The House at Saltwater Point

by Colleen Coble

  He watched her head for her truck and grinned. Such honesty was refreshing.

  The atmosphere at Smokey’s Ribs and More always felt like an embrace to Ellie. The rivets in the dark wood floors reflected the glimmer from the Edison lights overhead, and pictures of patrons over the years plastered the walls. Plus, the yummiest food aromas on the planet filled the place.

  Felicia Burchell stopped her and took her hand. “How are you holding up, Ellie? I’ve been praying for you.”

  “Hanging in there.” She could feel everyone’s support and prayers. Everyone in town had gathered around her and tried their best to help out. It was the only way she’d gotten through.

  Ellie had always liked the sheriff’s young and beautiful wife who used to model in New York. Her half-Asian genes gave her an exotic look the camera loved, but she was even more beautiful inside.

  Felicia released her hand. “I’ve been pestering Everett to death. The poor guy is so exhausted, but he’s determined to find out what happened to Mac.”

  “I know he’s doing his best. It’s very puzzling.”

  Felicia slung her purse on her shoulder. “I have to run. I’ll stop over with some cookies soon.”

  “Thanks, Felicia.” Ellie walked to where Grayson was perusing a picture of Paul McCartney.

  He raised his brows. “Impressive clientele.”

  She scanned the place. “Once you taste the ribs, you’ll know why.”

  The hostess seated them at a booth in the corner by the window and took their drink order. The setting sun shone in Ellie’s eyes, so the hostess lowered the blinds and left them.

  Grayson flipped open his menu. “So what’s good?”

  She pushed her menu away. “Everything. I usually get the pulled pork plate with corn bread, fried okra, and fried pickles. My favorite sauce is the Texas one.”

  He shut his menu. “I’ll have the same. Hey, a jukebox! What’s your favorite music? I’ll get this party started.”

  Why was he being so nice? She’d expected him to grill her about Mac over dinner. “Anything by Taylor Swift.”

  “You got it.”

  He went to the jukebox and dropped in some coins. Moments later “Fearless” began to play, and he rejoined her. “Did I do okay?”

  “It’s my favorite.” The server had brought their iced teas while he was away, and she took a sip of hers. How did she fill the silence? She didn’t know him very well and wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she couldn’t be rude, not to Shauna’s brother.

  “How’d you become an investigator, Grayson?”

  “My dad was in the navy so I was taught from an early age to care about serving my country. Law enforcement was appealing, but I wanted to do it on a bigger scale than locally because I wanted to travel. Dad has a good friend who’d just retired from the Coast Guard, and he helped grease the skids a bit. I took criminal investigation in college and was lucky enough to get hired right after graduation five years ago.”

  “I’ll bet luck didn’t have much to do with it. You probably worked your tail off in college.”

  Grayson nodded. “True. I graduated at twenty-one by taking classes through the first two summers. And I did an internship the summer before my senior year and got to know some people who helped too.”

  His thick, muscular arms held her attention as he stirred sugar into his tea. He might be a jerk, but every single woman in the place was looking at him. Did he even see the covert smiles and glances sent his way? He didn’t act like it, and she liked that about him.

  “What do you think of Lavender Tides? Do you remember it at all?”

  He shook his head. “Though I have a weird sense I have been here before, I can’t point to any true memory. Nothing looks familiar. Have you lived here long?”

  “Born and raised here. I went away to college in Savannah, but I missed the fields of lavender and the orcas breaching offshore. I missed the ferries chugging from island to island. I just plain missed home, so when Jason suggested we start our own business, I was all in. I didn’t want to have to move away to afford to live.”

  “It sounds perfect. I haven’t been here long enough to see what you’re talking about, but I’m sure I will.” His gaze went to the window, and he looked out onto the street. “Do you know where the earthquake happened, where my birth mother died?”

  She nodded. “They razed the grocery store and made a parking lot. I can take you there after we eat. It’s just two blocks over.”

  “Thanks. It’s hard taking in everything. My whole life is turned upside down. I don’t know what to think, really. You know Shauna well? And her husband?”

  “She was a widow for over a year, then married her first husband’s best friend.” It would serve no purpose to bring up how Zach had blamed himself for Jack’s death. “Zach loves her boy, Alex. You haven’t met him yet, have you?”

  “No. My sister Isabelle is married and lives in Okinawa where we both grew up as military brats. She and her husband have two kids. I need to call her and tell her what’s happened. I asked my parents to let me talk to her. We’ve always been close, and this news is going to rattle her too. It’s incomprehensible that my parents didn’t tell us I was adopted. It’s going to be hard to get past that.”

  “To trust them, you mean?”

  He took another sip of his iced tea. “Yeah.” His blue eyes sharpened as he studied her. “What do you think happened to your sister?”

  She’d known the interrogation would eventually begin, but she’d hoped to at least eat dinner first. “I don’t know. There was a lot of blood. It’s hard to believe she could live through losing that much blood.”

  “Blood from a head wound can look deceptive. She might not have lost as much as you think. When was the last time you spoke with her?”

  “That morning. She’d been helping me paint our newest flip.”

  “How’d she act?”

