Rough Waters

by Maggie Toussaint

  Rock rose hesitantly. He wore another set of navy blue scrubs. “We’re free to go?”

  His hesitation fueled her outrage. Was nobody listening to her? “Damn straight we are. I’ve had enough, and if I don’t get out of this building, I’m having the biggest meltdown North Carolina has ever seen. You’re coming with me, and we’re leaving. Right now.”

  “We’ll continue questioning you two tomorrow afternoon,” Officer Hernandez said, the corners of her lips twitching into a half-smile. “You’re both free to go, today. You will return tomorrow for follow-ups. Do not leave town.”

  Jeanie rounded on the smirking cop. “Where are our dogs?”

  “A cop friend picked them up from the marina. He has them for the night.” Rock took her hand. “He took them to his place for some R&R.”

  Jeanie nodded, then glared at the officers. “Give us our stuff back.”

  Hernandez walked over to a desk in the main room, unlocked the file cabinet below, and returned with a manila envelope and a large paper sack. “Here you go. Your clothes are entered into evidence.”

  Jeanie seized her purse and glanced at Rock. He’d dumped the contents of his envelope on a desk. Keys. Wallet. No phone. It had been entered into evidence. Rock caught her eye. “Let’s go.”

  Hernandez nodded toward the distant glass doors. “Your truck’s in the Visitor’s lot. Follow the sidewalk around to the right.”

  Jeanie sailed out of the building on a headwind of fire and brimstone. “I am tired of people pushing me around.”

  “Neither one of those cops will bother you again.” Rock said, dryly.

  “Better not.”

  Chapter 59

  A knock on the door startled Rock awake. Instinctively, he scanned the hotel room for danger, his heart and lungs frozen in the moment. Finding nothing more suspicious than their luggage, he allowed himself a breath.

  The pounding continued. Rock arose, slipped on his pants, and checked to see who was outside. His throat tightened at the sight of his investor. Leaving the catch on, he cracked the door. “Give me a minute.”

  Lyle nodded, eyes hawkishly narrow.

  Rock dressed, scribbled a “back in a minute” note for Jeanie who was still sleeping soundly, and hurried outside.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Lyle asked.

  “Walked into a fist or two.”

  “What?”

  “Long story.”

  “Do you have the journal?”

  “You’re early.” Rock returned his icy stare. Nothing about this hard-edged man suggested he was anyone’s father, let alone his. “If you’ll come with me to the bank, I’ll get it for you.”

  Lyle crossed his arms and planted his feet. “The deal was you’d have it here for me.”

  “At noon. It’s barely nine.” Rock didn’t want their loud voices to awaken Jeanie. He started down the empty corridor. “Yesterday a dead man came back to life and nearly killed me. I owe you the journal, and I’m going to get it right now. You with me?”

  Lyle sputtered, caught up with Rock, and spun him around at the elevators. “What’s going on? You look like you’ve been in a brawl.”

  Rock noted the man’s pale face. Good. He had Lyle’s complete attention. “Tarpley’s alive. He and a buddy of his dumped me and Jeanie in my place here and turned on the gas. We managed to escape, but Tarp wasn’t so lucky. He took a shot to the gut.”

  “Drake Tarpley drowned.”

  “We all thought he drowned, but he didn’t. In the span of one afternoon, he went from victim to suspect to victim again. His so-called pal blackmailed him into seducing young females.” Rock paused, then stared Lyle down. “He told me.”

  Lyle shifted his weight, lowered his chilling gaze. “Told you what?”

  “About you.”

  “I see.”

  The man wouldn’t win any medals for communication skills. “Is it true? You’re our biological father?”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  Rock swore and punched the call button for the elevator. Disgust clogged his throat. “You don’t get it. Tarp said you compared him to me from day one, said he hated me because of the way you taunted him. Your petty game playing nearly got me killed, not to mention the mother of two innocent kids. Now your own son is fighting for his life.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “What I understand is no one matters to you, be they blood or stranger.”

