No Virgin Island

by C. Michele Dorsey

  “Sam, will you stay with Liam and Henry, please?” Deirdre asked in what Sabrina knew was Deirdre’s first maternal command of what would become many.

  “Sure, I’ll fill Henry in,” he said.

  “Who are all these people?” Liam asked Henry.

  “We’re all your people, Liam. Yours and Kelly’s. You’ll see,” Sam said as he watched Deirdre, Mara, and Sabrina rush out the door.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The hike out to Ram Head had taken a bit longer than usual, since the trail was still a little wet from the rain. Kelly watched the steam rise from the rocks on the portion of the hike her father always said reminded him of the beaches of New England. He had been a gentler dad when he and Mara had first gotten married, and they’d done things as a family. Kelly wasn’t sure why her father always seemed so angry, but she was fairly sure the anger was what made him drink. She had given up hoping he would stop long ago. It was never going to happen and she knew it.

  Seth seemed quiet. Kelly wanted to know what he had to tell her about herself. She wondered if he was going to break up with her, tell her she was immature. But what was with the gun?

  They climbed the final ascent toward Ram Head, the breeze beginning to build. The view from the last cliff before Ram Head was Kelly’s favorite. Her father used to tell her that long ago, pirates had hidden in a crevice that sliced partway through the horrendously high cliff, and she had believed him.

  Kelly knew it would be dark on the hike back, but she didn’t mind. She’d done this trail so many times that she could probably do it asleep. She was more nervous about Mara’s reaction to her sneaking out with Seth again. She was pushing her luck.

  At the top of Ram Head, she took a swig of water and found a rock to sit on. Seth perched on one closer to the edge, one Kelly had favored as a child, always making Mara nervous.

  “Come here, babe,” Seth said, patting the spot next to him on the rock.

  She rose, a little reluctantly and wasn’t sure why. Waiting for him to tell her something made her very uncomfortable.

  Kelly sat next to him and decided she could wait no longer.

  “What is it that you want to tell me, Seth? I need to know.”

  “Well, it seems, Kelly, that everyone on this island has secrets. I know I do, and so do you,” Seth said in a very calm voice, one Kelly hadn’t heard before.

  “I haven’t got any secrets.” She wondered if he thought she had another boyfriend over in St. Thomas, as he’d accused her of on several occasions. The guys at her high school were so immature compared to Seth. How could he imagine she would choose one of them over him?

  “But you do. Your name is even a secret. Did you know your real last name is Keegan, not Eagan?”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Kelly began to laugh but stopped when she saw the serious look in Seth’s eyes. She wondered if it had been a huge mistake coming out here.

  “You need to hear the truth. You have the right to know.” Seth stood and faced her.

  “Know what?” She was beginning to feel exasperated with Seth, who was towering over her as she sat crouched on a rock.

  “Kelly, your real mother isn’t dead. You and Liam aren’t even twins. You were born eleven months before him. Your father made that up when he kidnapped you and Liam. The woman renting Villa Mascarpone is your real mother.”

  “What are you saying? None of this is true.”

  “But it is. It’s all in the report the private investigator wrote. It’s over there in his backpack. I found it the morning he was supposed to leave Villa Mascarpone, when I went to clean the pool. He was getting out of the pool and headed for the shower. He told me I could clean the pool but to be careful not to splash water on this camera equipment and backpack, which he had ready to go on one of the lounge chairs. I went to move them farther away and saw a folder marked ‘FBI.’ I was curious, and I could hear the shower running, so I took a peek. And it was a good thing for you and Liam that I did.”

  “I don’t understand. What’s the FBI got to do with this? I just don’t get it.” Kelly began to cry, wondering what had been in the envelope she had been about to open when Seth arrived at his apartment.

  “I had to protect you. You were so sweet and young, different from other girls.”

  “Protect me from what?” Kelly asked, almost shrieking.

  “He was going to send his report with pictures of you and Liam to the FBI, Kelly, because they have jurisdiction over kidnapping. Your father was going to be prosecuted and probably go to jail. You would have been sent away from St. John, away from me. I saved you from all of that. Can’t you see that?”

