The Stranger

by Anna del Mar

  I opted for silence.

  Louise’s chest rose and fell in a deep breath. She opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again. “You’re wrong. You and your family know nothing about love. I didn’t know Summer’s mother before she died. And why would I want to kill my daughter?”

  “You tell me.”

  “I married Miguel for love,” she said. “He never had a dime to his name. The only thing he had when I met him was that condo in Fountain Way where we live now, a freebie from his last project. He was pretty much ruined when we got together.”

  “Strange.” I tried to suppress the sarcasm in my voice. “Miguel Silva was such an innovating, successful architect.”

  “He was a great architect, that’s true, but he knew squat about managing money,” Louise said. “I’m not one to talk, but Miguel had no clue how much money he made or spent. Miguel bet all he had left in the Fountain Way project, but the real estate market caved, and after that, he was too sick to work. Hector was his best friend and partner and he was good enough to float Miguel some money. That’s how we paid for the hospital bills. That’s how we buried him. But to answer your question, no. I don’t know of a single soul who’d want to harm Summer or her mother.”

  “What about Sergio De Havilland?”

  “Summer made sure that idiot would want her alive and well.”

  “What about Tammy?”

  “No!” Louise stomped her foot, a stubborn gesture that reminded me of Summer. “Tammy loves Summer. They’re sisters.”

  Three very different women, three identical responses.

  Time to throw in a twist.

  “The evidence suggests that Peterson lived at Fountain Way or had free access to it.”

  Louise’s painted eyebrows angled up. “So?”

  “You lived in 16C, just a few doors down from Miguel Silva and his wife.”

  Louise’s gaze shifted to the lamp between us. “Is that a Walmart special?”

  “Nope,” I said. “It’s a Tiffany original.”

  “Expensive?”

  “Priceless.”

  “Shit.” The look she gave me could’ve turned me into ashes. “I don’t like you very much right now, but I’m gonna tell you something, because I also like you a lot.”

  I frowned. “I don’t follow.”

  “You’re a son of a bitch,” she said. “A ruthless, intimidating, self-righteous bully who thinks he can bulldoze over everyone else ’cause you have money and you know better. That’s the part I don’t like. But you care for Summer. You’re trying to protect her. I like that, even if right now, the sight of you makes me wanna barf.”

  “I—”

  “Quiet.” She lifted a bony hand in the air. “I want you to go back and check me out some more.”

  “The research is done.”

  “Look again, genius,” she said. “If you do, you’ll find out that I bought my condo at Fountain Way the year before Summer’s mother died, but rented it out until I moved down to Miami a year later. Until then, I lived in New York where I worked as a secretary for the public school system. Check it out. You’ll see.”

  Could it be true?

  “I’m telling you the truth.” Louise clasped her hands on her lap and glowered at me. “Now, Mr. Erickson, get out, and don’t come back until you’ve got your facts straight and the name of the scum who hired George Peterson to kill Summer.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  By the time I saw Seth off to Juneau for his meeting with the governor, Hector waited for me, anxious to talk about E&E’s project. I deferred breakfast in favor of meeting with him. We met in an alcove at the main house, because I wanted to be nearby in case of a Louise china crisis, even though Hector insisted we’d get more work done at his lodgings in the lighthouse. Sometime mid-morning, I promised him I would meet him out there with the blueprints, after I checked on Louise.

  I wandered about the big house, looking for my stepmother. She wasn’t in her room. She wasn’t in the dining room either. One of the maids mentioned she’d seen Louise in Astrid’s library. I rushed up the stairs.

  I erupted into the library, fearing another scene of destruction like last night’s. Astrid’s devil dogs made a line for me, but I didn’t miss a stride. I snapped my fingers, commanded them to sit, and scoured the library for the site of the next skirmish.

  The surreal scene that faced me didn’t include broken china or brawling crones. The morning light poured through the windows to illuminate a card table set against the sound’s dramatic background. Louise and Astrid sat opposite to each other, playing bridge in a most unlikely pairing. They teamed up against none other than a stone-faced Robert and Anya Golov, who waved at me before making her play.

  “Hello there,” Astrid called out cheerfully. “Might I offer you some tea?”

  Astrid was offering me tea. Me. Tea. She was playing cards with Louise. My eyes wandered over the impressive pile of single dollar bills evenly distributed between Astrid and Louise.

  God almighty. I pinched myself. Was I sleepwalking again?

  Louise picked up a card from the pile and shot me a side-glance. “Cat ate your tongue?”

  “Miss Silva hasn’t had her café-con-leche yet,” Robert put in. “Master Erickson says she won’t function without it.”

  “Oh, that explains it.” Anya reached for a platter from the sideboard and offered it to me. “How about some pickled fish to get your metabolism churning?”

  It was my stomach that went into a churn. “Perhaps a little later.” The bile soured my mouth. “Is...is everything all right?”

  “Of course. Everything’s fine.” Louise pinched a slice of fish from Anya’s tray, folded it into a little tube, and popped it into her mouth. “Not bad.”

  Sometime last night the universe had flipped over and the world had turned upside down.

  Astrid smiled. “You never told me your stepmother was an accomplished bridge player.”

  “She’s a cheater, that’s what she is,” Anya grumbled, setting the platter aside. “And so are you, Astrid Erickson. Together, you two are the scourge of the earth. So get off your high horse and prepare to lose your Depends. Robert didn’t draft me out of the homestead to be roadkill for you two.”

  “Certainly not.” Robert examined Louise’s discard before picking another card from the pile. “With all due respect to the mistresses, I expect we shall win this contest.”

  “That accent.” Louise fanned her face. “It tickles my G-spot.”

  “Louise!”

  She pursed her pink pout. “What?”

  I stared at her, mortified. “You need to zip it!”

