“Huh?”
“It’s the name of the fishing boat.” Liam inhaled the salty air and wrinkled his nose at the overpowering stench of fish. It reminded him of the patio area at the Cayo and that made his skin itch. Liam swiped the surface of his phone to reveal the time. “The boat should be here soon.” He led Autumn to an empty part of the pier, and they sat down.
Autumn dangled her legs over the edge of the dock and swung them to and fro like a small child. She squinted into the bright rays of the setting sun. Liam joined her, his legs bent and his hands splayed behind him. At first, they were both quiet, just watching the fishing boats coming and going. Liam remembered when Pops would bring him out on the water. Except now, instead of being mesmerized by dolphins, Liam was hypnotized by Autumn’s shapely legs.
He leaned into Autumn. “Pops used to take me on his little catamaran when I was a kid. I’d dream of catching a shark.”
Autumn raised her brow into a high arc.
Liam shrugged. “I was six. What did I know? I wanted to put it in a fish tank at home. Pops said I could if I caught one. Of course, I never did.”
“Your Pops had a good sense of humor.”
“Oh yeah, he’s a real comedian.”
Autumn shifted her weight a bit. Liam’s skin prickled at seeing how close she was to him.
“It’s nice your grandpa was around,” she said. “My mom’s mother lives in El Paso. My dad’s parents died when I was little.”
“Pops wasn’t just around. He basically raised me. My mom split when I was three, and then my dad took jobs wherever he could find them. Eventually, he left the Keys to drive tractor-trailers. I think my dad left because my mom did. It sort of messed him up. I know it messed me up.” Liam shut his mouth. He was revealing too much. But talking to Autumn felt natural. With Victoria, Liam downplayed his humble upbringing, but Autumn didn’t come from money. Her life seemed as screwed up and weird as his.
Autumn picked at some loose threads on her skirt. “My parents got divorced last year. My dad cheated on my mom with the woman who managed the accessories shop down the street from my parents’ hardware store.”
Liam raised his eyebrow. “Accessories?”
“You know, hair bows, necklaces—that sort of thing. Anyway, my parents’ store was tanking because of the big chain places around the corner. Right before the divorce, they closed shop. Jennifer moved into our old house and out of desperation, we moved in with Aunt Glenda. My mom used to do bookkeeping for the hardware store, so she’s working on making the Cayo profitable. I think it makes her feel important.” Autumn adjusted her sunglasses on her face. “Anyway, my dad kept saying that the divorce wasn’t my fault. That I shouldn’t blame myself. It had nothing to do with me.” She scoffed. “The thing is, it had everything to do with me. It affected me more than them. They separated from each other, which is what they wanted. It wasn’t what I wanted at all.”
“Better than fighting,” he said.
“There was no fighting in my house,” Autumn said, her voice eerily quiet. “There was only silence. That was worse.”
Liam put his arms around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. It was meant as a friendly, comforting gesture, but the contact electrified his body. He quickly let her go and an awkward silence enveloped them both.
Autumn inched away from Liam. His cheeks grew hot with embarrassment.
Liam cleared his throat. “Pops has always been a quiet guy. Whenever I screwed up, and it was often, he would never yell or scream. He’d just give me one of those side-glances, and I could tell he was disappointed. That’s how he and I are different. Pops is not a risk-taker. He’s a big believer in minding your own business. Accepting the status quo. So you see? There’s no way my grandfather could’ve killed a girl. It’s just not in him.”
“Especially since he raised you. He must be a decent person.” She gave him a small smile.
“But she named him,” said Liam.
Autumn nodded. “She wrote his name in my foggy bathroom mirror.”
Autumn didn’t strike Liam as a liar and she didn’t seem crazy. Perhaps, there were things in this world that Liam would never understand. Could never understand. But, he’d have to accept them anyway. But, why would a ghost lie about who killed her? Because she had to be lying. Pops wasn’t a murderer. Liam shuddered. “Creepy.”
“Inez also flashed me back to a memory where your grandpa was yelling at her. He was so angry.”
