by Greg Miller
Gavin smiled as Emily’s attention returned to the Springer Spaniel. He unbuckled a brown leather travel bag from the Morgan’s trunk rack, and took another from behind the seats.
“Can I give you a hand with those?” Bill asked.
“That’s alright, I’ve got it,” Gavin replied, lifting a luggage strap over his shoulder.
Emily left Lacey, walking beside Nicole as Bill led them up the sidewalk.
“Are you tired from your trip, Gwen?”
Emily frowned. “No. Why do you ask?”
“I just know it’s a long drive to get here.” Nicole grinned.
“Oh.” Emily nodded, watching her from the corner of her eye as they walked.
They climbed the porch steps and Bill opened the door. Gavin stood aside as Emily stepped cautiously into the foyer, looking around.
There was carved cherry woodwork, William Morris wallpaper, and an antique loveseat opposite the stairs.
“What an amazing staircase,” Gavin said, following Emily in.
Nicole gave him a pleased smile. “Bill, why don’t you go put some coffee on while I show them their room.”
The door banged shut behind them and Emily ducked her head.
“Good idea, darling,” Bill said, strolling off.
They followed Nicole up the turning stairway to a landing that had a floral rug and a writing desk, as well as a door out onto the balcony.
“Right in here,” Nicole said, motioning to the bedroom.
“This is wonderful,” Gavin said, walking in and setting the luggage down among the antique furnishings.
Emily relaxed her clenched hand. “I feel like I’ve traveled back in time.”
Nicole surprised Emily by wrapping an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tight. “I’m so glad you like it,” she said, releasing Emily’s stiffened shoulders and stepping away. “The bathroom’s across the hall if you’d like to freshen up.”
“Thanks so much,” Gavin said. “We’ll be down in a few minutes.”
They listened as Nicole descended the creaky steps. When the stairs went silent, he turned back to Emily who was staring at the Rococo-revival bed with an impish smile.
She went up on her toes and cautiously gave him a kiss. “I’m kind of terrified right now, but isn’t this wonderful?”
Gavin nodded. “It’s like a charming bed and breakfast.”
Emily watched as he went over to the clock radio on the dresser and turned the volume up on the news station.
“Let’s not discuss anything in here,” he whispered.
“You think they could be listening?” she whispered back, looking around the room.
“We can’t be too careful.”
“Why do you think Nicole keeps hugging me and grinning like that?”
“There’s definitely something going on with her …”
Emily’s eyes widened. Gavin lifted his duffel bag onto the chaise lounge and unzipped it. He removed a linen jacket and put it on. Then he took his gun from the bag and slipped it into his pocket.
“I’m going to prod Bill a little and see if he reveals anything. Why don’t you work on Nicole and see if you can draw her out,” he said.
Emily knitted her brows. “What do you mean, exactly?”
“She shows a vulnerable side with you. Just try being extra friendly and we’ll see what happens.”
“Oh, okay,” she whispered. “I’ll do my best.”
Gavin turned off the radio. They left the bedroom and descended the stairs. At the bottom, there were doorways into rooms on both sides of the foyer. They went into one of the front parlors, which had a fireplace and was filled with more nineteeth-century furniture.
Emily spotted a family photo on the mantel – a picture of Bill and Nicole, both much younger, stood with a child, taken on a dock beside a wooden speedboat.
“We’re in here,” Bill’s deep voice called from the back of the house.
They walked through the Victorian dining room and reached the kitchen entry.
Gavin looked at the elaborate spread of cheese, crackers, grapes, and pastries laid out on the kitchen table. “You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”
“Don’t be silly,” Nicole replied. “It was no trouble at all.”
“Sit, make yourselves comfortable,” Bill said, turning away from a gurgling, expensive-looking espresso machine. “Did you have a nice drive up?”
“Very nice,” Gavin said, taking a seat.
Emily fixed her eyes on Nicole and spoke in a serious voice. “I really like you, and I feel like we’re becoming good friends.”
“Oh, my.” Nicole laughed. “I feel like we’re becoming good friends, too, Gwen.”
Emily frowned. Then she spotted Lacey on her bed in the corner and knelt down to pet her.
“Have you been to the Thousand Islands before?” Bill asked.
Gavin nodded. “Quite a long time ago.”
“Well,” Bill said. “There’s lots to see and do. Or you can just stay here and relax. It’s all up to you.”
“Probably a little of both,” Gavin replied. “I think Gwen was hoping to see Boldt Castle.”
“Of course,” Bill said. “It’s one of the must-see attractions.”
Gavin glanced at Nicole, who was watching Emily with the dog. He bit his lower lip. “Do you have a boat, Bill?”
“Why, yes,” he replied, with a pleased smile. “A Chris Craft Riviera.”
“Oh, nice,” Gavin said.
Bill noticed Nicole gazing at Emily with the Springer Spaniel and frowned. He cleared his throat. “Nicole?”
“Yes, dear,” she said, turning to him.
“Please, excuse us for a minute.” He ushered her out of the kitchen.
