“Thanks so much, Mr. Lemon. Please send our waiter.” Rodney could almost not get the sentence out of his mouth for the chuckle Emily could hear working its way up his throat. Daisy hid her smile behind her menu.
“His name is Lemon?” asked Naomi. “Perfect.”
“Well, to his credit,” said Daisy “his job can’t be an easy one. We’ve seen him chase young men and women in wet bathing suits and towels out of here.”
Daisy lowered her menu and stared at the two women.
“The beach shop,” said Emily.
“Really? It’s a divine look, but I’d send the shoes back. No sense paying good money for shoddy workmanship.” Daisy’s eyes twinkled. “Now, how about a martini?”
The remainder of the evening was as much fun as their golf course adventure. What Rodney lacked in mobility he made up for in great stories and a wonderful sense of humor. Daisy wasn’t far behind him in the laughter department.
“We’ve been learning about the island,” said Naomi, “and your maiden name is the same as that of the earliest settler, Du Bignon.”
“Well, don’t be misled by that. I’m from the wrong side of the DuBignon blanket. No money on that branch of the family tree, and we get no respect either.” Daisy said this without regret or envy. “I come from the poor, but fun loving Du Bignons.”
Rodney fastened his gaze on Emily and Naomi. “I know what you’re thinking. That she married me for my money, but my folks were poorer than hers.”
Maybe we misjudged them, and they aren’t as wealthy as they appear, thought Emily.
As if reading her mind, Daisy poured the remainder of the champagne into Emily’s glass and beckoned to the waiter for another. “My mama was yearning for some land so she bought some of that bottom land just south of Brunswick. Everyone figured it was pretty worthless, and it was at the time. Mama waited and finally sold to some developers. They paid my mama a lot for that land, then they went belly up. Smart or lucky? You decide.”
“Good timing,” said Emily. She looked up from her dinner and ran her gaze over the people seated in the dining room. Nearer to the windows, sat Detective Lewis with a tall woman with dark eyes. She was wearing a sleek red dress that clung to her like a wet tee-shirt in Panama City during spring break.
Emily nudged Naomi who nodded. “I saw them. So who’s the woman?” Before she could stop her daughter, Naomi waved to them. Lewis looked uncomfortable but he gave a terse nod of recognition.
Daisy turned her attention to the pair. “Oh, so you know the Lewises? A handsome couple, wouldn’t you say?”
“I know why you’re so mad,” said Naomi. She and Emily were heading back to the campground in her Mustang. Although the night was windy, the air was still warm, and Naomi had put down the top. The sweet smell of the marshes rushed to them on the strong breeze.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Emily stretched her arms over her head and looked up at the night sky. “Clouds are moving in fast. We might be spending a wild, wet night in the tent. We’d better make certain we’ve staked it down well before we go to bed.”
“Don’t avoid the topic. You know exactly what I mean, and you have no reason to be furious with him. You never gave him a nod, but now you’re acting like he betrayed you somehow.”
Emily thought about that. “Well, he did. He acted like he was interested in me. Didn’t you get that feeling too?”
Naomi turned into the campground and slowed for the 10 mph posted limit. “You’re right. He did act all flirty, I mean flirty for him, I guess. Maybe you’d be better off with Donald.”
“Those are my choices? A married cop and a weird bass fisherman turned part-time bartender? I’ll pass.”
“Maybe you should try online dating.” Naomi pulled up in front of their camping site and got out of the car. “Oh, damn. You’re right. Several tent pegs need to be driven farther into the ground. We did a pretty sloppy job when we pounded them in.”
“We didn’t know it was going to blow.” Emily looked around the area. There were no other tents there. Lights from an approaching car illuminated their site.
It was the camp host.
“Thought I’d better tell you ladies that we’re in for some heavy rains and high winds, maybe a tornado. I came by earlier, but you weren’t here. You might want to find another place to stay tonight.”
“Where would that be? With the barbeque festival here, all the hotel rooms are taken.” Emily grabbed Naomi and put her arm around her. “Maybe we should just pack up and head for home.”
“I think we’ve both had too much champagne. I shouldn’t have driven this far tonight.”
The camp host looked sympathetic. “Tell you what. Storm gets too furious, you can run for the bathhouses. They’re made of cinderblock. They should hold off a heavy blow.”
“Where we’re from, they set up shelters when there’s a hurricane and evacuate everybody.” Emily was scared, but the fear came out sounding like irritation.
“Can’t predict a tornado like a hurricane.” The host looked chagrinned at the situation. “Maybe you should just head on over to the bathhouse now and spend the night there. You’ll feel a lot safer.”
After he left, Naomi and Emily discussed their best option. The wind was whipping around the branches of the pines and the live oaks. What had looked like the sheltering arms of the big trees on a sunny, calm day now appeared more like dangerous battering rams coming at them from unpredictable directions. Raindrops began to fall as Naomi put up the top on the car.
“I say we grab our sleeping bags and head for the bathroom,” said Emily.
Mr. Smith ordered his man to prepare to leave, then walked to the stern of the boat and flipped open his cell. “There’s a big blow coming in. I’m getting out of here before she gets too bad.”
