by Amy Saunders
"What do you think he was really doing here?" Victoria returned from the shadows.
Belinda kept her eyes where he'd been sitting. "Let's check and see if anything's missing."
"But you don't think he took anything, do you?"
"I wish I did." Belinda glanced at Victoria sadly. "I think he did something."
~ * ~
Bennett and Jonas met them at Victoria's that night. Victoria grinned at Bennett in his newsboy cap and Belinda couldn't stop from smiling herself. Victoria mouthed, "It's so cute!" behind his back and Belinda nodded emphatically. Hadn't she told Victoria earlier? After saying his hellos and chitchatting for a few minutes, Dan vanished upstairs and they didn't see him again. Victoria sat in their circle, all too eager to hear what was going on. She sliced up a tiramisu in the middle of the table, dishing it out to each of them.
Belinda was nervous about how Bennett would treat her after their cold parting, but his eyes softened when she appeared behind Victoria, and her heart relaxed. Maybe he didn't hate her after all.
"I like your friends," Jonas said to Belinda, piling his spoon with the layers of coffee-soaked cake and mascarpone. "I wish Bennett had met you sooner."
"I do serve up a mean store bought cake," Victoria said.
"We should take it upstairs and gather around on your bed," Belinda said with her mouth full.
Victoria snickered. "Invade Dan's sanctuary? That would make for an interesting night."
Bennett watched Belinda curiously as she laughed at Victoria's remark, barely touching his cake. Jonas had already scarfed down his first piece and started on a second. Though Belinda was getting all too used to Bennett's intensity, tonight it made her self-conscious. Residual effects of their argument, she guessed.
"Why not?" Belinda said. "It would be good for him."
"Why would you say that?" Bennett said.
Belinda snickered. "He needs to be bombarded by people now and again. Keeps him on his toes."
"Like you, Bennett," Jonas said, grinning when his friend's steel eyes locked on him. "So, Stellan's news is a game changer."
Belinda and Victoria lit up.
"I can't say Stellan's reasoning for withholding that information makes sense to me," he pushed his plate aside and folded his hands on the floral tablecloth, "but they were just out of high school and dabbling in something they shouldn't have been."
"Still are," Belinda muttered.
"We don't have a way to verify anything he's said so far," Jonas said, eyeing Bennett quickly, "but honestly it sounds more realistic than a seasoned sailor just dying randomly on a perfectly nice day." Jonas rubbed his forehead. "It would be nice if the files on the sailing accident were a little more extensive."
"They're not?" Belinda said.
"It was considered a pretty straightforward accident, which between us, I think had something to do with their families." He sighed. Belinda glanced at Bennett. Maybe he was right. Maybe some of them were baboons. "We could use that boat."
Belinda perked up. "My brother inherited it."
"We know," Jonas said forlornly. "But it's not where your brother says it should be, and there's no trace of it anywhere else."
Belinda looked puzzled, distress coloring her features. Victoria shook her head sympathetically, taking Belinda's hand.
"Belinda," Jonas said, "where was your brother the day of the accident? Really?"
What did he mean by really? Belinda switched from twirling her napkin to shredding it systematically while Bennett watched her in fascination. She didn't want to cry. Not again with Bennett sitting right next to her, but all the secrecy was starting to get to her.
Belinda looked to Victoria and they stared at each other making subtle eye and head movements for a few seconds. Jonas and Bennett just looked on, glancing at each other sideways once in a while to see if the other had any clue about what they were doing.
Somehow Belinda and Victoria established what to do in their non-conversation and they both finally acknowledged Bennett and Jonas again.
"Kyle and Mark planned to sail around the world. They were mapping it out that summer..." Belinda's eyes turned dreamy the way they had on the Ocean Walk. "Bennett, you asked me once if I had good memories of Portside. Those are good memories. Mark spent a ton of time at our house that summer and he and Kyle would spread their navigational charts all over the living room floor. Dad would grill burgers and we'd all just sit outside for hours talking about where they'd go."
