Deceived

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “Oh, no you don’t. Gram said you might try to back out. But you can’t. This is important, Jennie. Gram’s getting us evening dresses and all the other special things we need for the cruise.”

  Jennie didn’t feel like going shopping. She didn’t feel like going on a cruise for that matter. “I know how important the cruise is to you, Lisa. So why don’t you ask one of your other friends? Like Allison. I don’t think Gram would mind. And with the mood I’m in right now, I’d just spoil the trip for you if I went.”

  “No way. Gram said you’d probably say that too. Hey, I know what you must be going through right now. But we’re here to help you through it. You’re going, Jennie, and that’s final. We’ll be by at ten to pick you and your mom up.”

  Jennie didn’t argue. Trying to fight the women in her family was like roping the wind. It wouldn’t do any good with all of them ganging up on her. Maybe if she ignored them they’d go away.

  Jennie closed her eyes and snuggled under the covers. She’d just started to doze off when the door banged open and Nick streaked in. He leaned on her bed, his huge dark blue eyes staring directly into her own. Had this family no mercy?

  “Mommy said to come down and eat breakfast,” he announced. “And you better hurry. Michael’s here and us men’s gonna go to the park to play while you girls go shopping.”

  Nick hadn’t moved an inch or blinked the entire time he was talking. He made her want to laugh. She didn’t feel like laughing. Jennie closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her head. “Go away,” she moaned. “Tell Mom I’m not hungry.”

  The bed shifted as Nick climbed onto it and straddled her back. “Get up or I’ll play like you’re my pony. Giddy­ yup!” He bounced up and down.

  “Ow! Nicky, get off.”

  “Nope.” He bounced even harder. “Not ’til you get up.”

  Jennie twisted around, caught him under the arms, and pulled him down beside her. She tickled him until they both ended up in a pile of giggles on the floor. “Okay, you win.” She twisted out of Nick’s grip and got to her feet. “Go on downstairs and tell Mom I surrender.”

  After showering, Jennie slipped into a pair of jeans and a purple cotton top, ponytailed her hair, then made her way downstairs. She wasn’t hungry, but at Mom’s insistence managed to choke down a piece of peanut butter toast and a glass of milk before heading out the door.

  As if someone had set her on automatic pilot, Jennie followed the women from store to store, trying on clothes and making all the appropriate sounds a person should make when having a good time. She hoped they wouldn’t notice how miserable she really felt.

  Sometime around two in the afternoon, Gram announced that their mission had been accomplished. No one said much on the way home. Jennie figured they were all either tired of shopping, or tired of trying to cheer her up—or tired of pretending they were having a good time. Thanks to her, all the grief they’d put to rest had been stirred up again.

  Minutes later they turned onto Jennie’s street. Mom’s startled cry brought everyone to life. “It’s the police. Something’s happened to Nick.”

  As soon as Gram stopped the car, Mom jumped out. Jennie followed. The numbness she’d been feeling all day gave way to a burst of raw pain. Oh, God, no. Please, not Nick.

  Two police cars were parked in the driveway with lights flashing. One of the officers walked toward them. “I’m Sergeant Jim Shultz, ma’am. This your house?”

  Jennie and Mom nodded. “I’m Susan McGrady. What’s happened? My son…Michael…” Mom glanced from the open door of the house to Sergeant Shultz.

  “There’s no one in the house, ma’am. Looks like a break-in. One of your neighbors called…” He glanced down at his notes. “A Mrs. White. Said she noticed a car out here that didn’t belong and asked us to check it out. By the time we got here, whoever broke in was gone.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid they made quite a mess of things.”

  “Is anything missing?”

  “You’ll have to determine that, ma’am.” Shultz stepped aside and motioned for them to go inside. Aunt Kate, Lisa, and Gram followed. None of them spoke as they walked from the living room to the kitchen and assessed the damage. The couch and chairs had been overturned. The lamps and Mom’s ceramic figurines cluttered the floor. Some broken, some not. The kitchen looked as if it had been through a hurricane. Most of the cupboards hung open, the contents scattered all over the counters and floor. Jennie and Aunt Kate caught Mom as her knees buckled. “Why?” she moaned. “Why would anyone do something like this?” They led Mom to the couch in the living room and lowered her into it.

