The light finally picked up something. A running shoe sticking out of the loose dirt. A running shoe identical to the one he had seen when hiding under the bed in Hank and Dolly’s cottage.
Gable shoved his cell phone at Lexi, his voice filled with the urgency of the situation. “Winthrop can still be alive. Call Bud. We need a rescue crew.”
Gable and Robert ignored the safety factors and jumped into the ravine. Gable’s words came out in a raspy anger. “You’re not going to escape your retribution by dying, you bastard. You’ll pay for your crimes.”
Using their hands, they frantically dug and scooped the mud away in a desperate attempt to pull Winthrop free. An arm, then another arm. A moment later they had his head uncovered. Robert cleared the mud from his mouth and nose as Gable pulled him from the hole. They worked on him and a minute later had their efforts rewarded when Winthrop sputtered and choked as he gasped for air.
Gable stared at his long time nemesis. Winthrop Hollingsworth finally unmasked, exposed to the world as the ruthless killer he was. Twenty-five years of work and planning had come down to this moment. An arrogant bastard who didn’t care about anything other than himself and his money, cowering on the ground covered in mud. Looking like a homeless unfortunate deserving of sympathy rather than the hated man worth millions who did not deserve anyone’s sympathy.
Lexi’s voice sounded less than firm. “My first vision, someone shooting at you. And now my second vision, someone being trapped by another mud slide. Both visions have come to fruition. But there’s still the third one…a man and a woman face down on the sand at the cove…apparently dead.”
“I can explain that one.” Deputy Lansing walked up behind them accompanied by another deputy and a paramedic. The paramedic rushed ahead to check Winthrop.
“One of my men found your guard unconscious by the cove.”
“Is he all right?” Gable’s alarm and concern clearly showed in his voice.
“He took a nasty blow to the back of his head, but he’s fine…a headache and a couple of stitches. We took Brian into custody at the cove. He had a boat and seemed to be waiting for someone.” Bud gestured toward the mud spattered man on the ground. “I assume that someone is the guest of honor over there.”
Lexi’s voice cut into the conversation. “But what about the man and woman face down in the sand? What I saw in my vision?”
Bud glanced down at the ground for a moment then looked up at Lexi before addressing Gable. “Hank and Dolly. They had been shot. My guess is that ballistics will match the bullets to Brian’s weapon.”
Confusion covered Lexi’s face. “But why would Brian kill Hank and Dolly?”
Gable slipped his arm around her shoulder. “I think it had to do with what Winthrop was looking for in their cottage and that something is probably in the box we took from the closet.”
Bud cocked his head, shot a quick glance at Robert, then leveled a questioning look at Gable. “Box? I thought we brought all your little secrets out in the open when we had our talk?”
“Lexi and I just found the box a little while ago. Right after we started the dancing in the ballroom, we ducked out of the party and left our stand-ins there as the visible presence while we searched Hank and Dolly’s cottage.”
The paramedic and deputy approached with a hand-cuffed Winthrop Hollingsworth in tow. The deputy addressed his comments to Bud Lansing. “He’s lucky to be alive. Another minute or so under that mud and he would have been dead. But, as you can see, he’s ambulatory and he’ll be okay.”
“Have the doctor check him out, then book him. For right now it’s trespassing on private property, carrying a concealed weapon, and endangering others by firing that weapon inside a crowded room. The D.A. will be filing far more serious charges tomorrow.” He glanced toward Winthrop. “There’s no statute of limitations on murder.”
Gable and Lexi watched as the deputy and paramedic escorted Winthrop to the dock and the waiting sheriff’s launch. Then Gable turned toward Bud. “Come on, I’ll get that box for you.”
They returned to the mansion, now abuzz with deputies taking statements from the party guests and crime scene personnel collecting evidence. Gable directed Bud around the outside of the mansion to the secret staircase so they could avoid the ground floor, followed by Lexi and Robert.
Gable removed the box from the safe and set it on the desk. He handed Bud a pair of scissors, then watched as the deputy cut away the tape and opened the lid. He withdrew a diary. Gable identified the entries as being in Dolly’s handwriting. The box also contained some personal items tagged as belonging to Winthrop. Bud checked a few random pages of the diary.
“It appears that Dolly kept a record of everything Winthrop asked them to do including details of the money transfer. I’m sure the D.A. will find this very helpful.” Bud replaced the diary and picked up the box. “I’ll expect the three of you at the station in the morning,” he glanced at his watch, “make that later today to make an official statement.”
Gable noted Lexi and Robert nodding their agreement. “No problem.”
“Now, just one little thing before I go. How did Winthrop fire all those shots at the two of you point blank and not hit either one of you? And according to witnesses, neither one of you even made an attempt to dive for cover. So, what gives?”
Robert stepped in to address Bud’s question. “Deputy Lansing, a magician never reveals the secrets of his grand illusions. I’m afraid that’s one thing that won’t be going into your report.”