Victoria nodded soberly. "They made a good team."
"Kyle and Mark met with a potential sponsor for their around-the-world trip." Belinda tried to not think about it as she talked to stay detached. So far, it was working. "They had planned to do this since elementary school, but Lily had fought to get Mark to do what she was doing—go to law school."
"Mark didn't love the idea and they argued a lot," Victoria said. "People were whispering that their relationship was on the tipping point."
Belinda lowered her eyes. Now came the really not-so-fun part of the story. "A rumor started going around that Mark and I were...involved. With each other." Belinda didn't dare raise her eyes from the table. It was bad enough feeling Bennett watching her, never mind seeing those intense peepers of his.
Victoria picked up the story. "It caused a massive hullabaloo in our circle."
Jonas arched an eyebrow. "What does this have to do with the previous sailing sponsor story exactly?"
Belinda sighed dramatically, still keeping her eyes on the tablecloth. It was a little annoying that neither of them knew anything about these people. "Lily's father happened to be good friends with the potential sponsor, and subsequently decimated their chances of winning him over.
"Mark and Kyle fought about it, and that's why Kyle didn't go with them that day. They were still mad at each other."
"Did Kyle think Mark had something to do with the rumor?" Jonas said.
"No." Belinda heard her voice give and stopped to take a drink. "They were both just frustrated."
Jonas glanced at Bennett, but his eyes were glued to Fawn Eyes.
"Anyway," Belinda said, hoping to switch topics, "I think their fight was the last time they spoke, and that's why Kyle feels so guilty. It's why he doesn't sail; it's why he's let Sea Stud rot in stor—" Belinda felt like she'd been hit by lightening. "—age. Storage." She sipped more water, hoping to finish the conversation fast. Why hadn't she thought of it before? If Kyle was going to hide, it made perfect sense. Perfect. Sense.
Belinda smiled at the detective, eyeing her suspiciously, and shrugged. That was the end of her story. Or what she was telling for the night.
She knew where Kyle was.
Chapter 17
The stories about Mark bothered Bennett. He didn't want to feel jealous of a guy who had been dead for close to a decade, but he did. Belinda kept avoiding the subject of Mark and her, bringing it up only in terms of hints and allegations. She obviously didn't want to talk about it, but that bothered him even more.
He'd been staring at the footage from Mr. Trebor's security camera since he got home and it was almost midnight. His eyes blurred over but he kept blinking and rubbing them to stay focused. Maybe the video footage was the wrong track. He thought of the blood smear on the monitor screen at Trebor's shop though. Bennett could feel Trebor was pointing at something on that screen. Maybe what Bennett was looking for was way in the background.
Bennett rewound again to before the accident, zooming to put the background in the foreground, instead of just staring at the car smashing into Trebor's shop. Without that distraction, it was easier to see what else was going on at the same time. He could make out people walking on the other side of the divided road, and then a woman briefly came into view from behind a tree. She looked like she was doing something on her phone. Bennett rewound and watched again. The woman turned, facing the direction of the accident, her phone aimed at Victoria's car as it crashed.
Curious, Bennett zoomed in more. The wom
an wore sunglasses and the image blurred when he zoomed and she was half-hidden by the tree. But he still felt certain he knew who it was. Bennett grabbed his car keys and sped back to Victoria's house.
The husband answered the door with Victoria right behind him, tying her robe. Bennett apologized, quickly explaining that he thought he'd found something and he needed to see Belinda. Victoria ran upstairs, returning a minute later in just as much of a rush.
"She's gone!" Victoria dug through her purse in a panic.
"What are you doing?" Bennett said, thinking it was exactly the type of thing Belinda would do in a moment of crisis.
"Looking for my cell to call her."
Her husband calmly handed her one of the wireless phones in the house. Victoria grabbed it from his hands and dialed. Bennett watched nonplussed. Where would Belinda have gone in the middle of the night, and without telling them? Victoria hung up far too quickly. "Straight to voicemail."
