The House at Saltwater Point

by Colleen Coble

  “It’s probably nothing anyway.”

  He yawned. “This time change is kicking my butt. I spent too much time in North Carolina.”

  He didn’t want to leave, though, not with her looking at him with those blue eyes. He liked being around her. He’d never known a carpenter, let alone a female one. He hoped to have enough time to learn her different layers and depths. She was just plain interesting.

  “So this probably explains why that woman was so adamant about getting the mah-jongg tiles,” she said. “And if we find out it’s a message between terrorists, it would also explain why I was run off the road, and the break-in too.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s ten, and we’ve had a busy day. Go on home and get some rest.”

  Her mention of the attacks on her sent a chill up his spine. “Did you talk to Jason yet about staying with you?”

  “When would I have had time? I’m fine to be here by myself. I’ll keep my can of bear spray on my bedside table.”

  It wasn’t safe. “I’m going to stay. I can sleep on the sofa. It looks comfy.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t be silly. There hasn’t been anything else since Tuesday night. Nothing last night or today. Maybe they got their message through another way, or maybe it was all a coincidence.”

  “I can’t take that chance. Where do I find an extra pillow?”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. “If you’re determined to stay, you can sleep in the guest room. There are clean sheets on the bed.”

  And it was upstairs, while her bedroom was down here. “I’d better stay down here. It might take too long to get to you if someone tries to break in. I’m fine on the sofa.”

  Amusement lit her amber eyes. “Your feet will hang off the end.”

  He grinned back. “Won’t be the first time.”

  He put the mah-jongg box into his computer bag for safekeeping. He wouldn’t get much sleep anyway, not with all the thoughts whirling in his head.

  Ellie parked on the street at the former coroner’s home. He lived in a tree-lined subdivision that had been built in the sixties. Most were sprawling ranches, but Monte Bennet’s cute cottage had a front porch reminiscent of a Craftsman style. Roses bloomed in the flower beds and sent their sweet fragrance out over the walk to the door.

  No one answered the doorbell, and she started to leave when she heard voices in the back. She went around the side yard with its bed of purple pansies and black-eyed Susans. The flowers would hang around until the first frost in November, and they appeared to be trying to make the most of their last few weeks of blooms. The backyard wasn’t fenced, and a large deck took full advantage of the trees lining the back of the property.

  Monte sat at a table with a coffee mug. A woman Ellie assumed was Mrs. Bennet bent over the flower bed by the steps to the deck. She had stylish gray hair and wore a blue-and-white top over navy capris.

  “I told you these flowers would take over the bed. I shouldn’t have planted them,” the woman said.

  “I was trying to help,” Monte said. “I thought a ground cover would make you need less mulch.”

  “Next time let me buy the plants, Monte.” She looked up, and her bright-blue eyes widened. “Well, hello.”

  Monte straightened and looked her direction too. In his seventies now, he had an erect posture and hair that used to be red but had dulled to brown with gray wings at the temples. His mustache and eyebrows were completely white. “Ellie, isn’t it? Nelson and Lora’s girl.”

  She advanced a few more steps into the perfectly manicured grass. “That’s right. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  “You’re only interrupting coffee, and I have plenty to share. Doris, would you mind getting our guest a cup?”

  Doris wiped her hands on a towel she had around her waist. “Would you like some breakfast, young lady?”

  “No, thanks. My name is Ellie. Ellie Blackmore.”

  “I used to play golf with your mama, Ellie. You’ve grown up since I saw you last.” The screen door banged behind Doris as she went into the kitchen.

  “Have a seat, young lady.” The coroner pointed to the blue flowered chair across the table from him.

  “Thanks.” Ellie pulled it out and sank down as Doris came out with a mug of coffee that smelled wonderful.

  Doris set the mug down in front of her. “Monte and I like Guatemalan coffee. I brought some cream and sugar in case you take it that way.”

  Ellie poured in a bit of cream and took a sip. “Wonderful, thank you.”

  “If you don’t need me, I’ll get back to yanking out that dratted ground cover Monte bought me.” She went down the steps and bent over her plants.

  “Now, what can I do for you, young lady?” Monte asked.

  “I wanted to ask you some questions about my sister, Mackenzie. You’d been teaching her all about ham radio.”

  His rheumy eyes brightened. “Yep, I was her Elmer.”

  “Elmer?”

  “What we call a mentor in our world. Her enthusiasm inspired me. I’ve been involved in ham radio so long, I’d forgotten how exciting it is when you’re first learning.”

  “Did she say why she was so interested in learning?”

  He sipped his coffee. “I think she wanted to use it when sailing her tall ship. Other mariners do it too, and the fun thing about ham radio is you can talk to people from all over the world.” He frowned. “Though now that I think about it, she was here the first night because I kind of coerced her. I ran into her in the market and told her she should learn it. I promised her some of Doris’s famous coconut cream pie if she came over. That first night hooked her. She heard two men jabbering in an Asian language and got really excited. I think she said it was Korean.”

  “Did she say what they talked about? She knows Korean well.”

