Relative Silence

by Carrie Stuart Parks

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Tucker said.

  “I’m sure it wasn’t his first or last affair. He liked . . . admiration. Raven stopped coming to the family gatherings after that. If Raven became pregnant that summer, her daughter would be only a few months younger than Dove. And it could be that the birth certificate I thought was Mildred’s was actually for Raven’s daughter. As they had the same father, and Raven and I were sisters, Raven’s daughter would look a lot like Dove.”

  “That’s a pretty big if, Piper,” Mandy said.

  Piper shifted again. “Turn the light on for a moment.”

  Hannah complied, shining it in Piper’s face.

  Piper held up two identical amber necklaces. “Mother bought this for Dove”—she lofted one—“and this one for her other granddaughter.” She held up the other.

  “You’re saying your mother knew about the affair? And the baby?” Tucker shook his head.

  The flashlight flickered and Hannah quickly shut it off.

  “Mildred said Raven was going to tell me about the affair and demand a divorce. She left out that Raven brought her daughter with her to show me. Mildred murdered Raven and sent her body off in the boat with a bomb set, just like she tried to do to me today. But there were two little girls on the boat—and one survived.”

  “But the DNA showed the body was Dove.” Tucker had to get this through her head. “You saw the chain-of-custody form, the brush—”

  “Once the body washed up, Mildred knew they’d need DNA. She knew Joyce had found Dove and taken her away, so the dead child had to be Raven’s daughter. She knew where Raven lived, where she could find hair to put in Dove’s brush.”

  Tucker let out a frustrated sigh. “But—”

  “You saw a photo of the body.” Piper’s voice was hard.

  “Yes.”

  “Was she wearing a life jacket?”

  “No.”

  “Right. Dove would have had on a life jacket. Joyce rescued her, took her in, raised her. That Boone Industries money we believed went to Joyce was a good guess. Probably for Dove’s care.”

  “Grandma loved me.”

  “Yes, she did, Hannah. But in the end, she decided to tell me who you really were.”

  “She’s dead, isn’t she?” Hannah’s voice was muffled.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Hannah buried her face in Tucker’s shoulder, silently sobbing.

  “Piper,” Mandy said. “Do ya really believe your mother and Mildred worked together? That Mildred did all that killing?”

  She was silent, then took a deep breath. “No. Not working together.” She didn’t speak for a few minutes. The sound of the storm filled the room. “Mildred didn’t say she killed Sparrow. She said Sparrow was the start, and the Kennedys’ handling of their daughter Rosemary was the inspiration . . .”

  “What are you thinking about?” Tucker asked.

  “Mother’s comments about the perfect family, home, and island were known to everyone. What if Mildred acted on these wishes, either directly or indirectly, so that Mother would ultimately be the prime suspect? When Mother was the final surviving family member, she’d have a terrible accident, and Mildred would produce her birth certificate and claim everything.”

  “When ya say acted indirectly, you mean—?” Mandy asked.

  A large crash! overhead made Tucker duck and Hannah let out a squeak. “I have an idea on that,” he said. “Silva said he wanted to retire on a boat like the Taire. I doubt he made enough money to buy such a boat—”

  “But Mildred could have brought him in on the scheme, maybe even promising him that boat,” Piper finished. “He was an expert on boat repairs and machinery. Probably could figure out how to cause a welding accident. When he was no longer useful to her, she took care of him.”

  “And Joel was in the military,” Tucker said. “He’d know about rifles and ghost guns. Who knows what Mildred promised him or held over his head.”

  “But that’s—” Mandy said.

  “Sick? Twisted? Fanatical?” Piper shifted again.

  Her injuries must be causing her a lot of pain. Tucker wanted to hold her, comfort her. He stayed at his end of the bed.

  “I wonder what’s happened to Tern.” Piper’s voice shook slightly. “He’d be with Joel right now.”

  Tucker realized he could hear Piper much more clearly, along with the panting of Nana lying beside the bed. “I think the hurricane is moving away.”

  “Thank the Lord!” Mandy said.