  “Can you tell if anything is missing?” the sergeant asked. Mom shook her head.

  Jennie glanced around the room. The television, Blue-ray, and stereo systems were all in their respective places in the big entertainment center against the wall. Those were the things thieves usually took. “It’s hard to tell…”Jennie began.

  Gram approached Shultz and laid a hand on his arm. “Why don’t we clean things up a bit. We can let you know later if anything is missing. Did you check the rest of the house?”

  He nodded toward the stairs. “Only one other room

  vandalized like this. Upstairs—first one on the right. We figure the sirens scared him off before he got any farther.”

  “My room!” Jennie tore up the steps, the others following behind. She stopped in the doorway. Her dresser drawers stood open and empty, their contents littered across the floor. Bile rose in Jennie’s throat. She covered her mouth and swallowed it back.

  Easy, McGrady. It’s only a room. Just be thankful no one was hurt.

  No, she wanted to scream. It isn’t just a room. It’s my bedroom! She felt as though someone had ripped open a secret place inside of her.

  “Lisa,” Gram said finally, “why don’t you stay up here and help Jennie. We’ll go on downstairs and help Susan with the rest of the house.”

  “Sure,” Lisa answered.

  After they left, Lisa rested her hand on Jennie’s shoulder. “You okay?”

  “I can’t believe this,” Jennie said, still trying to make some sense of it. She gazed around the room again. “Why did he have to…?” She couldn’t finish. The box labeled “Dad’s Things” had been dumped and thrown against the window seat. Her souvenirs lay scattered on the closet floor. Jennie dropped to her knees and gathered them up. “Why would anyone want to do this?” Jennie asked again as she picked up the broken model airplane she and Dad had assembled, and set it back in the box.

  “Maybe they were looking for money or something valuable, and when they didn’t find anything they decided to trash the place.”

  “Maybe.” Jennie returned the box to its place and found the eight-by-ten portrait of her father on the floor. The photo lay face down, the glass shattered. Rage tore through her like a thunderstorm. “I’ll kill him,” Jennie muttered. “If I ever get my hands on the pig that did this, I’ll…”

  Lisa laid a hand on Jennie’s shoulder. “Oh, Jennie, I’m sorry. It’s bad enough to find out your dad’s really dead, but now this.”

  “I know this sounds strange, but it’s almost like whoever broke in here was deliberately trying to hurt me. Like he stood in my room and asked himself: ‘What can I do to destroy Jennie McGrady?’”

  “I can’t believe anyone could be that cruel. No one could hate you that much.”

  “I don’t know.”

  After cleaning up the broken glass and removing the photo from its bent frame, Jennie took it over to the window seat. The photo was still intact except for a wrinkle running down one side and a couple of small glass punctures near the top. She could reframe it.

  By the time the girls finished cleaning Jennie’s room, the rest of the house looked almost normal. They managed to get everything picked up and straightened by the time Michael and Nick arrived. Mom had been working hard
and seemed to have recovered from her initial shock, but when Michael came in, she fell apart again.

  After telling Michael about the break-in, and making sure Mom and Jennie were okay, Aunt Kate, Gram, and Lisa left.

  “Jennie,” Gram reminded as she gave her a final hug, “don’t forget to set your alarm. We’ll be leaving at four in the morning for the airport. Our flight leaves at six­thirty.”

  Jennie stared at Gram, wondering how she could act so normal when their entire world had been turned upside down and inside out. Any second now, Jennie was sure she’d wake up and discover that for the last three days she’d been having the world’s longest nightmare.

  The next morning Jennie woke up in a cold sweat. She’d had the dream again where she met her father on the deserted wharf.

  Jennie grabbed a cotton blanket from the end of her bed and threw it over her shoulders. By the time she reached her window seat and opened the blind, her terror had faded to confusion.

  “Why doesn’t he just leave me alone?” she murmured. Jennie rarely dreamed about her father, especially not like that.

