Relative Silence

by Carrie Stuart Parks

  The hairs on his neck stood up. He had to get out or he’d be imprisoned inside a house in the path of a hurricane.

  What about Piper? He needed to get her away from her murderous family. That would mean getting Silva to take him back over.

  He stood and moved to the window overlooking the dock.

  The Taire was gone.

  * * *

  Time slowed down. I felt a tightness in my chest. “Wh-wh-why would you name the dog Piggy?”

  “I just like the name.” She hugged the dog. “I really do need to go . . .”

  I scrambled to organize my thoughts. “Mandy, you know the farmer’s market in town? The one on the way to our mainland house?”

  “Hard to miss, but I think they’re closed today.”

  “They have porta potties.”

  “Right. Good idea. And they’re private,” Mandy whispered.

  On the ride over to Marion Inlet, I tried to figure out a scenario that would explain all of the seemingly impossible facts about Hannah/Dove. I drew a blank. The only thing I knew to be true was that Hannah was my daughter.

  My cell rang as we pulled into the spacious parking lot of the farmer’s market. Only two cars were evident. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Piper. This is Four Paws Rescue. We have to evacuate all the critters. I know I just called on the goose, but I was wondering if you could help us?”

  “Of course. Just . . . just do what you have to do and let me know the damages.”

  “Bless you, Piper!”

  “Thank you. Good luck.” I hung up. “When this whole hurricane passes,” I said to Hannah, “I’m going to introduce you to a two-hundred-dollar goose.”

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind.”

  The pop-up tents were gone and the permanent booths empty, but the blue porta potties remained. The rain was steady, and Mandy turned on the heat to offset the dampness.

  Hannah opened the door and Piggy did the world’s fastest business, then leaped back inside and snuggled in Hannah’s arms. “I’m sorry, Piggy, but I gotta go too.” She placed the dog on the seat and made a dash for the nearest restroom.

  “What’s the significance of the name Piggy?” Mandy asked.

  Before I could answer, her phone rang. She fished it from her purse. “Hello . . . Hello? I can’t hear ya. Call me back in a minute. I’ll get somewhere so I can hear.” She hung up. “I think that was my brother. Let me try someplace else.”

  Leaving the car running, she dashed for the nearest booth, an open-sided covered space with built-in tables to display wares. She held her phone in front of her like a divining rod.

  Taking my purse with me, I got out and scurried after her. I had absolutely no memory of telling Joyce that Dove had a stuffed rabbit named Piggy.

  Mandy’s phone rang again. “Yeah, that’s better.” She listened. Slowly her gaze moved to me. “When do you think that could be?” Pause. “What if it moves? Okay. Yeah, I’ll tell ’em.”

  She disconnected, stared at her phone, then at me. “That was my brother, the fisherman. Remember when I said I’d ask him to take a detour and check out a specific area?”

  I gasped. “He found Joyce?”

  “No. At least I don’t think so. He went out fishin’ this morning where I’d told him to go—basically where I figured the boat might have drifted from. He said the wind and a nasty current moved him over a bit, and the storm has churned things up. His anchor caught on something, and he hauled up a hunk of rusty welded metal attached to a chunk of fiberglass.”

  My hands became damp. I dumped my heavy purse on a nearby bench and wiped my palms on my slacks. “So what are you saying?”

  “Well, he couldn’t be certain, so he suited up and took a quick look. There’s a boat down there, all right, badly damaged. He took a picture.” She held up her phone so I could see the photo. “He said it looked like an explosion sank it.”

  I could just barely read the name painted across the stern. Faire Taire.

  Chapter 21

  The van at the front of the house was still parked in the same place. To get over to Curlew he’d need to distract the occupants and pilot a boat over himself. He was bathed in sweat.

  “Come on, Tucker, buck up. You’ve had plenty of time to get over your paranoia.” The talking didn’t help.