“Inez seemed to make a lot of people angry with her.”
“What do you mean?”
Liam sat up straighter and peered out at the ocean. He listened to the melodic lapping of the waves against the dock. The Breyers were a lot of things—deadbeats, dropouts, drifters. They were flawed men, but they weren’t killers. Liam confided in Autumn what Pops had said yesterday. That Inez and Mick had been engaged and that they had fought so fiercely, Inez threw her engagement ring in Mick’s face. “I know Mick Canton doesn’t take kindly to humiliation.”
Autumn pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and faced Liam. “Enough to kill?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Autumn wasn’t quick to buy into his suspect. Sure, Inez and Mick were a couple, but why would he kill her and why wouldn’t Inez name him? As a ghost, would she still protect him? “I suppose we could look into that, but Mick really loved Inez.” She remembered being in the April room and seeing those flashes of them together. Heat rose to her cheeks. “I know he can be ruthless in business, but murder? I don’t know.”
Liam shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Autumn tapped her lips with her finger. “Mr. Blazevig was awfully cagey when I brought up Inez’s name, and even Aunt Glenda didn’t like Inez.”
“You just named two of the nicest old people I’ve ever met. No way they did it.”
“Who knows what they were like all those years ago.”
“People don’t change who they fundamentally are.”
“Maybe.” Autumn watched the fishermen dock the boat and unload the fish from various vessels. Sometimes, she felt like she was in a movie. Here it was, late afternoon, and she was swinging her legs over crystal clear ocean water. Back in New Jersey, she’d most likely be watching television while she did her trigonometry homework. Autumn had always accepted her routines. Key West stomped on that monotony.
Autumn brought her knees up to her chest, careful not to flash boaters her underwear. “Why do you trust me all of a sudden?”
“It’s not that I didn’t trust you before. But she’s tried to kill me twice now. At some point, I need to think of self-preservation.” Liam faced her and cocked his head to the side. “But I need you to be honest with me. What’s in this for you?”
Autumn squinted at him before sliding her sunglasses down over her eyes. “I want to study journalism and I’m using Inez’s disappearance for a scholarship application.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, even as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You’re that desperate to freeze your butt up north?”
Even as Autumn bathed in the sunlight and welcomed the soft, ocean air, she still grinned when she thought of crisp, fall breezes. “I’m a Jersey girl. It’s in my DNA.”
“Well, I’m a Conch.” He pronounced the word with a hard K sound at the end.
“A what?”
“Most people come to the Keys on vacation and leave. Then, there are those who’ve lived here their whole lives. Natives. They’re called Conchs.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, I’m definitely not a Conch.”
“Well, you could’ve been dragged somewhere worse.” Autumn detected a bit of defensiveness in his voice. “I don’t get it. What’s so great about New Jersey?”
Autumn wiped away a line of sweat from above her lip. Attractive. “What’s so great about here?”
Liam pointed at the dying sun. The rays fanned out in golden arcs. “You can’t tell me you have this in Jersey?”
She shrugged. “We h
ave the shore. But more importantly, we have seasons. My family loved fall. My parents named me Autumn for God’s sake. Right now, if I were home, I’d be taking my sweaters out of storage. My mom would be prepping the house for Halloween and my birthday. We’d head out to the orchards and pick apples. Then we’d hit the pumpkin patch and I’d spend at least thirty minutes scouring the ground for the most symmetrical pumpkin I could find. Not too big. Not small. And totally round. My dad would carry it around for me and seatbelt it in next to me. He did that last year, and I was turning seventeen. Then we’d finish the day with apple cider donuts. My dad would build a fire and my mom would serve up hot apple pie and ice cream. She’d only close the windows if it got too cold to sleep.” She closed her eyes and breathed deep, trying to envision the autumn colors of red and gold. Instead, she smelled rotting fish and salt.
Liam sat upright. “It doesn’t sound like you want to go back to New Jersey.”
Autumn wondered if Liam was deaf. Did he not hear what she had said? “It doesn’t?”
