual outer appearance. “Please, call me Lexi. It’s certainly a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Prescott. It’s nice to finally put a face and voice to all those emails we’ve exchanged.” The moment she grasped his hand, she knew he was lying. Whoever he was, he definitely was not J.D. Prescott.
“I’ll leave you with Miss Caldwell. If you need anything, just give me a shout.”
“Thank you, Brian. I’ll be just fine.” As soon as Brian left for the security office, the man claiming to be J.D. Prescott turned his attention to Lexi. “We have some work details to handle, but first I’d like to meet Mr. Talbot. I rather thought he would be the one picking me up at the dock. Is he on the island?”
“Yes, he’s here. However, he’s tied up in a meeting with the deputy in charge of the investigation of the skeletons.”
“Oh? Is there some new information?”
“I don’t know. Deputy Lansing called a few hours ago and arranged to meet with Gable this afternoon. I don’t know what he wanted to discuss. I don’t think Gable knew, either.” She saw it in his eyes, a look that said he wasn’t sure how to respond to what she had said but knew he had to say and do something.
A slight frown wrinkled across his forehead. “I see. Well, shall we get down to business? I want to go over the party details with you.”
“Gable has graciously set aside the den for us to use as a temporary working area. I have the party information laid out on the table. I assumed that would be first on your list since the big event is only two days away. I do know that Gable wants to discuss your big announcement. In fact, I believe he’s preparing an announcement of his own.”
“And just what does Gable Talbot intend to announce?” A hint of an edge clung to his words.
“I think I can answer that one.” Gable strode confidently into the room, grabbing their immediate attention.
“Gable…your meeting with Deputy Lansing is over already?”
“Just concluded.”
“I’d like you to meet J.D. Prescott. Mr. Prescott, this is our host, Gable Talbot.”
The two men shook hands. “Mr. Prescott. A pleasure.”
Lexi noted the quick flicker of curiosity tinged with a touch of surprise that darted through Gable’s eyes.
Gable extended his most charming smile. “You’re much younger than I thought you would be. You must have written your first novel when you were still a teenager. That’s very impressive.”
“It seems like I’ve been writing all my life.” A nervous chuckle followed Prescott’s words, one that seemed to Lexi to be forced and as out of place as his non-answer type of answer. Something was definitely wrong…something in addition to the too young and too short man claiming to be J.D. Prescott. She needed some time alone with Gable to compare notes as soon as possible.
“Lexi, why don’t you go over your party preparations with Mr. Prescott while I take care of a few things in my office, then I’ll join you.”
She shot Gable a curious look. This wasn’t part of their initial plan. “Sure thing. We can start with the guest list. I’ve requested that each guest include a description of their costume along with their RSVP.”
A quick glance in Gable’s direction as he left the den told her more than his parting comment did. His manner appeared casual, but she detected the tension in his body. He had obviously found this man claiming to be J.D. Prescott as suspicious as she did.
****
Gable proceeded to the security office. “Thanks, Brian, for picking up Prescott at the dock. Bud Lansing had been insistent about meeting with me this afternoon so I thought I’d better humor him.”
“Anything new on the investigation?”
“Nothing yet. A thirty-year-old murder is definitely a cold case. We know Evelyn Hollingsworth was murdered and now we know Jack Stinson was the other skeleton, a second murder victim buried in the same grave presumably by the same person. That leaves us with the tantalizing and unanswered question of what happened to Winthrop Hollingsworth. He isn’t accounted for and it’s a given fact that Evelyn and Jack didn’t bury themselves.” Gable tilted his head to one side and leveled a steady look in Brian’s direction. He studied the way Brian’s gaze nervously darted around the room, landing everywhere except on Gable. “Any theories?”
“Well…now that you mention it, I have been giving the matter some thought ever since they said the second skeleton wasn’t Winthrop.”
“Let’s hear what you came up with.”
Brian shifted his weight in his chair, his demeanor appearing uncomfortable…and increasingly nervous.
“Uh…yes…well, it seems obvious that Winthrop must have had a hand in it.”
“And?”
“And, what?”
“And what happened to Winthrop? And why would he have killed his wife and this other man who was only an employee?” Gable paid close attention to Brian’s body language.
“Yeah…well, maybe he…uh…I mean he killed them and then someone else killed him.”
“Really?” No doubt about it. Brian’s value to Prescott was muscle, intimidation and the collection of information. It wasn’t subtleness, guile, thinking on his feet, or his ability to convincingly play a part. “That’s an interesting theory. Do you have any notions about who would have killed Winthrop…or why? And what happened to Winthrop’s body since it’s never been found?”
“Uh…ma
ybe it was…what about that brother of Stinson’s…the one who…” A scowl crossed Brian’s face followed by a clenching of his jaw. “How the hell would I know? It was just a thought. Forget it.”
Gable quickly changed the subject. “I want you to keep your eyes glued to those security cameras. Between Lexi’s announcement this morning and the reclusive J.D. Prescott arriving on the island this afternoon, I’m expecting a flurry of trespassing attempts. I don’t want anyone on this island who hasn’t been cleared by me.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Talbot.”
The next stop for Gable was Prescott’s room in the guest wing. With Lexi keeping Prescott occupied in the den and Brian relegated to the security office, it was the perfect time for Gable to look through Prescott’s belongings. They had a little over forty-eight hours to bring all the pieces together. Then it would be the evening of the costume party reenactment. Everything had to be in place prior to the party.
It was risky and the timing critical.
Everything…twenty-five years of dedication and several years of concentrated effort all came down to the night of the party. All or nothing. And Gable Talbot refused to settle for nothing as the outcome of his efforts. He didn’t know the true identity of the man claiming to be J.D. Prescott, but he did know that it definitely was not Winthrop Hollingsworth. So, just who was this imposter?
And exactly where was Winthrop Hollingsworth?
Chapter Eleven
“This way, Mr. Prescott.” Brian pointed to the security camera as he led the sixty-five-year-old man on a circuitous route from the cove through the trees toward the house. “Ralph is having dinner right now. We’ve got a ten minute window without anyone monitoring the cameras, but we’ve got to hurry.”
“How is my stand-in handling the situation? Does anyone suspect he’s an imposter?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Miss Caldwell greeted him and they went to the den to go over the party details. Mr. Talbot didn’t show any indication of being concerned.” Brian paused for a moment, as if not sure whether to say any more. He continued hesitantly. “He did question me about any theories I might have on what happened to Winthrop Hollingsworth.”
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