Footprints in the Sand

by Mary Jane Clark

  One man wandered into the building. He smiled at a couple who were on their way out. Then he proceeded onward.

  He passed the apple snails and crawfish and stingrays that could actually live in fresh water. He strolled by the horseshoe crabs and the sea stars, the fighting conch and the sea urchins. Cowfish, filefish, striped burrfish, and Florida’s premier game fish, the snook.

  Then he found it. The plaque next to the tank described the lethal effects of the puffer fish, explaining that those born and raised in captivity were not toxic. The explanation further revealed that the ones in the tank at present had been born in the wild and had continually fed upon prey containing the bacteria they synthesized into their deadly poison.

  It took him a while to find the closet where rubber gloves and plastic bags were stored. He returned to the puffer tank, and after one last look around to make sure that no one was watching, he stuck his gloved hand into the water.

  Saturday

  Three are too many

  to keep a secret.

  AMISH PROVERB

  Chapter 102

  February 18 . . .

  Wedding Day

  Piper tossed and turned. Finally she gave up and got out of bed. She went to the window, searching the sky for a hint at what the weather was going to be like for Kathy and Dan’s wedding day. The sun had started to turn the night into day. There were no clouds looming.

  As she stared out at the water, Piper’s mind went over the way the night before had ended. After the rehearsal dinner, she and Jack had ridden back to Whispering Sands with her parents. In the car there was only general conversation about the evening. When Jack walked Piper to her room, he gave her a chaste peck on the cheek and left.

  This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.

  She could understand that Jack worried about her. In fact, she was glad that he cared enough to be concerned. But Piper bristled at the idea of being told what she could and could not do. She could take care of herself. Still, she didn’t want it to be awkward between them, especially not today.

  She was considering how to make the first move when her phone rang. She pounced on it, hoping Jack was calling to clear the air. But it was Kathy.

  “Piper? By any chance did you bring the hex sign home with you?”

  “Uh-uh. I didn’t see it again after I gave it to you and Dan.”

  “Oh, no!” wailed Kathy. “You’re never going to believe it. I guess those watermelon margaritas took their toll. We must have left the hex sign back at the tiki hut.”

  “Can Dan call over there and have somebody from the aquarium go take a look for it?” asked Piper.

  “It doesn’t open till ten o’clock. Nobody will be there yet.”

  Piper glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. She didn’t want Kathy fretting with three hours until her wedding ceremony.

  “I’ll go over and find it, Kathy. Don’t worry. I’ll get Jack to come with me.”

  The trip to find the hex sign provided the perfect opportunity to smooth things over with Jack. Ten minutes after she called him, he was waiting for her in the lobby.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” she said. “I’m sorry that I upset you.”

  “And I’m sorry that I lost my temper,” said Jack. “But I wish you—”

  Piper put up her hand. “Let’s not talk any more about it right now, Jack. All right? There will be lots of time later to discuss it, but let’s just enjoy today and have fun.”

  Jack pulled up the raffia skirt on the last picnic table and looked underneath.

  “Nope,” he said, standing upright again. “Nothing.”

  “Do you think someone got confused and dumped it in the trash?” asked Piper.

  “Not likely,” he said. “It’s too big to be inadvertently mistaken for garbage. But I’ll go check anyway.”

  While Jack went off to find the trash receptacles, Piper searched around the pavilion again, hoping they’d missed something. They hadn’t.

  She walked out of the tiki hut and headed toward the water, wanting to take a minute to get it together. Tears were stinging her eyes. She hated the idea that her wedding present was lost and that Levi’s art was gone. She suspected that it was probably the last piece Levi had made before he killed himself.

  As she got to the roasting pit, Piper noticed something that didn’t seem right. She stopped immediately when she recognized the big wooden circle lying facedown in the middle of the hole.

  “Jack!” she called. “I found it!”

  Piper leaned down, reached in, and pulled out the charred hex sign. With great trepidation she turned it over. The front was seared and blackened. The hand-painted symbols were scorched beyond recognition.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said. “Who would think this was trash and throw it away to be burned?”

  “No one, Pipe,” said Jack as he surveyed the scene. “This was no mistake. This was done deliberately.”

  Chapter 103

  The slice of whole-wheat bread popped up from the toaster. Roberta buttered it lightly and smeared it with marmalade. She put the toast on the tray along with the soft-boiled egg and a pot of tea and carried it upstairs. She knocked on the door to the master bedroom.

  “Come in, Roberta.”

  Roz was sitting up in bed. There was a smile on her face.

  “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that, Mom,” said Roberta as she set the bed tray over her mother’s lap. “And how relieved.”

  “There’s still so much that hasn’t come back to me,” said Roz. “But at least the most important thing has.”

  “The memories are going to return gradually, Mom. Don’t worry. You’ll get there.”

  Roberta was encouraged. Maybe it was because Roz was in her usual surroundings again, or maybe it was just that time was healing her, but she’d remembered a few things since she returned home from the hospital. The night before, they had chatted about Roberta’s childhood and Roberta’s father. Tears had come to Roz’s eyes when she spoke of her husband. But Roberta thought even that was a positive sign. Her mother was remembering how much she loved him.