“Nah. It sounds to me like you want to go back in time.” He laughed, but Autumn failed to see the humor. “You want to go back to when your parents were happily married and everything was warm and cozy.”
“What’s so wrong with that?” she asked softly.
“There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s pointless. You can’t make that happen. Moving back to Jersey isn’t going to give you what you want.”
Autumn watched the undulating ocean waves. She knew Liam was right. She couldn’t get her family back, but Jersey was familiar. She understood how the Northeast worked. The changes in weather invigorated not just her, but everyone around her. In the Keys, the stagnant and oppressive temperatures unnerved Autumn and made her skin itch. Time stood still here and she couldn’t adjust. She was neither tourist nor a Conch. Autumn didn’t belong anywhere.
“Do you know what Cayo Hueso means?” Liam asked.
Autumn shook her head.
“It’s the original Spanish name for Key West. It means Bone Key. When the Europeans landed here, the island was covered in bones. Used to be a graveyard for the natives.”
“Really?” she asked.
“See? You find that interesting. For a girl who embraces the dead, you’re more at home in Key West than any other city in the country.”
“I don’t know about that.” Autumn spied a line forming near the boat. She stood up and smoothed down her dress. “Fish is up.”
Liam nodded and rose to his feet.
Autumn wondered if Liam could see the disappointment wash over her face. She wasn’t in a rush to go home and have her mother order her about like a scullery maid. There was something Autumn didn’t quite understand. “You pawned the ring. Why not just leave the Cayo and you’ll never have to worry about Inez?”
“The ring only brought in a little money. I need more cash.” Liam pointed to a short guy in cargo shorts and a stained white T-shirt. “You see that guy over there?”
The boy reminded Autumn of the slackers who sneaked cigarettes outside the high school gym. “Yeah.”
“That’s my buddy, Randall. He may not look like much, but he’s loyal, and he’s a good mechanic. He and I are going into business together. Randall and I come from . . . well, let’s just say our last names are not the most popular around here. But he and I are going to make something of ourselves.” Liam’s eyes gleamed. “I’m gonna grab the fish and we’ll head back.”
She said, “Sure,” and watched Liam make his way over to his friend. She hung back but could still hear their conversation.
Randall clapped Liam on the shoulder. “Good to see you, bro.”
“You too. We came for the grouper,” Liam said.
Randall pointed to a squat guy in a red, smeared apron. “Keith’ll hook you up.” Randall tilted his head and glanced beyond Liam. “Who’s the cutie?” Autumn blushed.
Liam spun around. Autumn pretended to be fascinated by the tops of her sandals. She leaned against the railing and let the breeze play with the hem of her dress. “That’s Autumn, my boss’s daughter.”
Randall laughed. “That’s a thing with you isn’t it, dude? You’re always liking the boss’s daughter. Victoria?”
Autumn bristled. Victoria didn’t have any redeeming qualities, so what attracted Liam to her? Other than her obvious good looks. Autumn hoped Liam wasn’t that shallow.
“I never worked for her grandfather,” Liam said.
“Everyone in this town works for Mick Canton,” Randall quipped. “Oh, speaking of working. You got the money?”
Liam handed Randall a padded envelope. “There’s two grand there. Be careful with it.”
“I will, don’t you worry.” Randall bumped Liam’s fist with his own. “We are in business. Keith is going to put up six. But I’m gonna need more than this. This isn’t going to cut it.”
Randall glanced past Liam and grinned at Autumn. She glared back.
“I’m working on it. But I can’t make Evelyn pay me more. Anyway, we have to sit down and figure out where we’re going to set up shop. I’d feel better once we have real concrete plans.”
“Good news is we have a spot already.” Randall handed Liam a heavy, wrapped package. “My granddad’s been sitting on a piece of land by the salt ponds. It’s not ideal, but it’s ours.”
“You’re kidding me?” Liam’s eyes grew wide. He slapped Randall on the back. “That’s awesome!”
“Even more awesome is that Granddad promised me that land one day.” Then he grumbled, “Least he could do. The drunk. Anyway, this plan of yours might work after all.”
