by Leona Karr
“Officer Taylor showed me around Pirates Point.” she said, wondering if he’d seen them walking on the beach past his house. Apparently living in a goldfish bowl was part of daily life on Greystone. “The rocky shoreline is astounding.”
“The island has its own special charm and Brad is certainly the man to convince you of that. We’ve been neighbors ever since he moved back to the island. Maybe you’ll decide to give up city life and stick around for a while?”
“No chance of that,” she answered firmly. “I’m a city girl with responsibilities. The sooner I get back to them, the better.” She wasn’t about to fuel the gossip pipeline with any romantic innuendos about her and the island’s police chief.
“Well, there are always vacations.”
“How’s Mr. Langdon?” she asked, purposefully changing the subject.
“Clayton is holding his own against a variety of health issues. He’s always been such an active man. This forced retirement is hard on him.” The doctor smiled at Ashley. “I think he would enjoy visiting with a pretty lady if you have the time.”
“I suppose I could,” Ashley answered without much enthusiasm.
“I just checked on him. He’s had a good night. After breakfast might be a good time. His night nurse, Linda, goes off duty about then. Have you met her?”
“No, I haven’t,” she answered and silently added, but I’d like too. Brad had said the nurse was probably the one Ashley had glimpsed in Fontaine’s guest cottage. “How do I find Mr. Langdon’s rooms?”
“Just go down this hall, past the main staircase, turn to your right at a dissecting corridor which will eventually lead to the south wing of the house. Clayton’s suite is behind the double doors at the very end.”
The doctor left her at the door of the dining room, explaining that he’d had his breakfast earlier. Ellen Brenden and Fontaine were sitting at the table, engaged in a rather heated discussion of New York politics.
They barely nodded at Ashley as she poured her coffee and chose a warm muffin from the sideboard. Even though she hadn’t eaten much last evening, her appetite was still suffering from the emotional drain of Sloane’s assault.
Grateful that Dr. Hadley seemed to be the only one who had heard about the attack, she pretended to be interested in their debate, but excused herself before she’d had a second cup of coffee.
“Will we see you at lunch?” The lawyer seemed surprised and a little annoyed at her quick departure. His face was flushed, as if the debate had riled him for some reason.
“Probably not,” Ashley replied evenly and gave him a perfunctory smile. “Have a good day.”
As she left the dining room, Ashley debated whether to visit the querulous old man or not, but her curiosity about Linda Nigel won out.
After mounting the main staircase, she turned in the opposite direction from her room. Several short corridors led off the hall to closed single doors; even with Dr. Hadley’s directions, she almost missed the hall leading to the south wing of the house. A twinge of memory of having chased the fleeing figure down a similar hall tugged at her as she made her way to double carved doors at the end of a long corridor.
Her knock was rather bold and demanding, but it seemed like an eternity before a blond young woman in a white uniform opened the door. As she waited for Ashley to identify herself, her frank gaze assessed Ashley’s new trim slacks and matching coral pullover. Her expression was questioning, but a glint in her steady eyes hinted that the nurse knew exactly who she was.
Ashley introduced herself in a businesslike tone. “I’m Ashley Davis. Dr. Hadley suggested that I visit Mr. Langdon. Is this a convenient time?”
“I’ll see if Mr. Langdon is up to having a visitor.” She stepped back and opened the door wider.
Ashley judged her to be no older than in her late twenties. She was attractive enough, but not pretty. She certainly didn’t act sophisticated enough to attract a middle-aged man like Fontaine. Leaving Ashley standing by the door, she crossed a spacious sitting room and disappeared into an adjoining bedroom. Ashley heard a murmur of voices and shortly the nurse came to the bedroom door and motioned to her. “Mr. Langdon will see you…but not for very long,” she warned.
For some reason, Ashley had expected Clayton Langdon to be in bed, but he wasn’t. He was sitting in a wheelchair parked near windows that offered a panoramic view of the western side of the island and the surrounding ocean waters. She suspected that during the day, the old man could watch fishing vessels come and go in the waters around the island.