  Roz still had no memories of what had happened when she was forced off the road before the car crash. But Roberta suspected that was her mother’s mind protecting itself. Maybe the memory would come, maybe it wouldn’t. It was fine with Roberta if her mother never had to mentally relive that ordeal.

  “Stop babying me, Roberta,” Roz commanded as her daughter reached to lift the teapot. “I can do it myself, dear.”

  Roberta smiled and walked over to the window to look out at the Gulf of Mexico. A big blue heron flew by. Charter boats carrying fishermen were headed out to the deeper water. Large sailboats floated past, their graceful sails fluttering in the breeze.

  “What a glorious day for a wedding,” remarked Roberta.

  “Is today Kathy’s wedding?” asked Roz.

  Roberta turned around. “You remember that Kathy Leeds is getting married? That’s great, Mom!”

  Roz ate her egg and nibbled on the toast. As Roberta lifted the tray away, Roz reached out and touched her daughter’s arm.

  “Do you think it would be all right if I went to the wedding?” she asked. “The invitation is downstairs on the refrigerator. Even if we just go for a little while, I would love to see Kathy as a bride.”

  Chapter 104

  Piper showered and shampooed her hair. As she blew it dry, her somber face looked back at her from the mirror. She was beside herself about the ruined hex sign.

  If someone had deliberately destroyed it, as Jack was convinced, why? What message did the hex sign convey?

  Going to the closet, she took the notes and sketches from the pocket of the dress she’d worn the night before. Now the paper was all that remained as a testimony to Levi’s design. She sat on the e
dge of the bed and concentrated.

  The scallop shell and heart at the top, the teardrops and the birds at the bottom, and the little green turtles in the center of it all.

  Levi had said that there were different ways to interpret symbols. What if he’d intended other meanings?

  Scallop shell, heart, turtles.

  Teardrops, birds.

  It was getting late. She left the paper on the bed and got up to put on her makeup. As she stroked mascara onto her lashes, it occurred to her: Could the heart represent Shelley’s last name? Was the scallop shell merely a shell?

  She said the words over and over. Shell, heart. Shell, heart. Shelley Hart!

  Had the hex sign been Levi’s salute to the dead woman? Instead of representing the turtle nesting that had brought Kathy and Dan together, did the turtles actually symbolize the place where Shelley was buried? Did the tears represent Levi’s sadness and regret about what he’d done?

  But what about the birds? What could they mean?

  Piper was startled out of her reverie by Kathy’s phone call. It was almost time for the wedding.

  A bucket of flip-flops stood ready for anyone who desired them. The guests were handed shell leis as they arrived and wore sunglasses as they sat on the white folding chairs that had been set up on the beach. Piper and Brad flanked the bride and groom. Piper wore a short, strapless dahlia-colored silk taffeta dress. The amethyst earrings Kathy had given her dangled from her ears.

  With the Gulf of Mexico as a backdrop, Kathy and Dan stood in the middle of a large heart that had been drawn in the sand and lined with seashells. They faced each other and held hands as the justice of the peace officiated.

  “If any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.”

  Piper held her breath, saying a silent prayer that no one would utter a word. Please, let this ceremony go off without a hitch. Let this at least go right for them.

  It did.

  Chapter 105

  When the ceremony concluded, the guests gathered around the bride and groom. There were hugs, laughter, and congratulations. All attention was focused on the newlyweds. It was easy to slip away.

  He hurried off the beach and out to the parking lot. Opening the trunk of his car, he took out the plastic Ziploc bag and slipped it into his pocket.

  The Whispering Sands’ patio had been transformed into a vibrant delight. One thousand colorful origami cranes fluttered in the breeze, hanging from nearly invisible wire that had been strung across the area. Wide-mouthed glass bowls filled with seashells and large pillar candles acted as centerpieces on round tables covered with aqua cloths. Starfish painted with the guests’ names served as place cards. The wedding cake festooned with its sugar sand dollars stood on a table of its own, its base decorated with brown sugar to resemble sand.

  Servers scurried about attending to last-minute preparations for the guests, who would be arriving very shortly. They paid him little mind as he strolled around the tables, inspecting the place cards, as if he were simply looking for his seat.

  The first course, a chunky gazpacho, was already positioned on the tables. He realized with relief that it was perfect for his purposes.

  He found Piper’s place card and slipped the pieces of carefully prepared puffer fish into her soup.

  Chapter 106

  Piper was thrilled that there was no head table where she was expected to sit. She was much happier knowing that she could enjoy the reception with Jack. Her parents, Nora and Walter, and the Robbinses were also at the table. At the last minute, two more seats had been added, for Roz and Roberta Golubock.

  “I’m so happy that you were able to make it, Mrs. Golubock,” said Piper, taking the elderly woman’s hand.