  Ellie went silent as she thought about Jason’s comments about Mac. Maybe he was right. Mac had never before asked her to cut ties with Jason. “She’s been a little moody lately, but I thought it was preoccupation with the tall ship flotilla she had been arranging to come here.”

  “Tall ship?”

  She wiped the beaded moisture off her glass. “Mac loves history and sailing. She thought having a flotilla of tall ships here would bring in some tourism during our Dungeness crab and seafood festival.”

  “She’s an Asian language professor, correct? Seems an odd hobby.”

  “She fell in love with sailing when we were kids.”

  “Tell me more about the picture the sheriff received.”

  “I don’t know anything more. Only that someone sent him a picture of her in Hamhung, North Korea. I think it’s a prank, though.”

  “It could be doctored. Few people have ever been to North Korea. Has she ever left the country?”

  Her mouth gaped and she closed it. He was helping her construct a defense? “She often travels to Asian countries with students and on vacation. She loves Asian culture, food, language. Her best friend since they were three was a girl from Japan. She visited Japan when she was thirteen and seemed to have a natural talent for Asian languages. She speaks Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin. She went on a mission trip to Seoul last year with her best friend too.”

  “I think you’re probably right and this picture is a prank. The sheriff will figure it out.”

  He saw a young couple with a child wave at Ellie, then head their way. It was probably the end of his probing. For now.

  Chapter 8

  When you have a vision for a house, you have to stay true to it and not let every passing fancy lead you astray.

  —HAMMER GIRL BLOG

  Grayson masked his irritation as the other couple joined them. He’d hoped to learn a lot more about Mackenzie while Ellie’s guard was down. He forced a smile during the introductions with Michelle and her husband, Jermaine.

  “And this is Elijah.” Michelle handed the little guy a straw. H
e chortled and began to chew on it. “Our oldest is with her grandmother for the night.”

  Cute kid with his mom’s dark hair and his dad’s unusual green eyes. Chatter paused while they placed their orders with the server. Ellie filled in the first awkward pause with the story of how Shauna had found Grayson. His face burned, and he sipped his tea to cool off. The entire town would know all about him by morning.

  He forked up a bite of barbecue pork. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. This is great.” His stomach rumbled in approval at the reality that food was on its way. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and he tucked into the mound of meat. The corn bread was good too.

  Ellie washed down a bite with iced tea. “Michelle, you and Jermaine went to Seoul on the church mission trip with Mac, right?”

  Michelle fed her son some barbecue, and he smacked his lips, then squealed for more. “Yes, we did.”

  “Did you spend much time with Mac?”

  “The first week we did. She decided to do another excursion that was offered the second week. I think it was to Busan or somewhere. I can’t remember for sure.”

  Grayson leaned forward. “You didn’t see her at all for a week? Did she fly home with you?”

  Michelle shook her head. “She sent me a text message and told me she’d been hung up and would see us back home.”

  Ellie put down her fork. “Did she say why she’d been delayed?”

  “No, I just assumed there was more she wanted to see. Why, what’s wrong?”

  Grayson watched Michelle’s expression as Ellie told her about the picture in North Korea.

  Michelle was shaking her head before Ellie finished explaining. “The rumors are flying around town about Mac, but I don’t believe a single one of them. Why would she go to North Korea? That doesn’t even make any sense.”

  Ellie’s fingers pleated her paper napkin. “It’s probably something totally innocent.”

  Grayson glanced at Ellie, and their gazes locked. For the first time he saw uncertainty in the depths of her eyes. He might be able to figure it out by looking at the picture. It was something he’d have to talk to the sheriff about.

  The dinner conversation turned to the upcoming festival, and he tuned it out as he thought about the job ahead of him. Mackenzie’s disappearance and possible murder muddled everything. It was going to take a lot of work figuring this one out and retrieving the missing cocaine.

  Elijah rubbed his eyes and whined, so his mother scooped him up. “My little foodie is getting tired so we’d better get him home to bed. It was nice meeting you, Grayson. I hope we see more of you.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Jermaine snatched up the bill as Grayson reached for it. “Our treat to welcome you to town. I don’t suppose you kayak?”

  “I do. One of my favorite sports.”

  Jermaine grinned and pulled out a card. “Give me a call if you have time to join some of us on Saturday. I’ve got an extra kayak.” He tossed down some money for a tip, then hoisted the toddler in his arms. The little guy snuggled into his daddy’s shoulder and popped a thumb into his mouth.

  Grayson took the card. “I’ll do that. Thanks.” He watched them head for the cashier. “Nice people.”

  “Yes, they are.” Ellie wore a worried frown. “I can’t believe Mac would go off like that on her own in Korea and not tell me about it. She’s not usually secretive.” She slid out of the booth and stood.

  “I think we talked about how impossible it is to know how someone will behave in every circumstance.”

  “That’s not what I meant!” She stormed through the restaurant and out the door.

  He followed at a slower pace to allow her time to cool down. She had good reason to be upset at her sister, and it was understandable to take it out on him. He was still reeling at finding out his parents had lied to him all these years. What did he do with that?