  “How did you save me? Seth, what have you done? Tell me.” Kelly detected desperation in Seth’s voice. Finding the backpack and other stuff in his apartment had been a huge mistake.

  “Your real mother was going to take you to live in Massachusetts, so you and Liam would live with her happy little family. She was going to take you away from me. I had to take care of that situation and protect you.”

  “Seth, did you kill that man?” Kelly asked without thinking.

  “Of course I did. I did it for you. I had no choice. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get caught. I’m pretty sure they’re going to blame Mr. Banks. I gave him one of the photographs taken by the dead guy. That Alzheimer’s gets him pretty confused. He can’t remember his own name. I mean, he hangs his gun in his shed next to his hedge trimmer. I’ll toss the backpack and camera bag off the cliff. No one will ever find it.”

  “You can’t let Mr. Banks go to jail for something you did. You have to go to the police. Tell them it was an accident. Tell them you didn’t mean it. Please, Seth.” Kelly rose to her feet, sobbing.

  “I can’t do that. They’d put me in jail, and we couldn’t be together. The whole reason I did this was so we can be together. I did it because I love you, Kelly.”

  Kelly walked over to the spot where she’d dropped her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

  “I have to go,” she said, turning to face Seth, wondering how she ever had let him into her life.

  “No, you can’t leave me. I did it for you.” Seth grabbed Kelly by the arm, pulling her toward him. Kelly’s backpack fell to the ground, next to the one belonging to the man Seth had killed.

  “Seth, let go. I can’t be with you.”

  Kelly tried pulling away from him, but he was too strong. He yanked her arm to pull her back toward him and stumbled, losing his balance. Seth tried to steady himself, still holding onto her.

  “Stop!” Kelly screamed, knowing they were too close to the edge. But it was too late. They tumbled backward over the edge, his screams and hers now one.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Sabrina hit the van’s gas pedal and sped out of the parking lot at police headquarters, not caring if a dozen police officers saw her. They would have to chase her to Ram Head before she’d stop. She had no idea how fast three women, followed by what she hoped would be a bunch of cops, could get out to Ram Head, but she didn’t have time to think about it.

  Deirdre sat in the front seat next to her, with Mara in the backseat in the middle so she could talk to them.

  “What do you know about this Seth?” Deirdre asked.

  “He’s our pool guy at Ten Villas. Does a good job, responsible, but other than that, I don’t know much,” Sabrina said.

  “He was our pool guy, but Rory fired him for paying too much attention to Kelly. I guess he was a little too late,” Mara said.

  Deirdre reached back with her hand, taking Mara’s.

  “That’s not important now. We just need her to be safe. We’ll sort the rest out later.” Deirdre said.

  “Absolutely,” Mara said.

  Sabrina was thrilled these two mothers weren’t ready to kill each other because she was afraid Seth was more than the three of them could handle.

  Sabrina wound over the hills and curves of Centerline Road at a speed that frightened even her. When they turned rig
ht at the signs for Coral Bay and headed toward Salt Pond, she found herself entering a state of calm she had been able to call upon since her childhood. Sabrina breathed with awareness, knowing there was a dangerous tendency to not breathe when a crisis arose, leaving one without the oxygen one needed more than ever. She listened while Mara described the hike out to Ram Head to Deirdre, preparing her for it, as she was the only one of the three of them who hadn’t made the trek before. Sabrina wondered if Deirdre was the hiking type, thinking how delicate she looked, but was pleased to hear her say she and Sam hiked in the Berkshires all the time.

  She slowed when she saw the “Dip” caution sign, which someone had added “Clam” above. Later at the speed “hump,” as it was called in St. John, Sabrina slowed again, cursing the random speed humps, which were constructed by people in neighborhoods concerned about wild tourists who couldn’t remember to “think left” when they were driving. Sabrina had hoped she could make good time driving to Salt Pond, knowing there wasn’t much she could do to hasten the hike out to Ram Head.

  “I used to dream of being reunited with Liam and Kelly,” Deirdre said. “I just didn’t expect she might be in danger.”

  “Can’t you get this van to move a little faster, Sabrina?” Mara asked, sounding agitated to Sabrina after hearing Deirdre’s concern. Sabrina felt it too.