His heavy-lidded eyes fixed on her as she approached him. His mouth sagged, his breath was short, and from his glaring expression she wondered if he had many visitors who weren’t needing or demanding something from him. The nurse left them alone. From what Dr. Hadley had said, she was about to go off duty.
She hardly knew how to begin a conversation. She hadn’t seen enough of him to pretend any kind of friendship. He would be doubly suspicious of someone pretending to be overly concerned about his health. The only thing they had in common was Lorrie. “I thought you might be interested to know that my sister will be leaving the hospital in a few days,” she began smoothly. “She’s made a wonderful recovery and will be going to California to spend some time with friends.”
She expected him to make some conventional reply but he didn’t. His scowl only deepened as he growled, “The Langdon curse.” He clenched his purple-veined hands. “It’s not easy on women.”
“Curse?” she echoed softly as she eased down on a nearby chair.
“Took my granddaughter, it did.” His tired eyes slid to a gold frame on a nearby table that held a photograph of a beautiful young girl laughing at the camera. He took it in his hands.
Because Ashley had been sleeping in his granddaughter’s bed, looking into the same mirrors and bathing in the same tub, her skin suddenly prickled. In some strange way, she felt a kind of eerie kinship with the young woman who had lost her life, whether accidentally or by design.
“My poor Pamela.” He stared at the photo as if he’d forgotten Ashley was there. When he suddenly turned and fixed his hypnotic eyes on her, she was startled by the sudden emotion in his voice. “The Langdon curse! Her mother, too. You know about Samantha?”
She was glad Brad had filled her in on the tragedy that had taken Samantha Langdon’s life. “The car accident.”
The old man leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. “Not a good marriage. Jonathan should have married Ellen. Samantha was more suited to my younger son, Philip. Pamela might have escaped the curse if she’d had a different mother.” Tears began to trickle down his wrinkled cheek.
Ashley sat there in silence. After a few minutes, the nurse reappeared. As she took the photograph from his hand, she gave Ashley a dismissing nod. “Mr. Langdon needs to rest now.”
Ashley stood up, not knowing what to say or do. When she reached out and squeezed Clayton’s hand, he didn’t respond.
The nurse followed her to the door.
“I don’t know why Dr. Hadley wanted me to visit him,” Ashley admitted.
“He was probably hoping your visit would take Mr. Langdon’s mind off the past,” she said in a tone that implied Ashley had put Pamela’s picture in his hands. “What’s done is done,” she added rather sharply.
“Have you been with the family a long time, Miss Nigel?” Ashley asked in a tone she used for employees.
Obviously the nurse thought it was none of Ashley’s damn business. She seemed to debate whether or not to answer. In a clipped voice, she said, “More than a year. I was recommended by Paul Fontaine. He’s a close friend of mine.”
Her meaning was not lost on Ashley. By close, she meant intimate. As the nurse closed the door, Ashley wondered if Linda Nigel was devoted enough to be involved in any schemes the New York lawyer might entertain?
Ashley retraced her steps to the second-floor main corridor and then headed toward the workroom. She needed to make up for yesterday’s trip to the
hospital and her time with Brad.
She stiffened when she saw the door to the workroom was slightly open, and once again regretted being unable to lock it. She had no idea how much traffic went in and out of the room while she was away.
She braced herself to have another showdown with the housekeeper, but it was Ellen Brenden who was examining the contents of a large box. She looked startled when Ashley entered.
Giving a short laugh, she held up a large brimmed hat with dotted veil and peacock feathers dangling to one side. After setting it on her head, she put a finger under her chin in a coquettish pose. “Well, what do you think? High tea and crumpets this afternoon, dear?”
Ashley couldn’t help but chuckle. There was something girlish and playful about the woman’s behavior. The memory of Clayton saying, “Jonathan should have married Ellen,” caused Ashley to wonder if the old man might have been right. Since Samantha had died when Pamela was just a baby, Jonathan could have married Ellen and provided a mother figure for his daughter all these years. Things might have turned out differently for Pamela if he had.