  The streetlight cast glimmers of light on her hair, and the tears on her lashes shimmered. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bite your head off. This has been a hard week.” She tilted a glance up at him. “Just because they didn’t see her for a week doesn’t mean she went to North Korea. And it doesn’t mean she stole that cocaine. It doesn’t mean a lot of anything.”

  He chose not to answer her. The truth would come out, and it wasn’t his place to point out the holes in her thinking. “So where’s this parking lot?”

  “This way.”

  He fell into step beside her and walked through the charming downtown. Most of the Victorian storefronts wore colorful Painted Lady exteriors, and the brick sidewalks added a touch of nostalgia as well. Lavender scented the air from a place selling candles and essential oils. Its appeal was strong, but he still couldn’t dredge up any memories.

  Maybe standing at the site of where it all happened would be different.

  The night swallowed up the last of the sunset before Ellie could blink. The streetlights cast a comforting glow as she walked beside Grayson toward the parking lot. She was still trying to process the likelihood that her sister had kept some secrets from her. But not mentioning straying during the Korean trip didn’t mean Mac had stolen a seizure of cocaine.

  Nothing could make Ellie believe it.

  A Ford pickup slowed beside them, and the driver’s window slid down. Stuart Ransom peered out. He was the fire chief for the volunteer fire department, and he owned a local gym. He was seventeen years older than Mac, but she’d always found him attractive and, at Mac’s urging, had said yes to coffee dates a few times over the past month.

  His blond hair was tousled, and his face was sunburned. “I was on my way to see you, Ellie. Any news?”

  Her face heated at the warmth in his eyes. She wanted to hug him for his concern, but she settled for a grateful smile as she stepped off the curb to stand by his truck. “We still haven’t found Mac.”

  A frown crouched between his eyes, and his gaze darted past her to Grayson. “I’ll do whatever I can, Ellie.”

  “Um, this is Grayson Bradshaw.” She paused, at a loss whether to say he was Shauna’s long-lost brother or that he was with the Coast Guard and believed her sister had stolen millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine.

  Grayson stepped forward. “I’m a CGIS investigator. I’m here looking for some missing cocaine. Ellie was kind enough to take pity on a stranger in town and fed me dinner at Smokey’s.”

  “Missing cocaine, you say? I hadn’t heard anything about that, and I generally hear most everything. Good luck with your search.” He returned his attention to Ellie. “What can I do to help?”

  “There’s nothing to do but wait for the sheriff to find her.”

  Stuart stared at Grayson, then nodded at Ellie and ran his window up before driving on down the street.

  “Nice guy,” Grayson said.

  His tone shot her blood pressure up. “Don’t sneer about it. He is a nice guy.”

  “A little old for you.”

  “Not that it’s any of your business.” It bugged her that he’d noticed there was something between her and Stuart, but then, he was an investigator. He didn’t have to know she rarely dated. “Surely you can see no one believes Mac would do anything like you’re saying. You’re wrong.”

  “I doubt it.” Shadows hid his expression, but nothing masked the weary tone in his voice. He stopped. “Is that the parking lot across the street?”

  “Yes.”

  For a few minutes she’d forgotten how important this mission was to him tonight, and her sympathy stirred. While she’d lost her sister, he was facing something hard as well. What must it be like to find out your whole life had been a lie?

  He continued to stand where he was and look across the dark street to the parking lot. The old drugstore building blocked most of the view and hid the space in shadow. Once they crossed the street and got past the line of stores, he’d be able to see it better.

  “Would you rather come back in the daylight? It might be more familiar.” She heard the click of his throat as he sw
allowed. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine, I’m fine. Do you know much about the earthquake?”

  “Just a few random memories. I was about two at the time also. I remember the house shaking and things falling from the shelves. I was crying for my mom, and that’s about all I remember.”

  “I’m sure that was scary.”

  His monotone told her he wasn’t really listening, but she pressed on anyway. “My mom told me she came rushing in to make sure I was okay. She took me outside, and we waited for my dad to get home. When he got there, he told her about the grocery store before grabbing an ax and a shovel to go back to help dig in the debris. The grade school had been hit too, and there was a preschool meeting going on so most people went to rescue the kids and adults trapped in there.”

  He blinked, then stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Were many buildings damaged?”

  “Much of the downtown. These old brick storefronts weren’t built to withstand the ground shaking. Many of them were repaired. Mom said some kids were sent to CPS until their parents could be found.”

  “There were more than just me?”

  “Yes, I think there were two or three. You and your sister would be two of those. Mom said their parents had probably died too. They were small, too young to tell their names.”

  “I was two. My sister was a newborn.”

  Was he going to stand here all night?

  He finally stepped off the curb and headed across the street. “I guess I’d better go see what I remember.”

  She tried to summon some sympathy for what he was going through, but she could hardly make herself follow him across the street when she felt such urgency to find her sister.

  Chapter 9

  A house holds the energy of the happy memories within its walls. It’s important to find one you can bond with.

  —HAMMER GIRL BLOG

  Gravel crunched under Grayson’s shoes, and he paused to look up and down the street. The view held all the charm of a Norman Rockwell picture with storefronts built in the last century illuminated by the soft glow of old-fashioned streetlamps.