  The heavy rains brought an early darkness that made it difficult to see around the room. He shut down the computer so the lighted screen wouldn’t show through the sheer panels. There would be no way to navigate an open ocean in the dark, but there was a good chance Silva was picking up the family to evacuate them from the island. Tucker refined his plans. He’d watch for the Boones’ return and somehow try and get Piper away from them. He trusted that Piper would have figured out how to get Hannah.

  His stomach grumbled. Did he dare risk opening the refrigerator again to check for food? Just as he stood, an engine started up outside. The lights on the van came on and it drove away. “Thank You, Lord,” he breathed.

  The refrigerator yielded Hannah’s pepperoni pizza missing two slices. Perfect.

  * * *

  The Faire Taire sank? An explosion? I thought my knees would buckle. I groped for something to sit on, ending up on a display table soaked in rain.

  Sinking the ship would explain why it was never located and how the body everyone called Dove washed up on the island. If it was an explosion, it probably killed the thief as well. All the parts fit, down to the last detail.

  Could I be wrong that Hannah is Dove?

  No. I wouldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe it. I had no place for such doubts. Think about something else. The thief.

  A thief missing for fifteen years. Just like Raven.

  I felt like someone had just dumped a second box of puzzle pieces into my partially finished jigsaw.

  Hannah spotted us from the porta potty and ran through the rain to join us. “How come you’re over here?”

  “Better cell reception. Are you ready to go?”

  A movement out of the corner of my eye made me glance in that direction. Someone in a hooded raincoat stood by one of the cars parked in the lot, taking photographs. Of us. “Mandy!”

  Mandy knew what to do. I snatched up my purse and both of us dashed toward the figure, who attempted to get the car door open and leap inside before we got there. I slammed against the person while Mandy shoved the door shut, blocking escape. Dropping my purse, I yanked the hood down.

  Bailey Norton shoved me away. “I should charge you with assault.”

  “And I should charge you with invasion of privacy.”

  “I’m a reporter. I’m doing my job. Speaking of which”—she pulled the hood back up over her now-dripping hair—“you might want to identify the girl with the burned face over there.” She nodded toward Hannah.

  “None of your business.” I stuck out my hand. “Give me your camera.”

  “Not on your life.”

  I looked over at Mandy. “Isn’t she breaking some law or something?”

  “Not yet.”

  Bailey raised the camera to take a photograph of Hannah. I put my hand in front of the lens.

  “Move your grubby hand.”

  “Put down your camera.”

  She lowered it.

  I moved to block her view. “Listen—”

  “No, you listen. You and your entire family are news. You’re entertainment. You’re like the Kennedys, but your compound is in Marion Inlet, not Hyannis Port. Your family has money, good looks, and political pull. Best of all, just like the Kennedys, you have a curse.”

  “That’s not true—”

  “Of course it’s not.” She smirked at my expression. “I read that journal about the shipwreck. I also managed to take a sample of the paper and ink, and I found out both are recent. The journal’s a fake, but only I and the forger know that.”

  “What—”

  “It won’t matter because I won’t reveal that. Oh, Piper, the kind of juicy tabloid news your f
amily will supply me with will make my career.”

  My mouth finally started to work. “You won’t be able to get within ten feet of us—”

  “Au contraire, my little naive stray.” She held up her hand. An impressive diamond solitaire sparkled from her ring finger. “I’m practically family myself. I’m engaged to Ashlee. We’ll be married at Christmas.”

  My mind went blank.

  She glanced down. “Your stuff’s getting wet.”

  My oversized purse had dropped to the pavement, spilling the contents out into the rain. I bent to pick it up.

  Bailey beat me to it and snatched up my key ring. “Did Raven give this to you?”

  I grabbed it from her grasp. “That’s none of your business.”

  “The last time I was on Curlew . . .”

  She must have enjoyed watching my face react. “Oh yes, I’ve visited the island. No one was around except Ashlee, of course, and that boat captain, who keeps his mouth shut for a price. I got a chance to check out all the bedrooms.”

  I wasn’t going to listen anymore. I savagely stuffed the contents back into my purse.