“Here, you try this one.” Ellen reached into the box and brought out another fancy bonnet decorated with ribbons and flowers.
Ashley hated to spoil Ellen’s fun but playing dress-up wasn’t on her agenda. She shook her head. “I’m already behind on the inventory. I really have to finish up as quickly as I can and call the auction house for pickup.”
Ellen sighed as she took off her bonnet. “Of course. I completely understand.”
Ashley softened her tone. “I’ve been tempted to try on some of the gowns to see how I’d look.”
“With your figure, you could handle a bustle and long train beautifully. I’d trip over my own feet. Once Samantha and I dressed up for a vintage ball in Boston. She was so beautiful,” Ellen said with a sigh. “You can’t imagine the collection of men always around her—single and married, young and old. It didn’t matter.” Her eyes were wistful as she confessed, “I couldn’t help but be a little jealous.”
“But you did marry?”
“Briefly, when I was nineteen years old. Kent is my ex-husband’s nephew. He latched on to me a couple of years ago.”
There was no need for her to elaborate. It was more than obvious that “Aunt Ellen” was a source of money and a valuable connection to people like the Langdons, who had plenty of it.
“I’ve been fortunate that Clayton and Jonathan have had a need for me all these years. I’ve never been able to take Samantha’s place, of course, but I feel like part of the family.”
“You’re a valuable member, Ellen,” Ashley assured her. “They’re lucky to have you.”
“That’s what Dr. Hadley says.” Her round face brightened. “He told me I would have made a good nurse. I sure know enough to tell when one of them isn’t doing a good job.”
“I just met Miss Nigel,” Ashley commented purposefully. Ellen frowned but didn’t rise to the bait. Obviously, she was above gossiping about the hired help. “I came to see you because I wanted to apologize for this morning. It was terribly rude of Mr. Fontaine and myself to ignore you like that. Sometimes that man acts too big for his tailor-made britches and I can’t keep my mouth shut. Just because he and Jonathan went to the same college doesn’t mean he can be indiscreet when he visits here. He always has an eye out for a pretty girl.”
Ashley stiffened. “Did he pay attention to Lorrie?”
“Fontaine pays attention to anything in a skirt,” she said flatly and turned toward the door. Pausing, she looked back at Ashley. “Be careful.”
The ominous tone of her words lingered in the room after she’d left. Ashley’s thoughts kept scattering as she tried to turn her attention to the work at hand. Why was Ellen warning her? Ashley hadn’t felt the lawyer’s attention was anything but polite friendship. Had Lorrie felt the same? One thing was sure—she was going to tell Brad what Ellen had said. Maybe he could get some new insights from her.
IT WAS midmorning when the Portland police patrol boat arrived to pick up Sloane and take him to a lockup on the mainland. Brad was ready with the necessary papers for arrest and arraignment.
“Don’t give him an inch of leeway,” he warned as the two officers took the sour-faced, foul-mouthed prisoner into custody.
“I’ll get you for this!” Sloane snarled, his eyes bloodshot and his mouth twisted. “That high-and-mighty broad of yours better watch out. Next time will be a hell of a lot different.”
“You got that right,” Brad said icily. “Next time there won’t be enough of you in one piece to haul away.”
As the boat became a dot in the distance, Brad glanced at his watch. He wondered if Ashley would be making her daily visit at the hospital. He decided to stop by his house, grab a sandwich, let the dog out, and then make a quick run up to the compound to see if she needed a ride to the ferry.
As he passed the doctor’s house, he saw Hadley heading toward the water with a fishing pole and basket. He escaped in his small boat as often as the demands for his service would permit. Unfortunately, that wasn’t very often.
Braking quickly, Brad called out to him. “Wait up, Doc.”
He turned around, frowning. Brad could tell he was expecting some kind of emergency to keep him from his afternoon escape.
Brad had spent a restless night worrying about Ashley and if he hadn’t been tied up with Sloane, he’d have gone up there first thing himself. Concerned, he had called Hadley early the next morning to look in on her.