Liam brightened. Autumn hoped for Liam’s sake this worked out. She didn’t know him well, but she knew him well enough to know he needed some good luck in his life. Also, her mother wasn’t going to keep him employed too much longer.
Randall tapped his shorts pocket where he now hid 2,000 dollars. “Gotta split. Catch ya mañana?” He walked backward and pointed at Liam. “Oh, Victoria is having a party. You gotta come, dude. Should be epic.”
“No way, man. I’m not crazy enough to get back into that mess,” Liam said.
“Bring the cutie,” Randall called back as he disappeared into the throng of people crowding the dock.
Liam joined Autumn. His cheeks held a pinkish cast and Autumn wondered if he was blushing. “Ready to go?”
She nodded, and they made their way back to Liam’s parked scooter. He placed the packaged fish in the trunk and handed her the bike helmet. Once again, Autumn couldn’t help but think that if she were back home, she wouldn’t be doing this. If anything, she’d be holed up in her room, listening to music and working on a chemistry lab. Not purchasing fish that had been caught in a net barely an hour ago and escorting it on the back of a scooter driven by a very cute Liam Breyer.
People in the Keys definitely don’t live for the weekend like they do up north.
Autumn wrapped her arms around Liam’s waist as he sped off for home. Suddenly, the palm fronds seemed greener. The roosters, with their bright red crests, paraded up and down the sidewalks as if signaling to Autumn to take notice. She watched a six-toed tabby clean its paws as it balanced on a white picket fence. The singing and laughter emanating from a group of tourists rose above the scooter’s buzzing so that Autumn felt like she was surrounded by an orchestra of joy. Autumn thought maybe Key West was finally seeping into her bones, or perhaps it was really Liam.
Liam parked the scooter alongside the curb outside the Cayo Hueso. Autumn hopped off the back.
She collected the fish from the trunk. “Thanks. I had a nice time.”
“Me too.”
Autumn hesitated, not quite ready to go inside. “Although, I’m sorry you pawned the ring. I hope your business takes off.”
Liam bit his swollen lip and winced. Autumn still couldn’t believe she had done that. Well, Inez had done that.
“I don’t want to be the reason you don’t get that scholarship. I just needed the mone
y, ya know?”
“Oh, I know,” she said. “Money would make both of our lives so much better.”
He laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, I had my regrets about selling it.”
“Really?”
“I even went back to Louie’s the next day to see if I could buy it back.”
“What happened?”
Liam turned on the scooter. “I was too late. Someone had already bought it. See you tomorrow.” Liam waved as he sped home on his bike.
#
The next afternoon, Liam stood along the Cayo Hueso’s pool, skimming the dead bugs and leaves off the water’s surface. Except, rather than looking down, he stared across at the battered old fence that separated the Dead and Breakfast’s backyard from the neighbor’s. The fence was in desperate need of a paint job, one Liam would surely be asked to do soon. Across the way, Liam could hear some chickens clucking and the neighbor yelling at her husband.
He kept skimming the same spot over and over again. He made 2,000 dollars selling the ring, but he had to come up with another two grand to ensure his stake in the business. A business he envisioned. Otherwise, Randall’s cousin would have to bring someone else into the fold. And knowing Keith Bell, that someone would be shady and hard to manage.
Victoria’s offer of financing his business flashed in his brain, but he quickly cast it aside. Money from her had strings attached, and he knew that he did not want to be her puppet.
Liam felt the familiar buzzing in his pocket. He lifted the phone from his cargo shorts and frowned at it, recognizing the number. He decided, against his better judgment, to answer.
“Victoria, how the hell did you get this phone number?”
“Randall gave it to me,” she said, clearly not taking the hint.
Liam rolled his eyes and cursed Randall in his head. Victoria used to never give Randall the time of day, now they were chatting behind his back. “I’m at the Cayo. What do you want?” In the background, Liam could hear her friends giggling.
“I want to invite you to my party,” she said. “This Friday night.”
Dead and Breakfast Page 10