  The elevator arrived. Rock and Lyle stepped into the small space and continued down to the lobby in silence until Lyle finally spoke. “My wife couldn’t have kids and we couldn’t adopt through legal channels because she’s a registered sex offender for having sex with one of her students before we married. She encouraged me to sleep around, unprotected, so that as the father, I’d have rights to the subsequent child and we could buy it from the mother. But neither of your mothers would give you up. Your mother refused to speak to me afterward, said I was a monster, and threatened me if I ever came near you. Tarp’s mother let me see him, and I thought I was doing him a favor by motivating him. He had potential. You both did.”

  Bile rose in Rock’s throat, and the walls seemed to close in on him. “After I hand you the journal, our debt is square, and I hope to never see you again.”

  “I’ve always been proud of you, son.”

  Rock froze for an instant, then wanted to slug Lyle. The elevator opened. “You’re no father to me.”

  “I made mistakes. I admit that, but I’ve made amends.”

  “How?” Rock demanded in disgust as the elevator door closed again.

  “I loaned you money. When the banks said no, I said yes.”

  Rock didn’t want to hear it. The elevator doors opened again, and he stalked across the lobby, Lyle hurrying to keep up.

  “I tried to pay for Victoria’s care. She told the nursing home to refuse the money.”

  Rock struggled with his emotions. He wanted to flatten the bastard. “Of course she did. She was a woman of honor.”

  “I messed up. I know I did. Forget about the journal for a minute, Rock, and listen to me.”

  “What do you think I’ve been doing? You’ve talked. I’ve listened. I don’t like what I’m hearing. But know this. You will accept the journal. You will sign a receipt for the journal while we’re in the bank and void our contract. My debt to you will be square.” He unlocked his truck. “Get in.”

  Lyle sighed. “I have my own car and driver.”

  “He can follow us then. You’re coming with me, and we’re getting this done. Today.”

  Lyle got in the truck, belted up. “This is because of that girl, isn’t it? Jeanie something or other.”

  “This is about me cleaning the slate. I want a fresh start.”

  “When did you get to be such a hard-ass?”

  “Try the Navy. It builds character.”

  Neither one spoke as they went through the motions of cancelling the debt. Rock ignored the bank teller’s hard glances at his beat-up face. He pulled the journal from the lock box for Lyle, but he pocketed the small velvet box for himself.

  Afterward, Rock sat in the bank parking lot, watching Lyle drive off. He thought he’d feel relieved to have that debt cancelled, but he felt empty. Lyle had tried to manipulate his feelings. No wonder his mother didn’t want anything to do with Lyle after he’d gotten her pregnant. Imagine trying to buy someone else’s kid.

  He shuddered. Jeanie would fight tooth and nail for her kids. She’d been doing that for days now, trying to get her life back to normal. Her priorities were clear. Put things right. Take care of family. Rock understood her priorities because he now had the same goals.

  With his determination to find the Clarissa and get his name in the record books, he’d focused on the wrong objective. He saw that now. Money didn’t lead to happiness. Finding those sovereigns had changed his life, but not in a good way. Twice, he’d nearly died.

  But he’d found something important.

&n
bsp; More important than money.

  He hurried back to the hotel.

  Chapter 60

  Rock slid under the covers, nuzzled Jeanie, and she nuzzled him back. Encouraged, he kissed her. Made slow and gentle love to her. Afterward, he held her again, filled with contentment.

  “I have a confession to make,” he said. When she started to respond, he placed a finger on her lips. “I can’t stop thinking about you, sleeping or awake. I know it’s too soon, but I can’t help it. I want to be near you. I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life.”

  She gazed up at him. “Me, too.”

  Her words washed over him, infusing hope into his dreams. The future seemed bright with prospects. “I’m glad. And? What about the rest?”

  Those beautiful, trusting hazel eyes flashed green then gold. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m asking you to be my wife, Jeanie Munro. I want you to marry me.”