  Sabrina finally pulled into the parking lot at Salt Pond. There were no other cars, and she didn’t see Seth’s scooter, but he could have hidden it under the lush brush anywhere. It was still light but fading.

  They were able to descend the long, wide path to Salt Pond Bay without much difficulty. Sabrina knew the ascent was the killer on the journey, but if they made it back safely with Kelly, it didn’t matter.

  They trotted along the fine white sand of the beach until they hit the trail on the other side. Deirdre and Sabrina were wearing flip-flops, but Mara was dressed in her sensible work boots, so she led the way. They climbed along the rocks and then up the clay hills along the water until they hit the rocky beach everyone agreed didn’t belong there. It was so quintessential New England that people often suggested it was imported, but everyone knew it was just one of the natural surprises St. John offered. Deirdre and Sabrina had a little difficulty navigating the large gray rocks in flip-flops, but Mara held on to them and they passed through, reaching the final ascent.

  They could see Ram Head in the distance, but it was too far away to see if there were people at the summit. Mara led the three of them along the path so narrow you could only go single file. Deirdre went next, with Sabrina last to keep her steady. They held hands like preschoolers holding a rope on a field trip. No one had much to say, other than “Watch your step” or “Down a bit here.”

  One of Sabrina’s favorite things about Ram Head was the quiet. Oh, you might hear a bird or an occasional boat motor in the distance, but for the most part, there was silence.

  Sabrina was relieved when they reached the marker left by some volunteers from Scituate, Massachusetts, who had spent a vacation clearing and cleaning the trail one year. That meant they were just steps from the summit. Still, not a sound. Mara fell back beside Deirdre as they stepped onto the flat top of Ram Head. Sabrina pulled ahead. She was not a mother waiting to see the fate of her child. She could be fearless for these two women who weren’t.

  Deirdre gasped and Sabrina looked back to see her pointing to a backpack up at the edge of the cliff.

  Mara went white.

  “It’s Kelly’s,” she groaned.

  Sabrina looked over to the side of it and saw another backpack, larger than Kelly’s.

  “Is it Seth’s?” Mara asked.

  “No, it’s Carter Johnson’s,” she said.

  “Please just go look, Sabrina,” Deirdre said.

  “Please?” Mara asked.

  They wanted her to look over the edge of the cliff and tell them what they already knew: that Kelly and Seth had gone over the edge, in either a Romeo and Juliet scenario or some other unimaginable moment of drama. Sabrina didn’t want to find two young bodies mangled against the rocks, but she was the best candidate for the job, so she did.

  She edged over to the cliff, wanting to drop down on her belly because she so hated heights. She never came this close to the edge when she hiked here, but today she had no choice.

  Sabrina saw him first, way down, face up at the base of the cliff, waves beginning to splash over him. She looked to the right to find Kelly and then to the left, but she didn’t see her.

  Sabrina caught a glimpse of Kelly’s terrified face from the corner of her eye. Kelly was hanging on to a sharp rock about ten feet below. Her expression was transfixed. Her hands seemed tiny and her bare feet were hanging, just ready to drop.

  “Kelly, Kelly, don’t move. Just breathe. You’re going to be fine. Give me one minute. Don’t move, honey, just breathe,” Sabrina said.

  Sabrina backed off the cliff and took off her belt, placing the large key ring on the ground. Deirdre and Mara stood gaping at her.

  Sabrina raised her index finger to her mouth signaling for them to be silent.

  “She’s hanging on to a rock. We can’t startle her or she’ll drop. Give me your tool belt, Mara. Help me buckle them together and see if I can pull her up,” Sabrina whispered.

  Mara took the small tools she carried off the belt first and put them next to Sabrina’s key ring. She took Sabrina’s belt and fastened the buckle to her own belt. The length of the two belts together was about six feet. Sabrina figured it wasn’t long enough to reach Kelly even if she lay down on her belly and reached over. She ran over to Carter’s backpack and removed the nylon strap, making it as long as it would extend before attaching to the two belts with the buckle. Sabrina tugged to see if the two belts and strap would separate under Kelly’s weight. Mara handed her a couple of carabiners from the pile of tools to strengthen the buckles.

