by Amy Saunders
"He snapped?"
Belinda nodded. "It was awful. Kyle just sort of vented all of his anger on Jeff, but I felt sorry for him. I didn't want to hurt him like that." Belinda's eyes filled with tears. "Not after everything he'd been through."
"He needed help, Belinda. Not a girlfriend."
She nodded, whispering, "I know."
Bennett shifted his weight. "Why...why did you kiss me that night? Did you actually want to or was it just rebellion because of what Lily said?"
Belinda turned her body to face him, putting her sunglasses on her head. She had two red imprints where the glasses met her nose, and a sprinkling of freckles that surfaced since they got there. But Belinda was still the loveliest thing he'd laid eyes on. "Why would you even ask that?"
Bennett looked away. "I...I misjudged someone's motives once. I'm more careful now."
"Was she rich?"
Bennett looked surprised, even through his glasses.
"It's just little things sometimes," Belinda said, "made me wonder. I worried that I was coming across as a snob and making you feel bad."
"No, never." Bennett licked his lips, his mouth feeling dry. "I just wanted to see how you'd react sometimes. There were signs before, you see, but I missed them."
"Have I passed your test so far?" Her heartbeat was close to drowning out the sound of the waves.
"With flying colors. I was almost a hundred percent sure but—"
"I went and kissed you and ruined everything." Belinda turned back toward the water. She was unsure if she was more irritated with him or herself for being so impulsive. "With Mark I was too late. With you..." She shrugged.
"Jonas keeps telling me I'm too paranoid."
"Well, you are."
"I'm sorry."
"You should be." All this time she'd really believed they were on the same page, and she'd opened her heart to him at every turn, clueless that he felt her money made her untrustworthy. "That's the only time I've gone and kissed some guy before he's so much as asked me out, and this is what I get. Generalized."
"You haven't spoken too highly of your own kind either."
Belinda balked. "My own kind? What are we? Baboons?"
"Some of you."
Her eyes flashed. "That's completely different."
"How?"
"I know them. I can say whatever I like."
"So as long as you know people, it's okay to generalize them?"
Belinda put her hands on her hips, her skin prickling at his baseless judgments. "From where I stand, you're the one acting like the baboon. I didn't judge you based on other men—especially the jerks—in the same economic bracket. And I took you to be more open minded than that."
He'd removed his sunglasses and now Bennett's eyes flashed. She'd insulted him. Good.
They both gazed out into the water in silence for a long time, Belinda trying to focus on other things. After a while, she tapped Bennett's shoulder, pulling him out of some deep thoughts no doubt, and pointed at a cavern in the rock face. "Pirate treasure hideaway?" she said, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Would be pretty hard to reach with the tide," he said flatly, not even looking that way. "Not to mention it might get washed away."
Belinda sighed. "You think too much."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"And I will remember to ask you for advice before I hide my stolen treasure."
Bennett returned her to Victoria's, neither of them saying anything on the ride there. As she got out, Bennett seemed like he wanted to say something, but he only said good-bye and that they'd meet up with Jonas somewhere later. Disappointed, Belinda returned to the safe haven of Victoria's with the rest of her own kind.
~ * ~
It seemed like such nonsense at that point, but Belinda needed to tackle packing up for the move to the carriage house, so Victoria went with her to help out. Belinda stared into Kyle's room, screwing up her mouth in disgust at the clothes and plates and glasses and who-knows-what strewn over the floor and tabletops. For some unknown reason, he'd made his bed. But that was her brother.
"Come on," Victoria said, putting her arm around Belinda. "Let's get this over with."
Belinda tiptoed into the sunlit dining room, the door Jonas busted through boarded up, and stared at the hutch. Or, more to the point, at the stemware and fine china behind the glass doors. Why did people always own all of this? Other than for ultra special occasions, it was too delicate and too fussy to bother with. She made a pouty face to get her desire to whine out of her system and she and Victoria got down to business.
"I want all the details," Victoria said, readying some newspaper. "And I think we should start with the plates."
Belinda gently released an almond colored plate from the wood rack, handing it to Victoria to tuck in a sheet of paper. Her mother hated those plates, each with a giant mauve flower in the center, but she had been stuck with them since she got married when her own mother demanded she pick out a set. Belinda had always wondered why her mother didn't just ditch them for new ones later, but she seemed to have a strange sentimental attachment to them that Belinda couldn't figure out.
"Well, I think I already told you everything I know at this point."
"Not those details, silly! I want Bentails!"
"Bentails?" Belinda laughed. She gave Victoria the scant updates she had and the highlight of the moment was definitely the newsboy cap. She left out the part where she kissed him. She didn't know if it would go anywhere after that last conversation.
"Belinda, how very personal of you, tugging on his cap." Victoria didn't know the half of it. It felt like nothing to Belinda after lip locking with him in the middle of the street.
"It happened involuntarily. I did not mean to do that."
"It didn't seem to bother him."
No, that didn't seem to bother him, but neither did the kiss until they started talking about it. Belinda rotated one of the crystal bar glasses, creating a rainbow on the wall. They were close to the only things in that cabinet that regularly saw the outside world. "I told him about Mark."