  Jeanie edged away from him, and Rock’s hopes plummeted. He felt every aching muscle in his body, the thrum of muted pain in his arm.

  “You serious?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  She glared at him, pushing up from the mattress. “No. Absolutely not. I expect a big moment. Flowers. Champagne. A ring. There should be a ring.”

  One out of three would do for starters. He climbed out of the king-sized hotel bed, retrieved the jewelry box from his pants pocket, and went down on bended knee. With shaking hands, he offered her the diamond ring from the box. “I’m not the greatest catch in the sea, but I love you with every beat of my heart. I will slay sea serpents for you. I will swim oceans for you. I will be the luckiest man in the entire world if you’ll marry me.”

  Tears spilled onto her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

  He caressed her hand, wanting instinctively to comfort her. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. You’re everything to me, Jeanie. Please. Please say yes. Say you’ll marry me.”

  She launched off the bed at him, crashing her chin into his chest. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

  “Ooof.” Air rushed out of his lungs at her lovely acceptance. His ribs twinged, but his joy was so great he barely felt the pain. He cradled her, brimming with happiness. “Thank you. I’m honored. I’m so completely honored by your faith in me.”

  She held him tight. “You’re everything I ever wanted. A rock of a man. A man who puts family first. I’m so lucky to have found you.”

  For a moment, he couldn’t speak. He was the lucky one. Tears welled in his eyes. “Do you like the ring? It was my mother’s and my grandmother’s. Mom had the setting updated about five years ago. If you prefer something that’s new, I can do that.”

  “I want this ring. I love that it’s a family heirloom. I’ve been waiting a long time for you to come along,” she said, as he slid the ring onto her finger. “But I’m a package deal. My kids are part of this, a big part of who I am.”

  “I’m fine with kids, and yours are extra special to me.” He meant it. He wanted her children. And he wanted more children. He caressed the sweet swell of her hip. “I want us to be a family in every way.”

  “You mean it?”

  “I do.”

  He spent the next hour showing her how much he loved her, how much her touch meant, how much he needed her in his life. After another nap and a shower, he ordered room service, grudgingly accepting the fact they needed to refuel. The light had brightened behind the curtain. Definitely afternoon, he realized.

  A knock on the door signaled room service had arrived. He accepted the food, set the covered dishes out on the table.

  “That smells yummy,” Jeanie said, toweling her hair as she emerged from the bathroom.

  The jeans and clingy sweater she wore heated his blood, but she had that effect on him, clothed or not. “I hope you like it. I ordered something my Mom ate when she celebrated.”

  “Steak and waffles?”

  “She called the meal the elixir of life. It’s one of my favorite things—or was, until I met you.”

  Her husky sound stirred him. “Down, boy,” she said. “We need to eat and figure out who has the coins.”

  He pulled out a chair for her. “One more thing. While you were sleeping this morning, I met with Lyle and gave him the journal. I no longer owe him anything.”

  “Even the coins?”

  The chances of finding the coins were negligible, but he humored her. “Even the coins. I have a signed document that says if I find the coins, they’re mine.”

  “Good for you. We’ll find those coins and go home.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  She studied the table, and her eyes misted. “A rose? You ordered a rose with our brunch?”

  “I did.” The red rose had cost a small fortune, but her reaction was well worth the expense.

  “A red rose,” she repeated, tears in her eyes.

  “What?”

  “A red rose means true love. You’re so thoughtful.”

  He smiled and offered her the first bite of his steak. She ate the morsel eagerly. “Feed me,” he encouraged.

  She did.

  “In some cultures, we’d be married after an exchange of food,” he said.

  She laughed, her voice rife with emotion. “You don’t get off the hook so easily. We’ll be married in Mossy Bog. Not a huge shindig, but with all my friends and family. And, of course, anyone you’d like to invite.”

  “About my family.” Rock rubbed the back of his neck. “Last night Tarpley told me he was my half-brother.”

  She stopped eating. “What?”