He listened to the reply for only a moment, then, interrupted. “I’m not risking this boat for any amount of money.” The only sign of his increasing irritation was the change in his eyes. The pupils took on the color of steel ball bearings, grey and ice cold. Impatient with his contact’s continuing attempts to sweeten the pot followed by intimidation, he broke in once more. “Do not threaten me. You’ll get your cargo. In time. Have patience.” He disconnected.
The crew member threw the lines onto the deck and the big schooner slipped the dock. Smith motored toward open water and a safer harbor.
Toby stood in the protected alcove of the harbor’s breezeway, watching the boat glide silently away through the gathering storm. There went his chance at big money and sweet revenge, he thought. He was on his own.
The wind picked up in intensity as Naomi and Emily jumped into the car with their sleeping bags.
Naomi pulled up in front of the bathhouse door so they wouldn’t get wet. “This isn’t good. “ She shoved her sleeping bag at her mother and slid back into the car before Emily could object. “I need to move the car out from under all these trees. I’m going to park it in the lot in front of the campground office. I’ll be right back.”
“You’ll get soaking wet,” Emily yelled, but her words were cut off by the howling of the wind. She watched the car’s taillights disappear down the road. “Naomi!”
Minutes passed. Emily paced back and forth between the window and the doorway. She could see little outside through the rain-streaked glass, and the strength of the wind made it impossible for her to open the door and look out into the night without taking a soaking from the rain gusts. Where was she? Maybe she decided to take shelter in the camp office instead of chancing the run back here. But there’s no one at the office to let her in. The sound of the wind and the rain hitting the window grew louder. Emily covered her ears and shut her eyes. Would this never end? With a tremendous roar and the sound of shattering glass, a window blew in. The shards exploded around her. She felt them prick and slice her hands and bare arms as she fell to the cement floor and covered herself with her sleeping bag.
Tree limbs were thrown against the tiny bathhouse until finally the giant oak ov
erhanging the building gave up one of its large branches and sent it hurtling down onto the building. It hit with a crash, caving in the section of roof over the shower area. Rain poured in after it.
Emily moved further into the far corner of the building near the door which now began to shudder and shake as if an enemy army’s catapults were flinging giant boulders at it. The shaking stopped for a moment, then the door slammed inward.
A man stood in the doorway, his large frame backlit by the campground street lights. Emily raised her head from the protection of her sleeping bag cocoon to look death in the face. The figure hesitated only a moment before he strode across the floor and grabbed her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her back out into the howling storm. Was she being rescued or transported into hell? A car with lights on waited outside. He opened the door, shoved her in and slid into the driver’s seat. She was afraid to look at his face. Whoever he was he was a lunatic to drive in this weather and to carry her out into this storm.
“You’re soaked through,” the voice said, barely audible above the sound outside.
“Lewis. What are you doing here?”
“Saving you, it would seem.”
“I don’t need to be saved. I was fine.”
The penetrating sound of a crack from behind them drew their attention. Lewis slowed the car, and they both turned to see the oak by the bathhouse pulled up by its roots and dumped onto the building.
“Right,” said Lewis. “You were snug as a bug.”
“Naomi.”
“I saw her pull up to the office when I drove in. She’s so damned attached to that Mustang she wouldn’t get out of it to come with me to find you. She told me you were at the bathhouse, but I took a wrong turn and tried the other bathhouse. That’s what took me so long. I almost didn’t make it.”
Suddenly a gust of wind rocked the vehicle sending Emily across the seat into Lewis. His mouth turned up at the contact. Emily noticed and scooted back to her side.
“I’m fine. Let’s see abut Naomi.”
“Can you persuade her to leave the convertible and come with us, do you think?”
“No. She loves that car.”
But something or someone persuaded Naomi to leave the car because it was empty when they got back to it.
“We’ve got to find her.” Emily was more frantic over Naomi’s disappearance than she was with her own experience at the bathhouse.
“Where? We’d be endangering all of us. We need to find shelter. This storm is only going to get worse. We should be inside a building.”
Emily’s cell rang. She pulled it out of her jeans pocket. The connection was poor, but she could hear her daughter’s voice.
“Mom, where are you?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m with Daisy and Rodney. They came by right after Lewis did and convinced me to go with them to find you. I’m in their car. We looked for Lewis, but there’s a tree down. We can’t get to you. We’ll have to use the back way out of the campground and rendezvous somewhere.
“Where?” asked Emily, but the connection was lost.
“Naomi’s with Daisy and Rodney. They’re heading for the other exit. We can swing around on the main road and meet them.”
“It’s not such a good idea to be riding around in this blow looking for them.”
Emily shot him a look filled with contempt. “Don’t be a wimp. It’s a little wind and rain. I think it’s letting up.” A piece of the metal roofing on the office peeled free and came racing at them. Lewis snapped the wheel to the left to avoid it.
She wasn’t about to leave her daughter the way she had to when the fire came through her condominium campground earlier in the year. If necessary, she’d get out of the car and start walking down the road looking for Naomi.