"You had no idea she left?" Bennett said.
"You think I'm pretend panicking?"
"No, but—"
"I bet she's gone to look for Kyle," Dan said.
Victoria glanced at him sideways. "At midnight? Where would she go to look for him at midnight?"
"How about their family's boat?"
Victoria blanched. "When exactly did this occur to you?"
Dan shrugged. "Right away I think."
Victoria looked like she wanted to punch him. "Why haven't you said anything?"
"It's their boat. I figured she already thought of it."
Victoria threw her arms up in the air. "Kyle is missing! Could you not have just mentioned it in case it slipped Belinda's mind with all the chaos?"
This was amusing and all, but Bennett didn't have time to detour with a marital spat. "Can you tell me where this boat is?"
Victoria gave him the marina and possible slip number, making Bennett swear on his life to make Belinda call her or to call the police if he couldn't find her. He could hear Victoria ranting about "just saying things anyway" as he dashed back to his truck. Bennett grinned. No more sleep for that guy tonight. And none for him either if Belinda wasn't at their boat.
~ * ~
Belinda crept onto the boat, seeing by the light of a streetlamp and a lot of squinting. She'd finally made it to the marina after spending close to thirty minutes hunting for the other set of keys in their house. The boat was pitch black inside and certainly looked empty enough. She tiptoed through the main part of the cabin, every little noise she made amplified in the quiet. Holding her flashlight with the handle out, she went down the stairs toward the staterooms. Empty.
Belinda's heart sank. She was so sure Kyle would be here. Maybe...maybe he had gone to Rio. Or somewhere else far away.
Belinda padded back up. Before she hit the landing, a shadow outside on deck caught her eye. It moved toward the doors, the face just a silhouette. Belinda slid back to the staterooms and hid in the shadows.
Belinda's breathing intensified, gripping her flashlight. She flattened her body against the wall next to the door. Maybe she could pull off some stunt and run out when he came in the room. Probably not, but it sounded good. Belinda steeled herself for the right moment as the person came down the stairs.
She psyched herself up and as he took another step forward, Belinda swung the flashlight across her body as hard as she could, nailing the intruder right in the forehead. He yelled and staggered, his hands flying to the wound.
"What was that?!"
Belinda's eyes popped open. "Kyle!"
"Who did you think it was?"
Belinda dropped the flashlight and threw her arms around him, toppling them both to the floor.
"Okay, okay. Enough!" he said, half-laughing as Belinda kissed his head over and over and practically strangled him.
She let him go, her eyes flashing. "You big jerk!"
"Ow!"
Belinda pummeled his chest with her hands. "I assumed you were dead!"
Kyle curled into a protective ball on the floor as she slapped him. "You know what the first three letters of the word assume are."
Belinda narrowed her eyes. "You vanished! Your Jeep is abandoned in the middle of town. The police think you're in Rio. What was I supposed to think?"
"That...I...went...to...Rio?"
She slapped him again.
"Maybe I should have," he muttered as she bonked him over the head with a pillow. "I kind of had this crazy idea that you'd be glad to see me."
"I am!" she said, whacking him across the face, feathers flying out around them.
She panted and huffed and paced, whacking him a couple of more times for good measure. When he figured he was somewhat safe, Kyle unfurled and stood up. "Do you want to know what happened now?"
Belinda nodded, walking away, and returned with a bandage for his forehead. They stomped up to the galley and Kyle scooped chocolate ice cream into two bowls and slid one across to Belinda. Food always pacified her. Always. She noticed his bowl contained about half the ice cream container and switched her bowl out for that one.
"Hey!" Kyle said, his face drooping.
"I'm having the worst week ever and I want more than that pathetic scoop."
Kyle pulled out the ice cream container to fill up the other bowl and circled his arms around it protectively while he ate. They sat like they had after Belinda got home from Stellan's party.