  He shook his head. “She was listening intently, though. She was so into it that she looked a little pale and tired when they stopped. She asked if she could come back and learn more. I’d guess she showed up three nights a week or so for more than three months. We’d turn the dial to listen in to all kinds of countries.”

  “Did she ever talk with anyone?”

  “Yeah, the Koreans. She said they were talking about things to see and do in Korea, but she sure got animated about it.”

  Ellie decided to go with her gut. Hopefully she could trust Monte. “Listen, you’ve probably heard the rumor that she stole millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine.”

  “I’ve heard that. Didn’t believe it, though.”

  “It’s true. I saw the video. I found stuff on a computer she used about making an EMP bomb. The Coast Guard investigator I’m working with thinks she might have been involved with terrorists.”

  Monte snorted. “I don’t believe it, and I have to wonder if the video you saw was doctored. That isn’t like Mac at all.”

  “I didn’t believe it until I saw the video. I think it’s real. Did she ever say anything about EMP bombs or terrorists? Anything?”

  “Nope.”

  “That’s not exactly true.” Doris mounted the steps and wiped perspiration from her forehead with the back of a grubby hand. “I overheard her on her cell phone one night when you were in the bathroom, Monte.”

  Ellie’s pulse jumped. “What did you hear?”

  “She was arguing with someone. I heard her say the delivery should prove her devotion and loyalty. I didn’t know what she meant, but it makes sense now. Devotion and loyalty seemed odd words to tie with delivery, but I didn’t ask her, of course.”

  “Do you know who she was talking to?”

  “She called him Omar.”

  Omar was a Middle Eastern name. Ellie felt faint. Could it all be true? She struggled to hold on to her faith in Mac. Maybe there was another explanation.

  She sipped her coffee to wet her suddenly dry mouth. “Anything else?”

  “Not that I can think of.” Doris smiled at her. “You look so much like your mother.”

  “I’m not n
early as beautiful as she was. You said you played golf with her?”

  Doris’s blue eyes went soft. She tucked her hair behind one ear and nodded. “I was so sorry not to be here for her when your sister died. I was visiting my mother who’d had a heart attack the week before. All that happened when I was out of town, including her suicide. I blamed myself for a long time. I think I could have helped Lora get through her grief if I’d been home.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad you loved her.”

  Doris swallowed and sniffled. “She was a good woman.”

  “It was such a terrible tragedy.” Ellie managed to speak past the constriction in her throat. “It was my fault, and it’s been hard to deal with.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad your mother isn’t here now to live through losing another child. She doted on Alicia.”

  Ellie ducked her head, her face burning with guilt. “Thank you for the information.”

  “Any time,” Monte said. “You might talk to old Ralph Hodges. He builds ham radios, and Mackenzie wanted to talk to him about electronics.”

  Electronics, as in building bombs?

  Chapter 19

  On your first house restoration, you discover what you’re really made of. You’re going to run into trouble. Will you quit or learn from your mistakes?

  —HAMMER GIRL BLOG

  The ferry steamed by out on the incredible blue of the water. Ellie sat on the park hillside. Her thoughts were a chaotic mess, and she couldn’t even corral them enough to know how she felt. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, and she took off her glasses, then wiped at her cheeks. She’d like to lie back on the green grass and stare at the clouds going by so she didn’t examine the screaming that was building inside her chest.

  “I thought that was your car.”

  She turned to see Grayson walking along the water’s edge. “How’d you know I was here?”

  “I didn’t. I was driving by on my way to talk to Dylan, and I saw your vehicle. It’s hard to miss that blue pickup.”

  “You had something to tell me?” She heard the distance in her voice, but she couldn’t change it. It felt like she was swimming in a mud flat right now.

  “I thought I’d see if you wanted to have some lunch and come with me.” He dropped down beside her on the soft grass. “What’s wrong?” His long legs clad in khaki shorts stretched out, tanned and muscular, in front of him as he leaned back on his palms.

  She quickly wiped her face and put her glasses back on. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re pale and shaking, plus you’ve been crying. Talk to me.”

  “This has nothing to do with finding the cocaine.”

  “Whoa, where’d that hostility come from? I consider you a friend, Ellie. I don’t want to force you to talk if you don’t want to, but I’m here if you do.” He got back up and started down the hillside.

  Her hand shook as she passed it over her forehead. “Wait. I-I’m sorry. Hearing Doris talk about how upset my mother was after Alicia died brought it all back in such a real way.”

  He turned back toward her, and she couldn’t help but notice the way the sun gleamed in his blond hair. He had shoulders big enough to carry the weight of the world. She watched him again lower his bulk to the grass beside her. Children squealed on the other side of the hillside in the fenced play area, but there was no one near them.

  His large, warm hand settled on her upper back. “I’m sorry, Ellie. You were a kid yourself. You can’t carry that guilt forever.”

  She dashed a tear away from her eye. “If I could only go back and do things differently.”

  His hand continued to rub her back gently, and she had to fight an urge to turn and bury her face in his chest, which was so unlike her. She’d always stood on her own two feet, and she’d do it now.

  She straightened and forced the melancholy from her voice. “There’s more about Mac too. She got interested in ham radio after hearing some Koreans talking the first night Monte was teaching her. And Monte’s wife overheard her talking to someone named Omar.” She told him what Doris had said.