  She left the window seat to get her wallet and retrieve the snapshot she’d gotten from Debbie Cole in Florida—the one dated after her father’s disappearance. The three­by-five photo had certainly brought its share of trouble. J.B. had taken one look at it and turned white. The more Jennie thought about the photo the more upset she became. Had Debbie really made a mistake on the date?

  Did the dream mean her father was alive?

  Oh, no you don’t, McGrady. You are not going to go through all of that business about Dad being alive again. It’s about time you grew up and faced facts. He’s dead and he’s not coming back. Ever.

  Jennie stuffed the photo back in her wallet. She didn’t know why she even bothered worrying about it. Mom was right. It was time to get on with her life. Jennie had more important things to do than chase childish fantasies.

  For one thing she intended to find out who had ransacked their house—her room. She sank back into the cushions and closed her eyes. Had it been a random burglary? If so, why hadn’t they taken anything? Were they looking for something specific? If so, what? It didn’t make sense.

  Unfortunately, that mystery would have to wait until she and Lisa got home from the cruise.

  The cruise. In a half hour, Lisa, Gram, and J.B. would be coming by to pick her up. “Okay,” Jennie murmured, “you are going to the Caribbean. A dream vacation. And you are going to forget about everything that’s happened and have a great time.”

  Jennie shoved the disturbing thoughts about her father and the break-in out of her mind. Determined to make Lisa’s birthday present the best ever, Jennie finished packing.

  7

  Late the next afternoon Jennie, Lisa, J.B., and Gram stood at the rail of the Caribbean Dreamer, a newly commissioned luxury cruise ship, tossing streamers into the warm Miami wind.

  “Oh, wow!” Lisa pulled a pink streamer from her fiery curls that seemed to pick up the glow of the sunset. “Isn’t this fantastic?”

  Jennie smiled and nodded. Despite the depressing time she’d been through in the last few days, she’d begun to share Lisa’s excitement. She felt something else too. Jennie had the oddest sensation that she was being watched.

  “Jennie, Lisa. Smile.” Gram snapped a photo as they turned toward her.

  “Hey, that wasn’t fair. My eyes were closed. Take another one.” Lisa posed against the rail. The wind lifted her hair when she tossed her head back and laughed. “C’mon, Jennie, stand beside me.”

  Jennie leaned against the railing, crossed her eyes, and stuck out her tongue.

  Lisa elbowed her. “You nut.”

  “Smile,” Gram crooned.

  Jennie complied, but the smile froze on her face when she noticed Gram wasn’t the only one taking pictures. A man, maybe in his late forties, wearing sunglasses, a straw hat, and a blue and white tropical print shirt, had aimed his camera straight at them. She started to tell Gram, then stopped.

  Gram would probably tell her she was imagining it. Most likely, the guy was just trying to get a picture of the sunset. Or, he could be one of the ship’s photographers. By the time Gram snapped her picture, the man had disappeared in the bon voyage crowd.

  Lisa nudged her. “Take a look at those guys down by the pool. Aren’t they gorgeous?”

  Jennie glanced down to the lower deck where Lisa was pointing. Twin swimming pools separated by twin Jacuzzis glistened like aquamarine gemstones in the late afternoon sun. She scanned the deck chairs surrounding the pool area and finally spotted them. One thing about her cousin, she did have great taste in men.

  “I want the blond. You can have the other one.”

  “Lisa, stop pointing. What if they see us?”

  “That’s the point, silly. Let’s go swimming so we can meet them.”

  “Um…I’ll need to change,” Jennie said, hoping to delay long enough to make an escape. She wasn’t really in the mood to meet guys. She turned to tell her cousin that, but Lisa had already headed down to the lower deck. Jennie shrugged and turned back to the railing. She watched the taller and darker of the two young men walk from his lounge chair to the pool and slip into the turquoise water. His muscles rippled as he lifted his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head. He had a foreign look to him, Jennie decided. Spanish maybe—or Italian.

  He ducked under the surface and shot back up, shook the water from his hair, and climbed out. The water looked so cool and inviting Jennie felt the urge to swim a few laps. Maybe she’d even talk to the guy. Maybe not.