"What took you so long?" Kyle said, dismayed. "I was giving up officially as of tomorrow."
Belinda shut her eyes, shaking her head in disgust at herself. "It never crossed my mind until tonight."
"Well, no. You were too busy picking out my tombstone."
Belinda glowered. "You act like that made me happy. It did not make me happy. I ugly cried on Bennett's shirt."
Kyle smirked. "Look at it this way: you've gotten to spend more time with him greatly due to me."
"Take the credit all you like. You will anyway." Belinda twirled her spoon in the air. "Why are you hiding here? Why didn't you take your Jeep?"
"The last question is answered by the first question."
Belinda just stared at him and pointed at the clock.
"All right, all right." Kyle inhaled for a dramatic pause.
Belinda dropped her spoon into the empty bowl so it clanged and pushed it away from her. "Drama. Queen."
Kyle shrugged. "I've been hiding, you thought I was dead, the police think I'm in Rio. This is kind of exciting."
"Yes, it was extraordinarily exciting to tell Mom over the phone that you were missing."
Kyle paled to Belinda's satisfaction. "You told Mom and Dad I was missing?"
"And you were scared of them discovering the dead tomato plants." It was nice to know that telling their parents was still a valid threat.
"You said we didn't have to tell them about the car accident."
"Kyle, you knew where I was after that, and I was alive and functioning. You've been missing for three days. I kind of thought our parents should know about that."
Kyle groaned and stuffed more ice cream in his mouth.
"It'll be fine," Belinda said. "You'll talk to them tomorrow. But first, you better start talking to me." Belinda folded her arms on the counter.
"I've kind of been following you around," Kyle said.
"That much I knew."
Kyle arched his eyebrows, the bandage on his forehead scrunching up.
"Bennett figured it out. Continue."
Kyle shrugged. "Well, I'd been doing great until the museum. Someone caught me snooping around and I had to run for it."
"Who?"
"I don't know for sure; I was too busy running for my life. The dude looked like a line backer."
Belinda wrinkled her nose. "Okay, well, why were you following me in the first place?"
"Because somebody else has been following you...for a while."
"The photos." So maybe whoever took those was still playing paparazzi.
"Huh?"
Belind
a quickly explained about the photos she found at Lily's, and Bennett's surveillance theory.
"He's right." Kyle folded his arms. "Way back when, one day when you and Mark were out on his boat alone, I saw someone on shore taking photographs. He was trying to look like an innocent tourist, but something was off so I started keeping an eye on you. Sure enough, the same dude kept reappearing in similar circumstances, with a camera." Kyle traced the grain of the countertop. "I blamed Jeff 'cause, you know, he'd been in love with you forever."
"But?"
Kyle's cheekbones tightened. "I bumped into Jeff at the cemetery where Mark's buried right after he got here."
"The fight someone saw."
"Yeah, it started that way. But Jeff wouldn't let me just take off. He calmed me down when he said he was worried about you being back in Portside and wanted me to know that someone had been stalking you the summer Mark died. Turns out, Jeff had been doing the same thing as me. He'd seen someone following you and Mark."
Belinda swallowed. "So, it wasn't Jeff? Ever?"
"Well...I don't know about that. But now I do think he was trying to protect you, even if he was a bit misguided, and I'm worried he figured out who was behind it and that's why he died."
"But...you fought with him." She pointed to his arm with the gash.
Kyle shrugged. "We faked it. We agreed that whoever was behind the stalking was there that night and we were both paranoid and decided to pretend to get into a fight." Kyle's eyes wandered to the cut. "Of course, that sort of backfired on me."
Belinda sat back down. "That basically leaves one person who I can think of who would want to stalk me."
Kyle grimaced. "Loco Lily."
Belinda leaned on the oval island. She could barely make out details of Kyle's face because they'd left the lights off to not draw attention. "I think the reason he died may be more than just because he caught someone following us." She explained Stellan's reveal, watching Kyle's face deepen into a scowl.