"Doesn't he already know about the accident?"
Belinda raised her eyebrows.
"Oh...you mean...oh..." Victoria nodded. "And?"
"He was very chill about the whole thing."
"Excellent."
"Then he told me he's prejudiced against rich women." Belinda gave her the gist of the conversation, surprising herself with how detached she sounded. "I guess he wouldn't care too much for the story behind these being that it involved our kind and all." Belinda carefully encased one of the bar glasses in tissue paper, and gently set it down in a box especially for them.
"He got burned obviously. He'll come around."
Belinda shrugged and reached for another bar glass, but it slipped from her grasp, spinning toward the wood floor in slow motion. Belinda recoiled as it shattered at her feet, the sound splitting through her skull. Neither of them moved, and Belinda stared helplessly at the shards of crystal scattered around them.
"I'll go get the vacuum," Victoria said.
"What am I supposed to tell them?"
Victoria stopped mid-step. "It's just a glass, Bels."
"It's not just a glass!" Belinda's voice escalated to a shriek and she picked up one of the shards, shaped like an icicle, and held it up. "It's a special honeymoon glass. The ones my dad searched Europe for and spent oodles of money to buy because nobody sold them in Paris and he wanted Mom to have a complete set!" Belinda started to choke. "How am I supposed to tell them that I broke one?"
Victoria pulled her up from the floor, forcing Belinda into a seat. "What's going on here with Kyle is not your fault."
"It's all my fault." Belinda covered her face. "I should never have..." She sobbed, Victoria stroking her hair and whispering it would be okay. "We're a matching set. How am I supposed to—"
"Shh." Victoria held her tight, trying to get her to think more positively. "You haven't lost Kyle. It's not
going down like that. It's just not. You're supposed to meet up with Bennett and the detective later, right?"
Belinda nodded, catching tears dripping off her chin. "We couldn't come up with a meeting place though."
"They could come to my house."
Belinda blinked. "Are you serious?"
"Sure! Come on over after dinner. I'll have Dan pick up something for dessert." Victoria smiled, dabbing at Belinda's eye with a tissue.
"You just want to see him in his newsboy cap."
"You know it."
Belinda smiled. "He did look awfully cute."
"Mmm...happy thoughts." Victoria kissed her forehead.
The doorbell rang and they both jumped. Belinda rolled her eyes and got up to answer while Victoria dug out the vacuum.
It was Stellan of all people, and he didn't look too good. Haggard and sallow like he hadn't slept in days, but he seemed sincerely concerned about Belinda and her brother. He chewed on his lip after Belinda let it slip that the police suspected Kyle fled to Rio. Or, wherever. Rio just sounded good. She didn't really mean to say that, but she was tired and it was too hard to control herself.
"I spent a lot of time with Kyle on a small space," Stellan said moments later, "and I can't see him running. We disagreed a lot, and if there's one thing I learned about him, it's that he's not afraid to go head-to-head."
Belinda felt like there was more that he wanted to say.
"Can I help you move anything?" Stellan glanced at the boxes nearby.
Surprised, Belinda mumbled something and Stellan stacked a couple of boxes in his arms and trailed after her through the front yard and into the carriage house, which had the same gambrel-style roof as the main house and had a loft bedroom and open downstairs, including a kitchen and bathroom.
"Why was Jeff here anyway?" Belinda said. They set the boxes all the way in the back and returned for more. "He didn't tell me."
Stellan looked surprised at that remark. Maybe he didn't know that she'd spoken to Jeff again. "Jeff knew I'd be in town for the reunion, and he wanted to see me."
"He couldn't visit you in New York?"
"I think it was just good timing for him. Portside or New York—it's pretty much the same difference coming from San Francisco."
Belinda cocked her head to the side. "So he didn't come for some other reason?"
"Such as?"
"I'm not sure, but he was worried about something."
Stellan kept quiet behind her, picking up another box. "Business, probably. I know the work stress got to him."
Belinda tilted her head. "No, I'm pretty sure it was more on a personal level."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because he asked to talk to me. We had an appointment for the next day."
Stellan's box slipped from his grip and he tried to get a firmer hold on it by tapping it back into place with his knee. "Did he say what he wanted to talk about?" Stellan sounded pretty nervous, and Belinda couldn't say she didn't enjoy that to a degree.
"No specifics, but he really didn't want anyone to overhear. Or even see him talking to me I think."
Stellan lost his balance and after bouncing around a few times, both boxes crashed on the ground right in front of the carriage house. Belinda set her boxes down and dashed over, muttering under her breath. Stellan apologized, trying to help salvage the items that toppled out. His forehead looked damp, and his hands were shaking.
"Are you all right?" Belinda shoved the items back into the box. At least it was just all of Kyle's swill.
Stellan's mouth gaped in a smile. "I think I'm turning into Jeff."
"Why would that happen?"
Stellan laughed nervously, playing with the edges of a notebook on top of the pile.
"Stell," Belinda hesitated. It might be a risky move, but with Kyle missing... "I overheard you and Jeff talking at the party. You told him to stick with the original plan and keep quiet."
Stellan swallowed. "So you know."
Belinda's eyes widened, but she tried to stay cool.