  “I didn’t believe him at the time, but now I’m positive he was right. Something in my history doesn’t add up.”

  “Go on.”

  “I have type O blood.”

  “The same as Tarpley’s?”

  “Yes.”

  “My kids and I have O blood. So?”

  “My dad. He was AB-negative. According to what I remember from giving blood in the Navy, a man with AB-negative blood can’t father a son with O blood.”

  “Your father wasn’t your father?”

  “Unless medical people have blood chemistry wrong.”

  “Did you ask your mother about it?”

  “I learned my dad’s blood type when I went through her papers after the funeral. I never doubted Benson Mackenzie was my dad before I saw his records. Now I have new information about my true biological father. But I don’t want to claim him.”

  “Why not? Family is family.”

  “Not when family is Wendell Huntley Lyle, III.”

  Chapter 61

  “Lyle? Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I can be without a DNA test,” Rock said.

  “You should get the test.”

  “Why? It’d be a waste of money.”

  “One word, Mackenzie. Closure.”

  “Guys don’t need closure.”

  “Right.” She’d suffered a nasty emotional shock like this when Avery walked out. Rock had been thrown a vicious curve ball and needed time to process his feelings. She still hadn’t forgiven Avery, but she’d come to terms with starting over. She could help Rock with that. “We’ll come back to this. Tell me about the coins and the chest.”

  “You know everything about them. The journal led us to the site. We couldn’t find anything else. Someone stole my find. End of story.”

  “The coins are valuable. If no one pawned them, and we have a limited number of people who could have stolen them, it stands to reason that we could find them.”

  “Reason plays no part in this. We’ve exhausted our list. Avery didn’t have them. Palamiri and Larry Orio were looking for them. Even Shandy was looking for them. Lyle had a claim on them so he didn’t need to steal them. Tarpley nearly killed me over them. Someone else must have stolen the coins and the small carved chest. They’re probably locked up in a collector’s vault right now.”

  “Don’t sound so gloomy. I have a hunch we’re going t
o find them.”

  Rock shrugged from the desk chair, the scar on his face pinker than usual. “How so? We’re fresh out of suspects.”

  “From what you told me about Tarpley, he was your friend, even if he resented you. He had conflicting emotions.”

  “So?”

  “So, if he was being blackmailed into doing something, I believe he would’ve balked.”

  Rock seemed to be considering her point. “Tarpley never liked being told what to do.”

  “Of course not. He wanted to be his own man, but Lyle kept riding him to do better, to be more like you. Lyle didn’t do either of you any favors with that mindset. One thing you said about Tarpley sticks in my mind, though.” She secured her luggage, then wheeled to face Rock. “His whole life, he had a strike-it-rich mentality. He took risks. What if he stole the coins and hid them from Larry?”

  Rock gave her a deer-in-the-headlights gaze. “Why would he do that?”

  “You said the coins belonged to Lyle unless you paid the debt back. They never belonged to Tarpley.”

  “That was the agreement.”

  “You also said Tarpley wore you out searching for more coins. He wanted to look for more of them all the time, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He wanted coins. Once you were sidelined, I bet he took your coins.”

  “Doesn’t fly. He questioned me about the coins yesterday in the bait shop.”

  “That could’ve been for Larry’s benefit. If Tarpley was under Larry’s thumb, he wouldn’t want Larry to walk away with something Tarpley considered his.”

  Rock looked like he might disagree. She loved that about him. Even if he had a differing opinion, he still heard her out. She loved that he respected her smartness.

  “I can see a certain sense to that, but it’s a long shot,” Rock said.

  “Long shot. Good word choice. According to you, that’s Tarpley’s M.O.”

  “Where would he hide the coins?”

  “They could be anywhere, but I have a feeling they’re here.”

  “Another hunch?”

  “I watch a lot of cop shows on TV. Bad guys protect their valuables when their back goes to the wall. Tarpley knew we were looking for him. That’s why he came back to the marina, to guard his stash. I believe your stolen property is at the marina.”