“That’s not good enough. I have to say something. My report can’t simply say several shots were seen to pass harmlessly through the two individuals and lodge in the wall behind them. The sheriff isn’t going to buy that for a second and neither will the district attorney.”
Robert furrowed his brow in a moment of concentration. “Then tell them it was a carefully staged illusion by Santorini The Great utilizing the finest features of the art of holographic projection.”
Bud let out a sigh of resignation, closed his notebook, and capped his pen. “I’ll see if I can sell that to the powers that be.”
Lexi stared at Gable for several seconds as if trying to get her mind wrapped around everything that happened in the last few hours. “Then you really weren’t in any danger?”
“I told you I would be all right.” He gave her hand an intimate little squeeze. “And I also think I told you to stay put on the third floor.”
“Well…you didn’t say exactly where I was supposed to stay, so I decided as long as I was still inside the mansion…” Her voice trailed off as she stared at Gable, her face covered in confusion.
Gable took her hand and stood quietly for a moment, then finally looked up. His voice carried all the emotion coursing through his veins. His gaze lit on Bud for a second, then settled on Robert Stinson. “It’s over, Uncle Robert. It’s finally over. This has been a large part of my life, my major focus, for twenty-five years. And I know for you it’s been a very long thirty year odyssey.”
Robert shot his nephew a big smile as he flashed a thumbs up gesture. “Well, it seems to me that you two kids have things to talk about. So, I think I’m going to go forth into the world and create my greatest illusion of all time. I’m going to return from the dead.” He gave a wink to Lexi, clamped his hand affectionately on Gable’s shoulder for a second, then headed down the hall toward the room where he had been staying.
After another five minutes of dealing with some loose ends, Bud released Gable and Lexi from the scene until the next morning when they were to make an official statement at the sheriff’s station. Bud assured Gable he’d see that the party guests were transported back to the mainland. His men would stay with the catering people until they had everything cleaned up, then take them to the mainland while leaving a couple of deputies on duty at the dock to thwart any trespassers.
Gable held onto Lexi’s hand as they walked back to his house. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say. He seemed so deep in tho
ught that she was almost afraid to intrude and invade his privacy. “Bud and his men sure got here in a hurry.”
“They were already here. Their launch docked right after all the party guests were taken to the mansion. They waited at the dock for a call.”
She studied his expression for a moment, not quite sure what to make of it. It seemed to be an odd combination of anguish and relief. “I’m so sorry about Hank and Dolly. That didn’t need to happen. Hollingsworth murdered two people thirty years ago and then had two more people killed tonight in an attempt to preserve his secret.”
“Finally…there’s nothing left but the details. We’ll give our statements and then I’m sure there will be a round of questions from the D.A.’s office and most likely from Winthrop’s defense attorney, too, which means I need to get my attorney involved. It will eventually go to trial. I think the evidence is overwhelming. He made a confession to killing my father in front of a room full of people, many of them prominent business leaders and even a couple of politicians. He also tried to kill Uncle Robert and me in front of those same witnesses. His attorney will probably go for an insanity plea. But the most important aspect of all of this is over. Winthrop Hollingsworth has been unmasked and will be held accountable. My father’s name has been cleared. All the rest is just after-the-fact details.”
They reached the house and went directly to Gable’s bedroom. He leaned back against the closed door. His voice was soft, again filled with an emotion that touched her on every level. “It’s over. It’s really over. Somehow I thought it would feel like a huge weight being lifted from my shoulders. An overwhelming sensation of joy. I thought finally seeing that bastard exposed for the murderer he is would fill that empty void inside me that I’ve been carrying around for twenty-five years. But the truth is...” He caught a moment of eye contact with her, his gaze feeling as if it was trying to delve into the depths of her soul. “The truth is that I don’t know how I feel or what I feel. I’m numb inside.”
She touched her fingers to his cheek, gently caressing his skin. “So much has happened in the last couple of hours. You need time to come down from the adrenaline surge, time to emotionally assimilate all of it. Things will be much clearer in the morning after you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.” He pulled her into his arms and held her close as he threaded his fingers through her hair. “But all I want right now is to shut out the rest of the world.”
Lexi’s heart pounded and her pulse raced...a combination of excitement and anticipation, yet it was somehow tinged with a hint of anxiety. Another psychic warning or her own insecurities playing havoc with her emotions? One thing for sure, her research job had come to a screeching halt and it was a good bet that J.D. Prescott wouldn’t be paying her.
She had known all along that the time would come when she needed to return to real life, to leave Skull Island and once again embrace the necessity of job hunting and earning a living. But somehow she had missed the possibility of everything abruptly coming to such a quick conclusion. Could she honestly expect Gable to suddenly declare his undying love for her? And exactly what were her feelings toward him? Had she truly fallen in love with him in such a short time? Even though everything they had shared was more than many people experience in a lifetime, it had been less than a week since her arrival on the island. Was it even possible to fall in love that quickly?
Her troubling thoughts vanished in a flash of heated desire when he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bed.