Emily got up and joined Gavin at the kitchen table. “What do you think that’s about?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” Gavin replied, wrinkling his forehead. “But it sure seems like they’re up to something.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t do a very good job of drawing her out.”
“No,” Gavin said. “I think you did very well.”
Bill soon returned. “Nicole asked me to apologize for her. She’s overdone it today, and needs to lie down for a little while.”
“Is she alright?” Gavin asked. “She isn’t sick, is she?”
Bill shook his head. He walked over to the espresso machine and filled two cups with coffee. “She’ll be fine after a little rest,” he said, setting the cups before them.
Gavin looked up at Bill. “Aren’t you having any?”
“I had some earlier.” He grinned. “My doctor’s limited me to two cups a day, and I like to save my second for after dinner.”
Emily glanced at Gavin, then cautiously took a sip.
“I saw some pictures of your SS100 replica on the club’s website,” Gavin said. “Do you keep it here? It looks like a real beauty.”
“It’s in our garage out back.” He smiled. “After your coffee, I’ll show it to you.”
Gavin lifted his cup as Emily covered her mouth and yawned.
Bill frowned, staring at him. “Go on, tell me what you think. It’s my own special blend.”
CHAPTER 16
Gavin and Emily sat down on a glider bench beneath the shade of the front porch.
“Well, we seem to have survived the coffee,” Gavin said, looking out at the lawn.
Emily pushed the bench back and forth. “I still feel a little wired – it really was good espresso.”
Gavin glanced at her. “You gave me quite a scare with that yawn – I thought it was a signal.”
“Sorry,” she said. “You can blame that on Lacey.”
“On Lacey?”
Emily nodded. “I saw her yawn and it started me doing it.”
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br /> “Oh.” Gavin chuckled.
Emily pushed the glider all the way back and lifted her feet. The bench swung forward, dragging Gavin’s moccasin loafers across the floor.
“I just wonder if there could be some other explanation for their behavior.”
“Like what?” she asked. “I know we’ve seen that the engine wasn’t in Bill’s SS100 replica, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got it hidden around here somewhere. Lift your feet up too.” She smiled, and gave the glider another push. She nodded as they rocked back and forth. “I have little doubt they’re going to try to kill us.”
The front door opened, and Bill and Nicole stepped out.
“Feeling better?” Gavin asked.
“Yes,” Nicole replied, forcing a smile. “Very much.”
“Nicole just had an excellent idea,” Bill said. “She suggested I take you out for a tour on the water.”
Emily made a little squeaking sound, like a mouse.
“Oh,” Gavin said. “That sounds really nice.” He got up from the bench. “You’re not coming, Nicole?”
“No,” she said. “I want to rest a little more, and then I’ll start fixing dinner.”
Gavin studied her face. “I do hope you’re not going to too much trouble for us.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” she smiled.
Gavin reached his hand back to Emily. She brought the swinging bench to a stop and stood beside him.
“Shall we go?” Bill asked.
Gavin turned to Nicole. “We’ll see you later then.”
Nicole hesitated, and Emily squeaked again. “I hope you enjoy the sights,” she said.
As they followed Bill down the porch steps, Gavin glanced back and saw her wiping an eye.
Bill’s Chris Craft was already in the water, moored to a small pier behind the house. As they made their way out onto the weathered planks, there was a stillness in the air. The combination of the sparkling water and the gentle sounds of splashing was hypnotic.
Gavin looked across the water to the green and heavily-wooded distant shore. “Is that Canada over there?”
“No,” Bill said. “That’s Grindstone Island – an interesting place. There’s no ferry service to it. No law enforcement either.” He smiled. “The residents have always made their own rules. It was the site of an unsolved murder a few years ago.”
Emily let out a nervous giggle.
Gavin focused his eyes on Bill’s face. “Is that where we’re going?”
“No.” Bill chuckled as he climbed into the rocking boat. “I have someplace else in mind.”
Gavin stepped across into the compartment behind him and sat down.
“Careful,” Bill said, as Emily took hold of Gavin’s outstretched hand and stumbled in, dropping down onto the bench seat beside him. “Are you good swimmers?”
Emily closed her eyes, nodding.
“Fairly good,” Gavin replied.
“Life jackets are underneath, behind your feet, if you want them.”
The motor began rumbling and they glided away from the shore. Emily looked over her shoulder and watched the house fade from view.
“I’m going to open it up a little now,” Bill said, twisting his head to look back at them.
The moist air rushed over their cheeks as the boat skipped rhythmically across the channel’s waves. Gavin turned to Emily. She was staring blankly forward, her head jostling with the movements of the boat.
There had been only a lone schooner in the distance, but as they rounded the curving shoreline countless pleasure craft came into view. Bill kept the boat at speed as he navigated between them. He waved to another Chris Craft that raced past in the opposite direction.
They passed a busy harbor, then beneath a towering suspension bridge that seemed closer to the blazing sun above than it was to the water below. Finally, the engine’s howl returned to a rumble as the boat slowed.
A stone mansion with formal gardens in colorful bloom came into view. Further on, there was a sprawling Victorian that made Bill and Nicole’s Queen Anne look modest. As they went, the houses became more and more impressive. Some had large, modern yachts moored to their private docks, while others had beautiful sailboats or antique speedboats like Bill’s.
