“But you were saying . . . ?” His assurance about her role on Talbot was a balm to her weary soul.
“Talbot’s our home, and God would never put you in charge of such a huge responsibility if He didn’t know you would take care of His people on the island. There are many believers here, and many more to share the love of Christ with.”
She’d never considered that before, but what Callen said made sense. Had God made and equipped her for this very role and place?
Callen steered his red Tahoe along the cobblestone street, one of the few roads on the island that wasn’t a dirt path. The woods filled the bulk of the island—the houses along the fringes of the shore and marsh. Most destinations were easily walked to in good weather, but the Connors lived on the far side of the island, and it was still pouring rain, so she and Callen decided to drive. Of the islanders who owned cars, most, like Callen, had four-wheel-drive vehicles, but many islanders used dirt bikes or ATVs to get around the small island.
They stopped in town to pick up clothes for Teni before proceeding on to the Connors. Though, it was more a quaint village than full-size town. There were two restaurants, Milly’s and Steve’s Grill, Jones’s General Store, and Nancy and Bill Carter’s laundromat.
Then there were the tourist stores that showcased the work of various island artisans—homemade island recipes, spices grown on Talbot, and handmade crafts. Most of those shops closed at the end of the season.
A few other businesses were run out of folks’ homes, such as Max Harper’s mechanic shop and Alice’s Alterations. Whatever couldn’t be found on Talbot meant a trip to the mainland—close to an hour by boat to the nearest town.
Other than a few stops to briefly receive condolences about Julia’s death and Teni’s house explosion, their trip inside the general store was quick and to the point—just what was necessary to get by until she returned to Annapolis and could bring new supplies with her to Talbot. But where would she stay while on Talbot until her family home was rebuilt? Callen would likely offer, but with everything pointing to them being fully back together, that wouldn’t be appropriate. She could stay at the B&B, but after a while that would add up. Perhaps her friend Becky would let her crash at her place, or she could do a combo of the two.
“How long until I can rebuild?” she asked Callen as rain so thick it was nearly blinding at times pelted her raincoat.
“My guess would be within a month, so you might be able to get the framing done before the winter, but it’ll definitely be spring before you can be fully back in.”
Yet another legacy she’d lost—she’d never missed celebrating Christ’s birth in her ancestral home, and it sounded like a new home built before Christmas was going to be too big of a task.
After tossing the bags containing her purchases into the back seat, they headed for the Connors’ property, which consisted of three houses—the parents’, Jared’s, and his brother, Jacob’s—and a few ramshackle outbuildings.
“Ready?” Callen said, as he shifted into Drive after opening the Connors’ property gate.
She nodded, praying God would equip her, for who knew what lay ahead.
thirteen
CAESAR, JARED’S PIT BULL, met them as they pulled up to Jared’s house.
“Great.” She rolled her eyes. “This ought to be fun.” She loved dogs—she really did—but Jared always trained his dogs to be vicious. She’d already had one encounter in the woods with Caesar, where she’d ended up with massive stitches and nearly lost an ankle. Mainland animal control told her she had the right to sue, but she didn’t want the dog put down—just better managed—so she hadn’t pressed charges. Of course Jared hadn’t said a word of thanks, had instead blamed her for “riling up” his dog.
“I’ll get out first—get Jared to put Caesar in his pen.”
“It’s okay.” The last thing she wanted was Jared Connor thinking she was intimidated. “I’ll be fine.”
Taking a deep breath and saying a prayer for safety, she stepped out of Callen’s Tahoe the same time as he did.
Caesar immediately flew to her side, barking and jumping, but she held her ground, her knee poised to jab forward if necessary.
“Shut up, Caesar,” Jared said, stepping out under the covered porch in a pair of well-worn Levis and a black T-shirt featuring a band she didn’t recognize. At least the electric guitar etched in gray gave that suggestion. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.
Teni looked at her watch. Drinking before lunchtime?
He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and sniffed. “What do you two want?”
Callen stepped toward him, and Caesar shifted in his direction.
“Go on!” Jared hollered, and Caesar scampered off into the woods adjacent to the Connors’ property—Jared’s house sat on the southeast edge of the acreage. “Now, what is it you two want? I’ve got a Terps game to watch.”
“We need to ask you some questions.”
His chin dipped and jutted back. “Such as?”
Marybeth’s hunter green Volkswagen station wagon pulled up.
Great. Her presence would make things go so much smoother.
“What are they doing here?” Marybeth asked, pulling her black raincoat tightly about her as Jacob rode up on his ATV.
Wonderful. A family reunion minus the one Connor Teni truly liked—Darren. He’d offered his condolences on the explosion, when they’d run into him entering the general store as they’d left. He was probably still there. His presence would have made this much easier.
“What’s up?” Jacob asked Jared with a lift of his chin as he joined him on the porch.
“The investigators are here with some questions,” Jared said snidely.
Jacob looped his thumbs in his jeans’ waistband. “Is that right?”
Jared nodded as Marybeth—scowling at Teni and Callen the entire time—made her way over to join her boys on Jared’s porch.