  “Anyway, that exact bird on your key chain was on Ashlee’s wall. As you know, Ashlee now has Raven’s room.”

  “I know. It’s a robin. All the bedroom walls have bird prints. So?”

  “So you know there’s a locked safe behind it, right?”

  I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’d scored a point. “So? Why are you telling me?”

  “Quid pro quo. I told you. You’ll tell me what’s in it.”

  “Fat chance.”

  “If you do, I’ll share a juicy piece of family history with you. If you don’t, you can read it in print.” Without another word, she got into her car and drove off.

  I became aware of someone shoving me. Mandy gave one last push and I was at the passenger side of her Camry. The rain had intensified to monsoon level and I was soaked.

  “Get in.”

  I obeyed. The car had been running the whole time and the warmth enveloped me. I started shaking. “D-d-did you hear what she said?”

  “I was standin’ right there. Hard to miss. Ya turned into a statue.”

  Hannah was already in the rear seat. “Who was that?”

  We started forward. Mandy turned on the headlights.

  “The queen of villains. Cruella de Vil, Nurse Ratched, Joan Crawford, Annie Wilkes.” I took a deep, shuddering breath. “Almira Gulch—”

  “She’s a newspaper reporter,” Mandy said.

  “The Wicked Witch of the West—”

  “Who’s Annie Wilkes?” Mandy turned toward downtown.

  “Misery, 1990. Maleficent—”

  “We get your drift,” Mandy said.

  I turned up the heat. “Where are we going?”

  “I was hopin’ ya’d tell me. I’ve gone around this block twice.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “About ten miles—”

  “Too far. I need to find Tucker. Hannah, you stay with Mandy. For now, take me to the family house.”

  * * *

  Tucker was eyeing the third slice of pizza when the phone rang. After a few rings, it stopped, then started again. This repeated several times before stopping. In the silence that followed, a car engine sounded. A Camry had parked by the front door. No one got out for a few minutes, then Piper jumped out and ran up the stairs as the car pulled away.

  He was at the door and pulled her inside before she could check the chimes.

  “Tucker!” She gave him a hug.

  His heart raced. He felt her trembling, her own rushing heartbeat. She let go and stepped awkwardly away, her face flushed. “I’m . . . I’m happy to see you. Um . . . Tern—”

  “I’m sorry,” he said at the same time.

  “He shouldn’t have—”

  “I should have—”

  “You first,” he said.

  “I had no idea you’d be here. Did Tern change his mind?”

  “Hardly. Who drove you here?”

  “Mandy Chou. I told you about her. She’s with marine patrol. Hannah is staying with her.”

  Her trembling didn’t stop, and he realized she was soaking wet. He went into the living room, now almost completely dark, grabbed a beige cashmere throw blanket, returned, and wrapped it around her. “Come in and get warm and dry.”

  Once they were both seated on the sofa, she reached for his hand. “Listen, we just got a phone alert. Hurricane Marco has turned. We’re under a hurricane warning. The phone here’s probably been ringing off the hook. Automatic warning system to every phone in the region.”

  His shoulders tightened. “It has. What’s the difference between a watch and a warning?”

  “It’s basically saying there’s a chance the hurricane may hit within the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours.”

  “We need to get out of here.” He stood.

  “Wait. Hurricanes are erratic. It could change course again. Several times in the past we’ve evacuated and were never in danger. And Hurricane Marco is moving very slowly, so there’s plenty of time to get out of its path. Here’s the thing you need to know.”

  He could barely see her face in the dim light.

  “By now, Tern, Ashlee, and Joel would have closed all the hurricane shutters and prepared the house on Curlew. In the morning they’ll evacuate the island, get this house shut down, and move inland.”

  “Which is what we should do.”

  “We will, but I have irreplaceable mementos that could be lost should a storm surge wipe out the house. I’m sure no one will think to grab up my journals, Dove’s bunny, or her christening gown.”