“Did you see Ashley?” Brad asked as he got out of the car.
“I did,” he told Brad. “The lady said she appreciated your concern, but she was fine. From her appearance and manner, I would judge she was telling the truth.” The doctor smiled. “Of course, it wouldn’t do any harm for you to ask her yourself, Brad.”
“I think I’ll do just that. I’ll tell her it’s doctor’s orders.”
“That might work,” he said, chuckling as he turned away.
When Brad reached the Langdon house, he decided to go around to the family room entrance instead of knocking at the front door.
As he circled the house, he had a good view of the guest cottage a short distance below. No sign of the lawyer or anyone else on the premises. He made a mental note to have another chat with Linda Nigel. When he had questioned her the day of Lorrie’s disappearance, she claimed she’d left the house after her night shift was over. He’d never been able to verify it.
When Brad entered the house through a side door, the only one in the family room was Ellen’s nephew, Kent Brenden. The young man sat in a lounge chair holding a bottle of beer, with the remains of a sandwich on a plate beside him.
“Hi, Officer, join me for lunch?” he asked with a sociable smile.
“Just had mine,” Brad replied.
“Too bad. I wouldn’t mind the company.”
“Where are the others?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. Aunt Ellen sent me in here to eat. Sometimes I think she’d like to keep me incognito, you know what I mean?”
“I think so. You don’t quite fit in?” Brad asked in an encouraging tone.
“Neither does she!” he scoffed.
“Why do you say that?”
“All these years, Aunt Ellen’s been hardly more than an unpaid servant. If Samantha hadn’t had some stocks and bonds in her name and left them to Aunt Ellen, she wouldn’t have enough money for a hot dog, but she has money.” He scowled. “You’d think she’d be more generous with family.”
“Meaning you, Kent?”
“Hell, yes. I’m the only family she’s got. It ain’t right I have to beg, borrow and—”
“Steal?” Brad finished for him.
Kent glared at him. “You can’t prove I ever stole a dime.”
Brad felt a movement behind him and turned around. Ellen stood just outside the family room door. How much she’d heard, he couldn’t tell.
“I didn’t know you were here, Officer.” She had a fi
xed smile on her lips as she came in and greeted him. “You’re a little late for lunch.”
“I came to see Miss Davis.”
“Oh, Ashley didn’t come down for lunch. I think she’s still working. Would you like me to show you the way?”
“I checked out the workroom after Lorrie’s assault,” he said, “but I’m not sure I could easily find it from this part of the house.” He hoped the lie would give him a chance to speak with her in private.
Ellen turned to her nephew. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Kent.” When they were out of the room, she said to Brad, “I hope you haven’t gotten the wrong impression of my nephew. He’s really a very nice young man. Just hasn’t found himself. Reminds me of Timothy Templeton.”
“Templeton?” Brad asked, pretending ignorance.
“You know, the young man Pamela was engaged to marry. He was too busy trying to live up to marrying a Langdon to really find himself. Kent’s like that. He wants to ride the Langdon coattails to money and success.” She pursed her lips as she added, “And there’s very little of either to spread around.”
Brad studied her expression and wondered if she was speaking for her nephew or for herself. Certainly her position in the family all these years was rather nebulous.
When they reached the workroom, it was obvious to Brad that Ashley was surprised to see him. Her eyes widened as she gave him a welcoming smile.
“Just checking up on you,” he said lightly.
“Thanks.”
Ellen studied them both for a moment, then mumbled something about Kent waiting for her and quickly made her exit. Since the woman hadn’t mentioned the attack, Dr. Hadley had kept the incident to himself.
“I’m okay,” Ashley quickly reassured him. “Didn’t the doctor tell you?”
“Yes, but I wanted to see for myself,” he said as he lightly cupped her chin and looked into her lovely blue eyes. Her breathing suddenly quickened as his fingertips traced the sweet curve of her neck. He felt the magnetic draw of a desire between them. If she’d leaned toward him in the slightest, he would have kissed her, but in that tense moment of sexual attraction, he felt her defenses go up.