Callen gestured for Teni to head up and out of the rain. She did so, ignoring the glares of the Connors.
But cover felt good. The rain was so heavy, fast, and thick, it felt like fingers jabbing hard into her flesh.
Jared took another swig of his beer before saying, “Let’s get this over with so we can get back to the game.”
Jacob had carried a twelve-pack of beer up on the porch, and he now set it on the wire-spool table before moving to stand beside his brother. Marybeth set a slow cooker and bag of rolls on the table beside the beverages. They’d come prepared for the game, apparently.
Since he wasn’t formally arresting Jared, Callen didn’t need to Mirandize him, but Teni assumed for procedural accuracy and to be overly cautious, he did. Then he asked, “Where were you last night between nine and midnight?”
“You don’t have to answer their questions,” Jacob said. “He just said it could be used against you.”
“You can answer now and get it over with, or we can haul you in to the closest mainland police station as soon as this storm passes. Your choice.”
He exhaled. “I was here with my ma, watching a movie.”
He’d spent Saturday night watching a movie with his mom? Teni would have loved to still have the option of watching movies with her mom—whatever night it fell on—but Jared hardly seemed the type to spend the night with his mom over his brother or drinking with friends. Word was, they played a lot of poker and gambled for some strange things—fishing lures, weird nighttime dares . . . The list went on.
“That’s right.” Marybeth jumped straight on the party line. “He was home with us.”
“Until midnight?”
“Yes. We got started late. After dinner.”
“What movie did you watch?”
“Dunkirk,” Marybeth said snippily. “Rented it once it was a decent price and available to rent from here.”
“What’d you think, Jared?” Callen asked.
“It was fine.” Jared shrugged.
“Have a favorite part?”
Teni asked.
“Nah.” He took another swig.
So this was off to a great start, and when they wrapped up twenty minutes later, they’d learned little else. With Marybeth and even Jacob backing up Jared’s alibi, there was little she and Callen could do, unless . . .
“Stop the vehicle,” she said as Mr. Connor approached Callen’s SUV from the base of the long driveway weaving up from the still-open gate.
Callen did so with a smile.
Teni jumped out in the strengthening wind blowing so hard she almost expected it would lift her feet from the ground. Had to be over sixty miles per hour—the storm due to fully hit late tonight and on into the early hours of tomorrow morning.
Teni waved Darren Connor down, and he slowed his old orange Chevy truck to a stop beside Callen’s SUV.
“What are you two doing out here?”
Teni shielded her eyes with her hand cupped along the brim of her raincoat hood. “We just had some business with Jared and Marybeth, but I was hoping I could ask you a quick question.”
“Oh . . . okay?”
“What did you and Marybeth do last night?”
“We had a family dinner with the boys and then watched a movie.”
“What movie?”
“Dunkirk. It was good. Have you seen it yet?”
“I did. It was awesome.” She shifted to see better, her back to the wicked wind. “And the boys watched it with you?”
“They did.”
Teni’s heart fell. If Jared wasn’t trying to kill her, who was? Could it possibly be Alex, as Callen posed?
“But Jared wasn’t feeling well, so he headed to his house about halfway through.”
Oh, really? He and Marybeth had neglected to mention that little tidbit.
“So Jared lied to us,” Teni said as they pulled away from the Connors’ property. “Think that’s enough to get a search warrant for his place? To look for Julia’s body hidden somewhere on their property, or evidence he took her?”
“I’d say. Call your superior and see what you can do regarding Julia, and I’d do the same regarding the arson investigation. But with the phone lines down . . .”
“Great. We’re stuck until the storm passes and the lines are back up or the ME we called shows up.” She shook her head. “It’s not soon enough. Jared probably realizes we are on his trail, and if he has Julia’s body stashed somewhere, he’ll more likely get rid of it fast.”
“He knows we’re watching him. No way he’ll do anything. He’d have to be a huge fool. I’m not sure . . .”
She tilted her head.
“We both know Jared’s not the brightest bulb in the pack, and . . .”
“And what?”
“I just don’t know that he’s smart enough to orchestrate all this. Jacob, maybe, but he’s not the one who threatened you.”
“What if they are working together?”
Callen inhaled. “It’s a possibility, but let’s confirm Lenny never returned to the island with your ex, and then we’ll go from there.”
“After Jared and Marybeth’s threats, you really think it could still be Alex?”
“You said he wanted you to sell Talbot. If he’d married you and you had sold Talbot to a developer, he’d have been set for life.”
“So he tries to kill me out of spite?” Even if . . . “Why Julia?”
“He probably thought she was you. You look alike, especially in the water, and you’re always the first to the buoy.”
“I knew it.” Tears welled in her eyes. “It’s my fault she’s dead.”
“No. It. Isn’t. It’s the fault of whoever killed Julia. Not you.”
“But if I’d been on my game, Julia would still be here.”
“Honey, you can’t think that way. You aren’t the one who killed her. Whoever is behind all this did, whether that be Jared or Alex or someone else. They did this. Not you.”