  They listened for a bit. The rumbling was decidedly less. Now an intermittent boom! and crash! could be heard.

  “What’s that?” Piper asked.

  “I don’t know. Hannah, could ya hand me the flashlight?” Mandy flipped it on, slid to the edge of the bed, and stood. She immediately put the flashlight on her feet. “I think we got a problem here.”

  Tucker scooted over and looked. Mandy was standing in several inches of water.

  Chapter 33

  I slid both of my feet over the side of the bed into the cold water. “Storm surge. We need to get higher.”

  “I thought we were at the highest place on the island.” Tucker stood.

  “We are, but we can’t get trapped in here. We need to get onto the roof.” I slogged to the night table blocking the door and tried to move it aside. The throbbing in my side increased to a fiery lance.

  Hannah stayed on the bed and held the light while Mandy and Tucker removed the barriers. Tucker reached over to open the door.

  “Wait!” Mandy stepped in front of him. “The ocean out there is swirlin’ and full of rip tides, waves, and crazy currents. Y’all could get sucked out and be gone before we could stop it. We have to stay together. See if there’s any rope or belts or somethin’ we can hang on to.”

  A fast search of the room yielded nothing. “How about we rip up the sheets and blankets?” I asked. The water had grown noticeably deeper, now reaching to my knees.

  No one had to be encouraged to work faster. We quickly ripped sheets and tied them together. By the time we’d finished, the water was to our thighs. Nana had jumped on the bed and watched us work.

  “There’s a ladder, or steps, or some way to get up to the roof, right?” Tucker tied the sheet and blanket strips together.

  “Yes. On the north side.” I pointed. “A metal ladder attached to the building.”

  “We’ll create a tag line, attaching this to a fixed point.” Tucker gave each knot an extra tug, then opened the door. A hip-deep wave swept through the opening, knocking Hannah off her feet.

  Mandy helped her up. I turned and looked out. Gray light filtered through the massive debris pile in front of the door.

  I leaned against the dresser, my mind a blank. We’d never get through the beams, fallen palms, and tree trunks blocking us. The water rose to my waist.

  Tucker swore, then started yanking at the beams, then the palm trunk. Nothing budged. His face had gone chalk white.

  Of course. His wife and unborn baby drowned.

  Nana swam past me to the opening, then attempted to climb up. One of the beams shifted slightly.

  Tucker grabbed my shoulders. “Piper, think! Is there any way out of here?”

  “The shutters on the windows are electric. I don’t think we can smash through them.” I tried to picture playing on the roof as a child. We’d always climbed up using the outside ladder.

  The water rose again, covering my wound. The salt stung like fire ants. I couldn’t think. The pain filled my brain. I had to use my hands to stay upright as the waves tried to sweep my legs out from under me.

  Roof. I’m walking on the flat roof. All over . . . No, watch it, Sparrow! There’s a hole, an opening.

  “Piper!” Hannah had climbed onto the bed. The water was to her knees.

  “There!” I pointed. “About halfway, maybe two feet from the outside wall. There used to be an opening—”

  Tucker didn’t wait. “Mandy, help.” He grabbed the dresser, now completely s
ubmerged, and the two of them manhandled it to under where I’d pointed. He jumped on the top and started hammering on the ceiling with his fist.

  The water rose again. I was swimming.

  Mandy swam onto the dresser next to Tucker. “Look. The wood’s wet here. The roof is probably gone and rain’s been soaking through.”

  I rapped my foot against something hard. The metal floor lamp with the mica shade was lying on its side. It had a heavy round base. Holding my breath, I dove down, grabbed the lamp, and surfaced. “Here.” I thrust the lamp onto the dresser.

  Tucker hefted the metal base and smashed it into the wooden ceiling. Chunks of beadboard dropped down.

  I swam to the bed and stood next to Hannah. Even standing on the bed, I was chest-deep in water. Nana was swimming around, pawing at the walls and whining. Hannah had buried her face in shivering Piggy’s side.