  Grayson’s hand stopped its movement and gripped her shoulder. “Omar was Nasser’s second in command.”

  “Was?”

  “He’s dead, killed in a raid my first day here.”

  She struggled to take it all in. “So there’s a definite tie between Mac and Tarek Nasser.”

  “Looks like it. I just got Mackenzie’s call records. Maybe we can see who else she talked to. If this really is a planned attack that’s happening soon, we have to find out the details.”

  “What did you learn from your conference call?”

  He removed his hand from her shoulder. “They’re still working on the photo decryption, but I was ordered to stand down.”

  “Stand down? What’s that mean?”

  “My superiors said they’d take it from here, and I was off the case.” He bit off the words as if they tasted bad. “I’ve still got vacation due me, though, and I’m taking it. I’m not letting this go.”

  “They can’t do that! And why would they want to?”

  “They’re turning the case over to the FBI, but that makes no sense either. I’ve worked with the FBI before. The different agencies all work together when we’re confronting a terrorist plot. I don’t get it.”

  Listening to his calm, deep voice brought her head up and pushed away the panic beating against her chest. She turned to look at him, and the compassion in his face warmed her. “There’s someone else to talk to too.” She told him about Ralph Hodges.

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s only one. We have plenty of time to drive out there and track him down.”

  “Let’s take my pickup. We’re liable to run into bad roads, and my four-wheel drive can handle it.”

  He grinned and stood, reaching out to help her up. “I bet that truck has a name.”

  Her hand closed around his, and he pulled her up as if she weighed nothing. “I call him Jaws. He can chew through any road you give him.”

  He kept her hand in his as they went down the hillside. “Okay, but I get to drive that behemoth.”

  Wang tossed the last of his crab roll to the squawking gulls and brushed the crumbs from his slacks. The rocky beach was deserted as usual. The perfect place for a private meeting. The bay was gray today from the overcast skies, though there was no rain yet. But he could smell it. He glanced at his watch. He’d give Nasser five more minutes, though he loathed tardiness.

  Nasser’s big, black SUV pulled into the grass along the side of the road, and Wang crossed his arms over his chest as he waited. Nasser wore a worried frown as he hurried down the path to the beach. Good. He should be worried.

  “Well?” Wang demanded as soon as Nasser came within hailing distance. “Did you find it?”

  Nasser stopped five feet away and shook his head. “We haven’t found it. Bradshaw stayed there last night, but we checked every place in the house as soon as they both left this morning. It’s not there.”

  He had just over a week to get that picture scanned and decrypted. “We’ll have to grab her and make her tell us where it is.”

  “I’d have had the Blackmore woman already if you hadn’t stopped me. I think it’s time to eliminate her.”

  Wang considered Nasser’s request. “I have to have the tiles.” The North Koreans would blame him if he let those tiles get to the FBI.

  “Maybe she has already given the tiles to Bradshaw. She’s working with him to find out what happened to her sister. They might have stumbled onto the picture in the tiles. Bradshaw would probably know what it was the minute he saw it.”

  “Most people have no idea messages can be hidden in pictures.”

  Nasser’s face twisted in a snarl. “Bradshaw isn’t just anyone. He’s got a grudge to settle with me, so he’s especially tenacious.”

  “Maybe he’s the one who should be eliminated. Get him out of the way first, then we can
grab her and make her give us that box of tiles.”

  Nasser’s grin held menace. “I’d be okay with that.”

  “Get rid of him then. If you still don’t have the box by Monday, she’s next.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  The old blue truck held its own on the deep ruts and narrow back roads up into the mountain’s forests. Grayson whipped the wheel to the right to go around a tight curve, then straightened out the vehicle as the green metal roof on a log home peeked through the trees ahead.

  “That has to be it,” Ellie said.

  Grayson parked by the small porch and opened his door to the whine of a chainsaw bouncing off the treetops. He caught a glimpse of a gray-haired man in a plaid shirt cutting down a tall spruce tree. The wind carried the pine scent to them.

  Grayson reached out and caught Ellie by the arm as she headed that direction. “Wait here. That tree is about to fall.” He pulled her back against him. She fit nicely, her head just reaching the middle of his chest. Her hair smelled of vanilla or something sweet.

  A crackle rent the air, then the tree collapsed onto some shrubs and the whine of the saw cut off. The man shaded his eyes with his hand as he saw them, then he set down the chainsaw and came toward them. His gray hair curled at the nape of his neck and fell shaggily over his ears. His gray beard was just as unkempt and in need of a trim. There was mud on his knees, and he wore sneakers that used to be white.

  He stopped a few feet away and looked them over. “Do I know you?”

  Ellie took a step toward him with her hand outstretched. “Ralph Hodges?”

  “That’s me.” He eyed her hand, then shook his head. “No offense, miss, but I just shoveled manure out of the goat pen, and I don’t think you’d take kindly to a smear of that mess.” He reeked a bit of manure.

  She pulled her hand back and smiled. “I’m Ellie Blackmore, and this is Officer Grayson Bradshaw, an investigator with the Coast Guard. We have a few questions for you.”