  He toweled off and, as if sensing her presence, glanced up in her direction. His dark, penetrating gaze leveled her before she had a chance to breathe.

  He broke eye contact, acting as if he hadn’t seen her.

  Maybe he hadn’t, yet in those brief few seconds, Jennie felt as though she’d been thoroughly inspected and rejected. “Creep,” she muttered and turned away. “Who needs you?”

  “Did you say something, dear?” Gram, who’d been talking to some of the other passengers, looked over at her.

  “Ah…no. I was just…”

  “Jennie,” Lisa called from a deck chair near the guy she’d been watching. “Come on down. Matt and Dominic want to meet you.” Lisa must have connected with the blond while Jennie had been making a fool of herself.

  Jennie groaned. The last thing she needed was for Lisa to try to pair her up with a guy who obviously disliked her.

  “Go ahead, Jennie,” Gram insisted. “Enjoy yourself. If you need us, J.B. and I will be walking on the promenade deck below—deck six, I think. Just be sure you girls are ready for dinner by eight. It’s informal, but you’ll probably want to wear dresses.”

  Jennie didn’t like being trapped into things and felt like throwing a tantrum. She didn’t want to enjoy herself, meet guys, or wear a dress. Come on, McGrady. Ease up. This is Lisa’s cruise and you were going to make sure she had a good time, remember? Jennie heaved a resigned sigh, shrugged her shoulders, and headed for the stateroom she shared with Lisa to change into her swimsuit. She took her time, hoping the guys would get bored and leave. No such luck.

  When Jennie approached the threesome, Lisa bounced out of her lounge chair. “It’s about time you got here. Guys, this is my cousin and dearest friend, Jennie McGrady. Jennie, this is Matt Hansen and Dominic Ramirez. Dominic and Matt go to the University of Miami. Isn’t that fantastic?”

  “Hi.” Jennie set her sports bag on a vacant chair beside Lisa’s and shook hands with each of them. Matt greeted her warmly, his blue eyes welcoming and kind.

  Dominic’s lips parted in a smile that didn’t quite reach his intense brown eyes. “Hello, Jennie,” he said in a thick accent that left no doubt about his Spanish descent. He held her hand longer than she liked. Challenging her? That was crazy. He didn’t even know her.

/>   “I’m ready for a dip,” Matt said, unfolding himself from the chair. “Coming?”

  Lisa followed him.

  “Would you like to swim as well, señorita?” Dominic asked, his warm baritone voice melting over her like sunlight through an afternoon window.

  “Ah…no. I mean…” Good grief, McGrady, get a grip. What’s wrong with you? So the guy’s got a great body and a voice so deep you could get lost in it. So what? He’s out of your league. He doesn’t even like you. “Urn…look, Dominic…” Jennie lowered herself into the chair beside him. “You don’t have to…I mean, just because Lisa and Matt are…” Come on, spit it out. “Look, don’t feel like you have to keep me company.”

  A concerned frown etched Dominic’s face. “Why would you say such a thing? How could I not want to be with one as beautiful as you?”

  “Earlier, when you looked up there and saw me…” Jennie shrugged.

  “Ah…but you have misunderstood. I have been accused of this before. My mother would often tell me I looked as though I was angry with the world. It is my way, señorita. Please…you will forgive me, no?”

  “Sure.” Jennie smiled, still wondering about his sincerity. Not certain where to go from there, yet wanting to fill the long silence, Jennie asked him about his accent. “I am from Bogotá, Colombia. I lived there all my life until the death of my father.” An angry frown crossed his handsome features, then fled. “Now my home, when I am not at the university, is with my grandfather.”

  “I’m sorry about your father,” Jennie empathized, suddenly able to understand his moodiness. “My father is d—” Even with all the evidence confirming his death, Jennie still couldn’t say the word aloud. “…gone,” she finished.

  Dominic stared at her for a moment, then glanced down at his hands. He’d balled them into tight fists. Slowly, deliberately, he released them, then lifted his gaze to meet hers. “The day is too beautiful for talking of death, no?” Dominic rose from his chair. Even though she nearly matched him height for height, Jennie felt small and insignificant. Like a peasant entertaining royalty. “We will swim instead.”