  Wham! Another blow. More wood. Tucker was having trouble getting a good swing.

  Did I remember correctly? Was the opening on the other side? There wouldn’t be time to try another spot. Did I lead them here only for them to die?

  Wham! Wham! Wham!

  I couldn’t look. Would we run out of air before the water filled the room?

  Wham!

  Mandy screamed. I looked.

  Gray light came from a small opening. With renewed strength, Tucker slammed the lamp base into the wood, making a larger hole. Without pausing, he grabbed Mandy and shoved her through. “Quick, Hannah—”

  “I can’t swim.”

  He dove into the water and swam to her. “Give Piggy to Piper, then wrap your arms around my neck.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “I’ve got you.”

  She reluctantly handed me the dog, then jumped on his back. He swam to the opening, swung her around, and lifted her.

  Nana paddled over to him and he boosted the big dog out. Now it was just Tucker and me. I started swimming, but Piggy wiggled from my arms.

  The dog sank from sight.

  Chapter 34

  I dove after him, groping around, trying to find him in the swirling, dark ocean water. I felt rather than saw Tucker join me. Just as I touched a warm body, Tucker grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. I held up Piggy. The poor dog shook like a leaf and was coughing up water.

  The ceiling was less than a foot from my head. My claustrophobia took over. I sucked in air and water, tried to scream, pounded the ceiling. Get out, get me out!

  Stop it! A still, quiet voice whispered in my ear. I stopped thrashing. Turning in a circle, I looked for the opening. There. Holding Piggy aloft, I swam toward it and shoved the dog through.

  I didn’t have enough energy to reach through myself. I started to sink.

  Hands locked around my sides and I flew upward. Someone grabbed me, pulled up, out. I was on the roof.

  Mandy and Hannah were staring at me. “Where’s Tucker?” Hannah asked.

  I looked back into the hole he’d made. Black water lapped at the edges.

  “Oh no!” Mandy dropped to her knees and stuck her arm into the water.

  Falling to my knees beside her, I did the same. How long had he been without air? I found myself chanting a mindless, “No, no, no, no.”

  I continued to search the cold water, then looked at Mandy. “I’m going back down.”

  “No, Piper—”

  A hand grabbed mine and I pulled with all my might. Tucker’s head, followed by his arms and shoulders, flew through the opening. He lifted himself clear. His skin was white, lips purple, and eyes bloodshot. He was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

  “Tucker.” It was all I could say.

  The three of us slowly pushed to our feet. The metal roof Joyce had built over the cement building had been ripped off by the hurricane, which was lucky for us. Just the original flat roof remained. From our viewpoint, all we could see was water and the tops of a few shredded palm trees. Nothing remained of any other structures on Curlew Island, all swept out into the ocean.

  Mandy helped Piggy cough up the last of the water, though like us, he was shivering from the cold. After handing the dog to Hannah, Mandy peeked over the side of the building. “Water’s goin’ down. Coast guard should be here soon enough.”

  Hannah sat on a corner of the roof and stared out at the slate-gray sky and sea. I started to go to her, but Tucker put a restraining hand on my shoulder. “Let her be. Give her some time and space.”

  I nodded.

  Tucker turned away, staring at the restless gray-green waves surrounding us. Slowly he reached into his pocket, pulled out a stone, then threw it into the water.

  Epilogue

  Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina

  Six months later

  The piercing scream ripped up my spine. I dropped the spoon and ran to the door.

  Hannah pointed at Piggy. “He just ate some cat poop.”

  “He’ll live. Can you go check on the pygmy goat?”

  Hannah nodded and took off running with Piggy following, cat-poop dinner not slowing him down in the least.

  I returned to making banana pudding.

  With the scouring of Curlew Island, Tern decided to go public with Boone Industries. He also stepped away from political office.

  Joel was arrested for his role in providing the rifle in the café shooting and in teaching Mildred how to set explosive devices. He claimed he had no knowledge of what she’d been planning. His trial was set for June.

  Silva’s body was never recovered, but his hefty bank account pointed to his motivation.