She nodded, knowing in her heart if she’d just pushed harder, had swum faster, that Julia would most likely still be alive. How did she let go of that? But Callen was right. It was the murderer who chose to take Julia’s life, and at this point they were just assuming it was a mistake and Teni had been the intended target.
Looking out the window at the gushing rain and wind swells swirling the downpour into erratic funnels, she closed her eyes and prayed.
Father, you know who killed Julia and why he is trying to kill me. Please give us clarity. Help us discover who it is and put him behind bars. And help me deal with this overwhelming guilt I feel over Julia’s death. Please guide Callen and me through what the next day holds. Keep us safe in this storm.
It seemed only fitting a massive storm raged around them while one raged so fiercely inside her.
She shifted uncomfortably as they pulled up to Lenny’s house and found his boat docked at the pier. Alex had lied to her. The implications of what that could mean knocked the air from her lungs.
fourteen
CALLEN LOOKED OVER AT HER as he rolled to a stop and shifted the Tahoe into park, pulling up the emergency brake. He didn’t say anything, just stepped out of the vehicle and came around to open her door. No reason to attempt an umbrella. With the winds as high as they were, it’d be more struggle than help.
He locked his arm with hers when she stepped out, and together they strode against the blustering wind toward Lenny’s front door.
Callen knocked, Lenny answered, and Teni’s heart dropped. Alex had definitely lied to her.
“Hey, Len. Can we come in?” Callen asked.
“Oh, sure.” He stepped back. “Come on in. Ignore the mess.”
Lenny’s house proved he was a bachelor, and not a tidy one at that. Magazines and old soda cans were strewn about the living room, along with discarded sweatshirts and jackets tossed over the recliner and other pieces of furniture.
“What’s up?” Lenny asked.
“Did you take Alex back to Annapolis yesterday?” Teni asked, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Yep.”
“And then . . . ?” Callen asked.
“And then I headed back. I toyed with the idea of anchoring in Annapolis, but with it just being the storm’s outer bands, I figured I’d rather be home for the weekend.”
“Did Alex come back with you?” Callen asked, and Teni held her breath, trying to wrap her mind around the implications Lenny’s answer could hold.
“Nah. He was happy to be back in Annapolis. He wasn’t much of a fan of Talbot, other than wanting to sell it. Couldn’t believe he actually told me that. What a loser.”
“Tell me about it,” Teni said, irritation sparking through her. How insensitive could Alex be to tell a local he was pushing for Teni to sell Talbot? “He told you I refused to sell, right?”
“Yeah, said you were a fool for not selling, that you were shortsighted.” Lenny stepped a few feet into the kitchen and grabbed a Coke from the fridge. “You guys want one?”
“Sure. Thanks,” Callen said.
“I’ll take one too. Thanks,” Teni added.
“So to your knowledge, Alex didn’t come back to Talbot?” Callen asked.
“Not that I know of, but I just dropped him at the docks with his suitcase and ran in for a quick bite before heading back.”
“Thanks, Lenny,” Teni said.
Lenny’s blue eyes narrowed. “What’s this all about?”
Callen explained just enough.
“Whoa. That’s crazy, dude.” Lenny shifted his gaze to Teni. “I’m real sorry about Julia.”
“Thanks.”
After a few parting words, Callen and Teni hurried back to the shelter of Callen’s SUV, and once inside and settled, Callen turned to her. “Well, we know Lenny didn’t bring Alex back, and since Lenny toyed with the idea of staying, maybe Alex didn’t know he decided to return, so maybe he didn’t lie to you after all.”
“He said Lenny had anchored and was crashing with friends. Maybe he just assumed because Lenny said he was considering staying,
but it sounded like he knew that’s what had happened. Honestly, I don’t know what to think.”
“I think we should head back to my place and hunker down for this storm. It’s just growing stronger, and I don’t think there’s anything else we can do until the phone lines are back up and we can get a warrant.”
Great. They had to sit and wait while Jared did who knew what with Julia’s body. It could already be buried or dumped somewhere by now. The thought of not giving her dear cousin a proper burial weighed heavily on her heart as they made the drive back to Callen’s.
Knowing they had to wait for the phone lines to return, time passed slow as molasses. But at the same time, it flew fast as a locomotive racing down the steel rails with a clickety-clack by just being in Callen’s presence. They made up for lost time, and it wasn’t long before it was midnight and she made her way up to bed.
She’d just crawled under the covers when Callen’s floodlights shifted on, the bright light slipping through the interior full-length shutters. Moving for the window, she pulled back the heavy hunter-green shutter and searched the ground as lightning zigzagged across the black, rain-drenched sky, illuminating the tree line . . . and a fleeing figure.
Teni’s chest compressed, and she swallowed hard. He was back.
Lightning flashed, striking a tree and snapping the majestic thirty-five-foot black walnut tree in a lopsided half.
Thunder shook the earth and sparks shot from the tree, flaming shards of wood raining down like ash.
Her eyes scanned the perimeter, and his movement caught her eye again—he was racing deeper into the woods.
The Cost of Betrayal Page 20