They made love with all the passion two people could possess followed by all the tenderness two people could share. Physically satisfying...absolutely. Gable was the most incredible lover she had ever experienced. Emotionally satisfying...she didn’t know. She didn’t seem to be able to unravel the intricacies of the emotions coursing through her. If only she knew what he wanted.
She remained folded in the security of his arms, neither of them moving or speaking. Thoughts...fears...desires...uncertainties. Everything swirled around in her mind until exhaustion finally claimed her and she drifted into an uneasy sleep.
****
Gable stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror until the steam from the shower obscured the image. He had never felt so completely lost and it wasn’t due only to the fact that the primary focus of all his energy for the last twenty-five years no longer existed. When Lexi had returned to her room at sunrise saying she needed to pack, it had thrown him for a loop. The possibility of her leaving the island so soon...in fact, her leaving at all...hadn’t sunk into his consciousness yet. He understood her reasons, her need to get back to work to earn a living, not wanting to be away from her home any longer than need be. Yes, he understood it intellectually. But emotionally? He didn’t understand any of it.
So why had he allowed her to walk out of his bedroom and disappear down the hall? Why didn’t he go after her? He suddenly felt like a ship adrift at sea. No wind to fill his sails. No navigational charts to show him what course to follow. No rudder to steer him in the proper direction.
Lexi was all those things. She was his life. But how to tell her? What to say?
He dressed and went to the kitchen to make coffee. One thing for sure, she couldn’t leave until she had given her statement to Bud at the Sheriff’s station. That would buy him some time, but not much.
“Well, I’m packed...except for my computer stuff in your office.”
He whirled around at the sound of her voice. “I’ve made coffee. What would you like for breakfast?” You stupid jerk. You couldn’t think of anything more clever to say than that? He hadn’t known what else to say. Somehow he needed to find the right words to adequately express the feelings swirling around inside him.
“I’m not very hungry. I thought I’d give my official statement to Bud this morning and make sure he has my contact information before I head for home...”
“Head for home?” He couldn’t keep the anxiety out of his voice. “You’ve already made plane reservations?”
“Uh...yes. I called first thing this morning. I can get a flight out of Seattle late this afternoon.” But I don’t want to go. She swallowed the sob that tried to form. It felt as if her entire world was being yanked out from beneath her, but she didn’t know what else to do. I don’t want to ever leave.
She saw the panic dart through his eyes. A little flicker of hope burst to life deep inside her.
“Do you suppose you could delay your departure?”
“Delay it?” Could it be? Her breath caught in her lungs. Was it possible? Was he trying to say...
“We...uh...we need to talk.”
“About what?” She had barely been able to force out the words. It seemed that her entire life…her entire future… had become dependent on what he was trying to say.
“About us...about the future.”
His words touched the depths of her soul. Nothing had ever sounded so good. She blinked back the tears and prayed she wasn’t misinterpreting what he had said.
He slowly reached out toward her, gently brushed his fingertips across her cheek, then pulled her into his arms. His voice sounded hesitant, as if he wasn’t sure of what he wanted to say or how to say it. “For twenty-five years my life has been dedicated to one purpose. Last night, all of that came to a crashing halt. I found myself without any direction and it frightened me. You told me I needed time to assimilate everything that had happened. Well...you were right. This morning it all looks different to me. I’m not sure what the future holds or what I’ll be doing, but one thing is crystal clear to me. I want you to be part of that future...part of my life.”
He paused, as if trying to gather his thoughts. “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want you to leave.”
Had she heard him correctly? Did she dare to hope? “You...you want me to stay?”
He slowly shook his head. “I’m making a complete mess out of this, but it’s an area where I haven’t had any experience. I k
now this is sudden and it’s been a time fraught with turmoil and complications, but I...I don’t want to lose you.”
He brushed a soft kiss across her lips. His words came out as a mere whisper, but there was no mistaking the emotion attached to them. “I love you, Lexi.”
He was right. It had all happened so quickly and definitely under very adverse circumstances. But she had never heard more glorious words in her life. “Are you sure? You’re not saying that just because you think it’s what I want to hear, are you?”
“I’m saying it because I can’t imagine my life without you. Please stay.”
“Oh, Gable...
He leaned back far enough to make eye contract with her. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes! Oh, yes...yes...yes!”
“Would I be pushing my luck if I took it one step farther?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have a ring to give you, but…uh…will...will you marry me?”
“Marry you? Did I hear you right?”
“Yes. Alexandra Caldwell, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks. “I love you, Gable.” She had never been so sure of anything in her entire life as she was at that moment. “Oh, of course I’ll marry you.”
About the author...
Samantha Gentry currently lives in Kansas, but has lived most of her life in the Los Angeles area. She has fond hopes of being able to move back to the West Coast. For twenty years she worked in television production before becoming a full time writer.
For many years photography was her avocation. Research showed that she had a better chance of marketing her photographs to magazines if they included an article, so that’s when and how she started writing non-fiction magazine articles to accompany her photographs.
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