  The previous week Dove’s—make that Hannah’s—DNA test results had come back. God had indeed given me back my daughter.

  I’d started attending a women’s Bible study. After all, I promised. I was learning a lot about forgiveness. Hannah went with me.

  With the money from the business, I decided to open my own small shelter for animals no one wanted. In addition to the goat, we had a one-eared cat, two chickens who refused to lay eggs, an orphaned litter of puppies, and of course Nana. We placed the goose with Mandy. They seemed to get along just fine.

  Tern and I had had dinner here several times, though so far he had been resistant to adopting a chicken. I figured he would eventually relent.

  Ashlee married Bailey Norton four months ago and I was present at the wedding. Bailey left her job with the newspaper when she compared her lifestyle as Ashlee’s wealthy wife to her meager reporter’s salary. Ashlee initially called Dove often, though not so much recently as he and Bailey were already expecting their first child.

  Tucker pulled up and parked in front of the house. I knew my face would give away my thoughts, and I didn’t care. I flew into his arms. “How did it go?”

  “I have a new assignment working with the Doe Network on unknown remains.”

  “That sounds . . . um . . . interesting?”

  “It will be, and I can work anywhere.”

  “That’s great news! What else did they say?”

  “They asked me about the three stones.”

  “What—”

  A small electric car drove up and parked. My mother stepped out, then stood hesitantly by the open door as if ready to bolt.

  For a moment I was rooted to the ground. I’d pictured this moment for the last six months, imagining what I would say. I took a deep breath. “Hello, Mother.”

  “Sandpiper.”

  In the months since the hurricane, she’d aged, her face now a network of tiny wrinkles.

  Dove slowly walked over to the other side of the car holding Piggy. I signaled to her. “Come here, sweetheart.”

  Dove trotted over and stood beside me. I put my arm around her. “Mother, I’d like you to meet your granddaughter Dove.”

  Mother didn’t speak for a few moments, then said, “Will you ever forgive me? Either of you?”

  “Mom, I already have.” As I said it, I found I meant it. I felt the huge brick on my heart lift.

  Her face crumpled and she pul
led a tissue out of her pocket. “What about you, Dove?”

  “Yeah. But I’m not gonna call you Grandma.”

  “Okay,” she managed to squeak out, then opened her arms. “Come and give me a hug.”

  Dove slowly walked over to Mother and held out her hand.

  Mother shook Dove’s hand, touched her hair, then looked at me. “I’ve set up a trust fund in Dove’s name. She’ll never have to worry about money. And I’ve consulted with the best plastic surgeon about her face—”

  “Dove will make her own decision about her face. I think she’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, of course—”

  “As for the trust fund, I think the amount you paid Joyce to care for her over the years would be a suitable sum.”

  Mother looked down and nodded, then quietly said, “I didn’t know about Raven. I believed her.”

  Mother couldn’t bring herself to say Mildred’s name. After a few moments, she cleared her throat. “Her name was Robin.”

  “What?”

  “Your niece, Raven’s daughter. Her name was Robin. I looked it up. Afterward.”

  So Raven had reached out to me, to tell me the truth.

  “I-I had no idea. She manipulated us all . . . I didn’t . . . I didn’t . . .” Mother waved a hand in the air.

  “I know.”

  Two chickens strolled by, clucking and pecking at the ground every few steps.

  “Meet Megan and Kate.” I grinned at my mother. “As you can see, I’ve become a bird-watcher.”

  “Oh.” She stepped backward slightly.

  “Do you want to help me feed the puppies?” Dove asked Mother.

  “Puppies,” Mother said faintly. “Of . . . course. I’d love to.” She glanced down at her immaculately pressed white linen slacks.

  Dove grabbed Mother’s hand and headed toward the shelter. “After you feed them you have to rub their tummies so they’ll poop.”

  “I can’t wait . . . ,” Mother weakly replied.

  Tucker came up beside me. “You got through it.”

  “Yes.” I turned to him. “You were about to tell me about your trip to Clan Firinn. About the three stones.”