  Roz looked at her uncertainly. Piper suspected that Roz didn’t remember her. And why would she? They had spent only a couple of hours together on what had no doubt been an extremely stressful day for the old lady.

  Piper felt her stomach grumble. She hadn’t had a chance to eat a thing since the night before. Looking down at the table, she was tempted by her bowl of gazpacho. Piper glanced around the patio. Several other people must be feeling the same way. They were already spooning the cold tomato and chopped vegetable soup into their mouths.

  She took her seat, then unfolded her napkin and held it under her chin. She didn’t want to take the chance of spilling any on her dress. Leaning over the bowl, she took several swallows of the spicy soup in quick succession. She barely stopped to chew the vegetables.

  Her spoon was midway to her mouth again when she saw that Jack was grinning as he watched her.

  “Hungry, are we?” he asked.

  “Famished. Will you please be a gentleman and start eating so I don’t look like I’ve just come off a hunger strike?”

  Jack dipped his spoon into his soup. “Mmm. It’s good,” he said.

  “I didn’t know gazpacho had fish in it,” remarked Piper.

  “It doesn’t.”

  Piper shrugged and finished the rest of the bowl.

  Everyone watched as the bride and groom danced to the strains of “I Finally Found Someone.” Kathy and Dan looked into each other’s eyes as they moved skillfully with the music. At the end of the song, Dan twirled Kathy around and finished by dipping her backward. The audience clapped and cheered.

  Piper snapped a picture of the newlyweds. She was about to post it on Facebook when Jack reached for her hand.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s dance.”

  Three fast songs and a slow one later, Isaac made the announcement that it was time for guests to proceed to the buffet. People queued up immediately.

  “Shall we?” asked Jack.

  “Let’s wait until the line shortens,” said Piper. She looked up at the sky where the sun was now almost directly overhead. “In the meantime I want to get my sunglasses. I left them in the room.”

  “I’ll go with you,” offered Jack.

  “No, stay here and talk to my parents. I can tell they already like you.” She leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t screw it up. Why not use that fatal charm of yours to cement the deal?”

  One of the buffet tables was laden with assorted muffins, scones, bagels, and croissants accompanied by butter, cream cheese, and flavored jams. There was a create-your-own-omelet station and platters of maple sausage, crispy bacon, and hash browns. Quiche lorraine and brioche French toast with mixed berry compote and whipped cream rounded out the breakfast part of the buffet.

  For those who preferred something other than morning food, there was a second table featuring mixed green salad with pomegranate vinaigrette, grilled salmon, chicken picante, roasted vegetables, rice pilaf, a carving of roast beef, lobster Newburg, and shrimp scampi. Brad filled his plate, knowing he would be back for more.

  As he returned to his seat, Brad noticed Piper walk across the patio. He wished he was sitting at her table. He’d rather keep his eyes on her than on the girls at his. Dan had placed him with some of his friends from Mote. They were okay, but they couldn’t stop talking shop.

  Brad shoveled food into his mouth as he listened to the discussion about the puffer-fish tank that had been discovered empty this morning.

  “I don’t understand,” said one of the guys. “Who would want to take it?”

  “It’s crazy,” replied another. “But I hope whoever took it read the sign. That fish can kill you, and it’s a hard, ugly, terrifying death. Paralysis and respiratory failure with a list of horrible accompanying symptoms thrown in just for fun. Pretty miserable way to go.”
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br />   As Piper let herself into her room, she felt the start of a headache coming on. She shouldn’t have stayed outside for so long without her sunglasses. Wanting to nip it in the bud, she took some of the Tylenol that Brad had gotten for her. As she swallowed the tablets, she realized that her tongue felt weird, as if there were pins and needles in it.

  She lay down carefully on the bed, taking pains not to wrinkle her dress. It felt good to get off her feet. This is all I need. Just a few minutes’ rest.

  While she lay there, she took her cell phone from her pocket and posted the picture of Kathy and Dan dancing along with her comment: DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE.

  It relaxed her to read her Facebook page. She scrolled back to see if anyone had commented on the picture of her with the baby alligator. Forty-seven people had. Some were creeped out by it and said there was no way anybody could get them to pick up something like that. Others were into it.

  The picture of the octopus-and-monkey netsuke had brought fewer comments. But one riveted her attention.

  I’VE SEEN THAT! AT MY DOCTOR’S OFFICE. AT LEAST HE USED TO BE MY DOCTOR. HE CLOSED HIS PRACTICE. I HEARD SOME RUMORS LATER ABOUT SOMETHING SHADY WITH PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

  Piper clicked on the woman’s picture, and her Facebook profile came up. She lived in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.

  Where was Piper?

  Jack was about to go down to her room to check when Vin asked him a question about what was going on at the FBI these days. He settled in for a leisurely chat.

  There was no way he was going to ignore the guy who might someday be his father-in-law.

  Atlanta, Georgia.

  Hadn’t Umiko mentioned that she’d gotten her pie recipe when they lived in Georgia? Could the monkey-and-octopus netsuke possibly be the same one that the Facebook friend had seen in her doctor’s office?