  “I want you to come over here and each take one of my legs and hold on to it for dear life,” Sabrina said, now understanding where the expression came from.

  Sabrina got down on her belly, feeling the dirt and pebbles against her legs, and dropped the belts over. It didn’t reach near enough for Kelly to grip. Sabrina moved on her belly again closer to the edge, Mara and Deirdre inching with her. The sun was beginning to set over beyond St. Thomas, and Sabrina knew it would be dark within ten minutes. This had to work.

  The belts dangled just above the rock where Kelly’s hands clung. Sabrina could feel the might of each mother holding onto her legs as she wiggled down over the edge and spoke in almost a lullaby.

  “Kelly, I want you to take the belt with one hand and then grab the rock again. Can you do that, sweetie? Hand up fast, grab the belt, and then back to the rock.”

  Kelly looked up at Sabrina, who knew they could lose her in this one move. But the only other choice was to let her drop from fatigue.

  “Ready?”

  She looked at Sabrina directly, and Sabrina knew that meant she was.

  “Grab the belt and press it to the rock, got it?”

  Kelly took her right hand and swiftly reached for the belt, clasping it back on the rock.

  “Good, now take a couple of nice deep breaths. You’re doing great,” Sabrina said, feeling the fatigue in her thighs as Mara and Deirdre held them with ferocity.

  “Now, Kelly, we’re going to put your other hand above the one holding the belt and you’re going to grab the belt above. Got it? Sweetie, take a deep breath and grab,” Sabrina said, the blood beginning to rush to her head from leaning over the edge.

  Kelly did it quickly, but Sabrina could see her sway a little with fatigue. They had to get her up quick while Kelly—and they—had the energy.

  “Okay, next I want you to let go of the rock, holding on tightly to the belt and bringing your feet toward the cliff. You can do this, sweetie, I know you can,” Sabrina said, not really sure if it was true. But she could feel that the mother-force holding on to her legs had faith, and it bolst
ered her own.

  Sabrina watched the beautiful muscles in Kelly’s arms, strong from years of tennis and swimming, flex as she grabbed the belt and let go of the rock, swaying first out away from the cliff and then toward it, resting her feet against the crumbling clay.

  “Now you’re going to walk up while we pull you, Kelly, but keep holding the belt every step.”

  Kelly moved one foot up and then the next, but her toes slid down as stones and bits of clay began to crumble.

  “I can’t. I’m scared!” Kelly screamed, the first words she had spoken since they had arrived.

  “Listen to me, Kelly. ‘I, Kelly, am not afraid. I, Kelly, am fearless.’”

  “I can’t.”

  “Just say it.”

  “I, Kelly, am not afraid. I, Kelly, am fearless.”

  Kelly took another step and this time didn’t slip.

  “I, Kelly, am not afraid. I, Kelly, am fearless,” Kelly began chanting. Step by step, Kelly climbed the cliff, Sabrina’s body holding on to the belts, the bodies of Kelly’s mothers holding onto Sabrina.

  Sabrina felt someone next to her on her right and saw Neil and then to her left where Leon Janquar was lying. Janquar and Neil were each able to grab hold of one of Kelly’s arms and pull her up onto Sabrina’s back. She could hear sobs coming from Kelly, from Mara and Deirdre, and from her. They lay in a human heap of exhaustion and triumph, not moving.

  Janquar took control.

  “I want everyone to stay just as you are now. Please do not move. We are so close to the edge that it might give way under the weight, so let’s disengage slowly,” Janquar said.

  He had Deirdre and Mara back up first. They then helped pull Kelly to her feet, where she fell into Mara’s arms. Sabrina then sidled back over the dirt until she was far enough away from the edge and it was safe to stand.

  Neil and Janquar finally stood and looked at the four women, so dirty in the near dark that they were almost impossible to see.

  Over by the trail marker stood Lucy Detree and half a dozen male officers. Before Sabrina knew it, Lucy was collecting the T-shirts from the male officers with her and bringing them over to Kelly, whose shirt was torn, and to the three shivering women.