“These are some amazing homes,” Gavin said.
Bill twisted around to look at them. “It’s called Millionaires Row. It began as a retreat for the robber barons. They built their castles and villas on these islands, and came in their private rail cars and steam yachts to get away. It became a real hotspot during the Gilded Age. There were large resorts and grand hotels, but those didn’t survive to today.
“Before that, this was a favorite place of pirates.” Bill grinned. “Of smugglers, and all kinds of unsavory characters. In some ways it still is. Smuggling reached its peak during prohibition, but it continues to this day. There was a big drug bust involving one of the yachts, not that long ago.”
Bill turned the boat and they sputtered along, soon entering a maze of narrower channels, bordered by smaller rocky islands. The Saint Lawrence river turned from blue to gray with a passing cloud, and the air became cool and still. They were alone, without a single other boat in sight.
“There’s a dark side to these islands, too,” Bill said, allowing the boat to drift with its engine idling. He let go of the wheel, and twisted around again to look at them, his right hand hidden from view by the back of the seat.
“There are many stories of shipwrecking and murder. A lot of people have disappeared on these waters, never to be seen or heard from again.”
Emily’s eyes widened. She felt for Gavin’s hand, but it was in the pocket of his jacket, clutching his gun.
“And who knows what might go on on some of these islands, even today. Like on Deer Island … the private retreat of the infamous Skull and Bones Society.”
“Are you a member, Bill?” Gavin asked with a wry smile.
“No.” He chuckled. “But I am a member of the Order of Saint Hubertus.” He bit his lip, looking into Emily’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have told you that. It’s supposed to be kept a secret … I may have to kill you now.”
Emily cringed while Bill chuckled. Then he turned back to the controls.
Gavin and Emily looked at each other, grimacing, as the boat picked up speed again.
As they emerged from the smaller islands, Boldt Castle came into view. The sun returned, shining on the crimson roofs of the castle’s towers and gables, and illuminating the greenery that surrounded it.
Emily breathed a sigh of relief as Bill steered the Chris Craft into a dock beside a large tour boat that was disembarking. An attendant grabbed the rope from Bill, and they carefully stepped off.
“This was a nice surprise,” Gavin said.
“I thought you’d like it.” Bill smiled. He spotted a bench beneath the shade of some trees. “You two go and explore,” he said. “I’ve been here many times and it’s too much walking for me.”
Gavin nodded. He took Emily’s hand, and they strolled up the sidewalk toward the castle.
Emily glanced back to make sure that Bill was some distance away. “What in the hell did you make of all that?”
Gavin shrugged, shaking his head. “It was bizarre. If he isn’t going to try and kill us I think he may have a screw loose.”
“If he isn’t going to try to kill us?” Emily said, twisting her nose. “Of course he’s going to try to kill us! Can’t you see that he’s toying with us like a cat with a mouse?”
Gavin nodded. “It’s certainly a very real possibility.”
“Certainly a very real possibility?” She started taking deep breaths. “There’s like a 99.9 per cent probability!”
They entered the castle’s Italian gardens. There were neatly trimmed box hedges, stone railings with balustrades, and urns overflowing with
bright purple and white petunias. Gavin squeezed Emily’s hand, looking up at one of the towers.
“So, what kind of architecture is this?”
Emily looked up too. “Umm. I’d say they were going for German Gothic.”
“Really?” Gavin said. “I’d have thought French.”
“Because of the Mansard roof?” She smiled. “It’s an understandable mistake. Although, that dormer does cause me to wonder what the architect was thinking – wait,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to make me stop thinking about Bill killing us.”
Gavin took a deep breath. “I don’t want to let him unnerve us. Worrying never solves anything, so why don’t we try to relax a little, if we can.”
Emily thought for a moment, then nodded.
They followed a brick path to the main entrance and went inside. The foyer had a marble floor, fireplace, and an impressive oak stairway. It was a huge space, balconies ringing it on two floors, rising to elaborate plasterwork and a stained glass dome high above.
There were a number of families with young children looking around, and a tour guide explaining something about the castle’s connection with Thousand Island salad dressing to a group in an adjoining room.
Gavin led Emily up the stairs to the second floor. They wandered around, peeking in some of the furnished bedrooms, before finding a narrow hallway with a door that opened to spiral stairs.
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think this is open to the public.”
She shrugged and took his hand, leading him around and around until they reached the top of the tower.
Gavin lifted the latch and opened the leaded window, revealing a view of the tour boat and Bill’s tiny Chris Craft below. A breeze blew through the small, musty room.
Emily made a pained face. “He’ll almost certainly try to kill us on the way back.”
Gavin met her eyes, putting his hands on her hips.
She knitted her brows. “What are you doing?”
“I want to kiss you again.”
“Here? Right now?” Her eyes widened. “With Bill waiting down there to kill us?” She took sharp breaths, looking around at the stonework. “Okay.” She nodded, taking hold of Gavin’s head and backing him up against the wall.