Stellan closed his eyes. "I'm glad actually. I should have let him talk a long time ago."
"Maybe...maybe it's time for that."
Stellan nodded, picking up a random piece of rope in Kyle's belongings. "Mark was already dead when Jeff and I got there."
Chapter 16
The news that Stellan and Jeff got to Sea Stud early that morning to find Mark already dead in the water nearly made Belinda pass out. But it got better. Scared out of their wits, Stellan, against Jeff's better judgment, decided that they should go out as planned and then call for help out on the water and pretend like it was an accident.
Belinda's skin turned gray as Stellan told his story. "Why didn't you just call the police?" Belinda said, wanting to pull Stellan's hair out. And her own. She had been so stupid.
"I was scared. Mark and I had a pretty open blowout at the club earlier that week. I didn't think they'd believe us. Besides, it could have been an accident."
Belinda had forgotten about their fight. "Did you fight about Mark's plans with Kyle?"
"What? No." Stellan looked confused. "It was business-related. I wanted him to invest in something, but he refused and got kind of angry about the whole thing."
"Maybe because it was illegal?"
Stellan looked shocked.
"Honestly, Stell. Did you think we all thought you were squeaky clean? I'm taking it you managed to get Jeff involved in something more recently."
"I think he wanted out." He averted his eyes, but he looked sad.
"I should hope so. And you should get out too, before someone kills you."
Stellan drew his lips out into a hard line. "I don't think that's why he died."
"Was it because of Mark? Maybe Jeff knew who killed him. Have you thought of that? Maybe that's why he was such a wreck. And none of us...none of us would give him the time of day."
Belinda wanted to pick up one of the boxes and throw it across the yard. And then she did. Stellan just watched as she heaved Kyle's box of junk and tossed it into the air. She probably intended to hurl it like a football to the other side of the green near the garden shed, but it wound up just a few feet away, froze on its side for a few seconds and then plummeted right side up, most of the stuff still inside. It was more noise than mess.
Victoria came running out of the front door to see what had happened. Belinda kicked at the objects on the ground, but her aim failed and most barely moved from their original positions.
"I think she's having some sort of meltdown," Stellan said.
Victoria glared at him. "Of course she is idiot." Victoria stood back as Belinda flung her leg out. "What happened, sweetie? You had calmed down a few minutes ago."
"It's me," Stellan said quickly. "I've upset her." He retrieved something from his back pocket with his other hand and gave it to Belinda. A business card. "This is a friend of mine. He may be able to help with Kyle. Just tell him that I referred you."
Belinda eyed him suspiciously. She was about to ask how exactly this "friend" of his could help when Stellan stood up straight and gazed out near the shed. Jarrett skulked near the tree line of their properties, looking a little beat up.
"Do you want me to go deal with him?" Stellan said.
"I can deal with Jarrett." Belinda felt along the edge of the business card, wondering how this private investigator would help. "Thanks for the assistance."
If Jarrett's nose could talk, it would have a whale of a story and a laundry list of complaints. Jarrett squeezed his nostrils together, holding his head back to stop the blood pouring out of his nose. She'd caught him trying to sneak onto his property via hers, probably to avoid his mom. Belinda had already asked him what happened, and gotten some mumbled reply about a fight with a band member. She wasn't sure if she could believe him or not. Lily came to mind and what he'd been doing with her. She couldn't picture Lily beating him up, but maybe there was someone else involved.
He'd taken off his shoes, but
not before leaving a defined mud print in the foyer. The shape and pattern looked just like the one she found before by the side door.
"Do you take that cut through a lot?" Belinda said.
Jarrett rolled his eyes to the side to see her. "I know it's technically trespassing—"
"I'm not so concerned with that, but I am concerned that it looks like you may have been in my house—when I wasn't." Belinda folded her arms.
Jarrett slowly brought his head back down, keeping his now wide eyes on Belinda. "Are you gonna call the police?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you tell me why you were here and what you were doing."
Jarrett exhaled loudly. "I just wanted to check on you."
"So you came in even though no one answered?"
"You've had some—incidents—lately. I was worried you couldn't answer."
"That's very sweet of you, but there's a little matter of a lump of money you were carrying around in your backpack too." Belinda got closer, at eye level with him sitting on the counter. "It didn't look like the kind of cash you would just happen to have on you. I know you're waiting tables down on one of the wharves."
Jarrett swallowed. "My parents. I got it from my parents."
"They're generous." Belinda tried to make eye contact with him, but he refused to oblige her.
"Yes, they are." Jarrett jumped off the countertop. "I should get rolling."
Belinda's eyes widened innocently. "So soon? Your nose is still looking a little nasty."
Jarrett laughed nervously. "It's stopped bleeding."
"Make sure to clean yourself up before your mom sees you."
Jarrett nodded, opening the side door.
"And Jarrett."
He stopped and turned.
"Be careful with Lily," Belinda said. "She can be...conniving."
Shock shot through Jarrett's blue eyes and he quickly turned and left. Belinda mulled over the mud print. Jarrett had been inside after Kyle's arrest but before the circuit board fire and she already knew that he could break into their house without leaving obvious signs.