  She’d never mentioned a christening gown. Maybe the seeds he’d planted were taking root. “You didn’t mention that you christened Dove.”

  She shifted. “There are a lot of things I’ve . . . boxed up or deliberately not thought about. Her gown, bonnet, and favorite pacifier are in Mother’s room.”

  “Then just call up Mildred and have her collect those things.”

  “I will. But if I wait until everyone is gone, I’ll have this one window of opportunity to search the house and collect the proof I need that Hannah is Dove and that she was concealed from me.”

  “Piper, all you have to do is get a DNA test for Hannah.”

  Piper was silent, but he could feel the slight trembling in her hand. “But what . . . what . . .”

  “What if the DNA comes back and she’s not Dove?” he said quietly. “Is that what you wanted to say?”

  “I would be losing her all over again,” she whispered.

  “You’ll have to take that chance.”

  A hot tear struck his hand. He reached for her face, but she stood and dropped the blanket. “There’s a safe in Raven’s room. I need to look in there. It could contain something my sister Raven wanted to tell me, at least I think she did.” Piper pulled a key ring out of her pocket. “Raven gave me this key ring and a blank key.”

  “A key blank will open nothing—”

  “But it has the potential to open anything. One way or the other, the silence in the family has got to be broken.” Her voice grew stronger. “I’ll learn to live with the truth, no matter how hard. Are you with me?”

  “Of course. But the hurricane . . .”

  “We have time. Have you seen if Mother and the others have evacuated?”

  “Silva came over earlier with a load of boxes and suitcases. They were picked up by a U-Haul.”

  “Standard procedure for a hurricane. The kennel should have picked up Nana—”

  “Nana wasn’t on board.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Of course he was. You just missed him.”

  “No. Nana’s hard to miss. Sometime later I noticed the boat had left.”

  “He’d be heading back to help Joel and Tern finish the lockdown, then get everybody off first thing in the morning. The heavy bands of rain will start hitting then. But Nana should have come ov
er first.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure Nana will arrive with the rest of the family—”

  “No. That’s what I’m trying to say. Mother won’t ride over with Nana. She always sends him first. I wonder if they’re thinking about leaving him on the island.”

  “Ask about him when you call Mildred.”

  “I will. And if they’ve decided to leave him, I’ll need to get him to safety.”

  “How are we going to get over?”

  “Not we. Me. You have to stay here. I’ll have a few hours between the time they leave and the time I need to evacuate, but I need to know if anyone turns around and heads back out. I’ll have no way of knowing short of watching both docks, which is impossible. You’d call the satellite phone. I’ll get what I need, then head back.”

  The rain spattered against the window with renewed force.

  “I see a couple of problems with that. One is I’ll be trapped inside here when they close up the house.”

  “I’ll show you the way out.”

  “Aren’t all the boats going to be pulled from the water?”

  “Tucker, don’t worry. I can work the winch and get the boat into the water.”

  “What about the rough water?”

  “We have one very good, deep V–hulled boat. I’m going over tonight—”

  “Tonight! You can’t go out in this weather.”

  “Tucker, I have to.”

  “Stay here tonight and go in the morning.”

  “Why, Tucker”—her voice took on a deep Southern drawl—“spendin’ the night here with you wouldn’t be proper now, would it?” He could hear the humor in her voice, then she grew serious. “I’ll tie up at Joyce’s dock and use the rest of the night to check out her place for anything that sheds light on Dove and Hannah. In the morning I’ll watch for everyone to leave, then check out Raven’s room.”

  “How safe is that?”

  “In theory, perfectly safe.”

  “In theory?”

  “All of our boats are equipped with GPS, which is accessible by computer or phone. I suppose, should anyone check, they could see one of the boats leaving the boathouse. But what are they going to do about it? Don’t worry. My family thinks I’m with Mandy Chou and know enough to get out of harm’s way. They won’t expect me to head back to the island. And remember, I’ll be calling Mildred, so they’ll believe I’ve left and will meet up with them.”