Lewis glanced at her determined face and gave in. He pulled out of the campground onto the main road.
Less than half a mile later, Emily spied the lights of a car turn onto the road ahead. “That’s them. Hurry.” Emily watched the car continue up the road toward the historic village. “I’ll bet Daisy and Rodney couldn’t get across the bridge so they took a room at the Jekyll Island Inn for the night.”
“How could they do that? They’re full up.” Lewis gritted his teeth and maneuvered around small limbs blowing into the roadway.
“Oh, I think Daisy has pull everywhere. For all I know, they maintain lodging there full-time just in case.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Daisy seems to know you and your wife well.” She knew now wasn’t the time to take up Lewis’ personal life. It was like picking a scab that wasn’t ready to come off. She should leave it alone, but she couldn’t.
Before he could answer, a huge limb fell onto the slick road in front of the car. Lewis stood on the brakes, but it was too late. They smashed into it with an impact powerful enough to deploy the air bags.
“Well, now you’ve done it,” said Emily, her voice muffled by the airbag pressing on her chest.
“Me? I wasn’t the one who wanted to chase around in this storm. I was willing to take you back to my lodging, get you dry and …”
“And do what?” Emily began to wiggle in her seat. “How do we get out of these things?”
“They’ll deflate on their own.”
“I guess now we’ll have to walk.” Emily’s cell rang. This time the signal was stronger. As if satisfied it had thrown all it could at the two of them, the storm seemed to let up. The winds died and the rain lessened. Emily could almost make out the lights of Brunswick across the river.
“Hey, Mom. You okay? I thought that was you and Lewis right behind us, but then you disappeared.”
“We’re fine. How about you?”
“Daisy and Rodney took me to the Jekyll Island Inn to their suite there. You can come stay here they said. Once the storm lets up a bit more, they’ll drive me back so I can check on my car.”
“You can’t get through on the beach road. There’s a tree down. With all the wind, there are probably lines down and other roadways blocked. It might not get cleared until morning.”
“Where are you exactly?”
“We’re not far from the cut off to the other side of the island and to Cottages by the Sea where Lewis has rooms. I guess I’ll stay with him until morning. I think you should stay put also. The car can wait. It’s not such a good idea to go driving around in this even though it is letting up.”
As if to assert the storm was still present, a gust of wind threw another tree limb across the hood of the car.
“Yipes.”
“You okay, Mom?”
“Oh, I’m just a little wet and cold.”
“Well, tell Lewis to turn up the heater and head for his digs.”
“Sure. I’ll do that. See you in the morning.”
Emily looked over at Lewis. “So I guess we walk.”
“You didn’t tell her we couldn’t drive the car.”
“I didn’t want her to worry.”
“We walk. Think you can make it?”
“Of course.” She shoved open her door and stepped out onto the roadway into several feet of water.
Lewis extracted himself from the driver’s side of the car and started down the road. When he realized Emily was not by his side, he stopped and looked back. “What are you doing back there?”
“Swimming,” she said.
Chapter 8
It took them over two hours to make it to his condo. The water drained off the road’s surface quickly, but they had to climb over tree limbs or detour around them. Other storm debris including road signs, sections of roofing and house siding made the going treacherous also.
Emily knew Lewis would have been more than happy to carry her, but she wasn’t willing to get that close to the handsome detective. She didn’t trust herself. She didn’t trust him even though he was married. Matrimony might not be an institution she’d tried, but she respected it and wasn’t about to cross the line with someone who ha
d taken vows that included a promise of lifelong fidelity.
“Here we are.” Lewis unlocked the door and gestured for her to precede him into the condo.
“Nice. It’s very nice. And dry.”
They looked at one another. Two wet, exhausted, shivering people, each wary of the other.
“The bathroom’s in there. You can hit the shower first.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t. It’s your place. You go first.”
“No. I insist. You first.”
“Okay.”
“You don’t want to argue about it anymore?”
“No, we argue too much. Besides, I never asked you to come riding in like a white knight. That was your idea. It’s really your own fault you’re in this mess.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am. Besides, while I’m in the shower you can make coffee. And do some hard thinking.”
“About what?”
“If you’ve got a wife, why do you flirt with me all the time?”
“I don’t flirt with you.”
She gave him the eye. “Do so.”
“Do not. You flirt with me.”
“Do not. I don’t even like you.” That was true sometimes, but then there were others when she thought he was kind of funny and interesting. And he was oh so cute in a really big man way.
“You do like me.” He crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter dividing the living area from the kitchen.
“Maybe a little. And you like me.”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
“Do you want me to like you?”
“Of course not. You’re married.”
“Am not.”
“Are.”
“Nope.”
“You aren’t?” Emily walked back toward him. He approached her.
“I’m divorced.”
“Prove it.”
He reached into his soggy coat pocket and extracted a bulky set of papers, soaked through from the rain.
“We just signed these tonight.” He handed them to her.
Emily opened the papers to read them. “Uh, they’re soppy. I can’t read this mess.”
Grilled, Chilled and Killed Page 6