  “Now, child, more respect.” Astrid arched her silver eyebrows. “Louise, dear, if you ask me, you gave this one too much leeway with her mouth growing up.”

  “True,” Louise said. “She was always fast with her tongue and hot with her temper.”

  “Still is,” Astrid observed.

  “Miss Silva is also unable to follow directions,” Robert added.

  “And she has no patience,” Anya put in. “Not even an ounce.”

  Had I died and gone to hell?

  “The problem with my Summer is that she’s a worrywart.” Louise tapped her acrylic nails on the green felt. “She worries about everything. She’s too sensitive. Everything sticks. Her mind’s like a cow, chewing cud. I tell her to chill all the time. She’s gonna get an ulcer by thirty.”

  Anya winked at me. “Some people don’t know when to stop chasing worries.”

  Time to get out of this place. I backed away from the table, because I wasn’t about to turn my back on those four.

  “I have some work to do,” I mumbled, still in shock.

  “Go ahead,” Astrid said. “I’ll be delighted to entertain y
our stepmother. She’s really a talent, you know.”

  Enough surrealism for one day.

  I hightailed it out of the library, afraid of breaking what had to be a powerful peacekeeping spell. I didn’t know which of the witches in there was responsible for it, and I didn’t care. Alternatively, they were playing charades, conspiring to throw me off. Surely, as soon as I left, Louise would throw up Anya’s pickled fish on Astrid’s lap and the bickering would begin. I donned a scarf and my coat, grabbed the blueprints from Seth’s room and dashed down the stairs. I wasn’t about to second-guess my luck.

  On my way to the lighthouse, Alex ambushed me at the verandah. He stepped out from behind the door, cradling his tablet against his chest. His arm was no longer in a sling, but with his nose still swollen from last night’s fight and with his eyes bruised, he looked like a giant raccoon.

  “Why if it isn’t our sweet, enterprising Summer.” He blocked my path. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”

  I tried to sidestep him. “You and I have nothing to talk about.”

  “Au contraire.” Alex shifted to block my path again. “We have much to discuss. About Seth. About your missing sister.”

  “Go try your tricks on someone else.” I swerved around him. “I’m not up for your lies.”

  “Running off to the lighthouse again?”

  His tone froze my steps.

  “We all know what you like to do over there.” He leered. “Got to keep that hot Latin blood of yours pumping, I suppose.”

  My face burned, probably beet red. So he knew. Alex had been keeping tabs on us. I don’t know why it surprised me. He had the money and the resources to do so without suffering from any moral or ethical dilemmas.

  Devil dogs or demon cousins, I wasn’t afraid of either, and I was really tired of Alex’s clumsy attempts to turn me against Seth. Since he hadn’t gotten the message last night, it was time to set him straight for good. I wheeled on my heels and confronted him.

  “I’m going to the lighthouse to meet with my boss, who’s staying there, strictly for work. So stop spreading rumors and causing trouble. Think of your family.”

  “The family, yes.” Alex drew on his e-cig. “The Erickson brood seems suddenly fascinated by your tropical essence. Everybody is talking about you. Seth’s girlfriend is so real, they say. In a strange twist, some of my brothers and sisters find you appealing and even Grandma has taken an interest in the hottest season of the year.”

  “Please.” I tried not to roll my eyes but failed miserably. “It would do this family a lot of good if you focused your energies on building it up instead of trying to destroy it.”

  “My problem is with Seth,” he said. “Do you expect me to let him run the family as if he was God and emperor?”

  “Seth’s a good man, trying his best,” I said. “You and he share the same blood. Give him a break. I mean, really, what is it about him that rankles you so much?”

  “That would be a long list.”

  “Maybe things could change,” I said. “You could stop undermining Seth and talk to him, one adult to another. He’ll listen. I guarantee it. Seth can be trusted.”

  The grin on Alex’s face chilled my belly. “You seem so sure about that.”

  I squared my shoulder and stuck out my chin. “I’m sure.”

  “Allow me to dispel a myth.” His malicious smile widened. “My dear cousin Seth is not nearly as perfect nor as trustable as you think he is. His character is irreparably broken. Your trust is misplaced.”

  “See?” I pointed at him with the blueprints. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re always putting him down, undermining him—”

  “He knows where your sister is.”

  I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. “What?”

  “Seth lied to you.” Alex’s stare bore into me. “He knew where Tammy was all along. He actually talked to her and Nikolai, days ago. He just didn’t want you to know.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I said. “Seth knows I’m worried about Tammy. Why would he keep her whereabouts from me?”

  “Because he wants to control you,” Alex said, palms up, as if it should be obvious to me. “Because he wants to control everything and everyone. Face it, Summer. He’s a power hog, a control freak. He lies, cheats, and deceives people for a living. He always gets his way.”

  “And what about you?” I snapped. “Aren’t you fighting for control right now? Aren’t you trying to manipulate me with your lies as we speak?”

  “I won’t deny I have a dog in this fight,” he said. “But I’m telling you the truth. Seth knows, has known for a long time.”

  I shot him a cutting glance. “You’re making this up.”

  “My information comes from reliable sources,” Alex said. “Seth knew that, if you found your sister, you’d get out of Alaska faster than he could blink. He didn’t want you to be free to make your own choices.”

  My stomach squeezed and I suppressed the frisson of foreboding that crept up my spine. Could there be an ounce of truth in what Alex was saying? No, he was a liar and a schemer. Seth wouldn’t keep the truth from me. He wouldn’t lie to me either. We were good together. We trusted each other.

  But deep down, I also knew that Alex was mixing lies with truth. Seth was used to having his way and he wanted me to stay in Alaska. He’d worked hard to keep me in his house and in his life. I wasn’t a fool. But lying? No, he knew better. He wouldn’t lie, not to me.

  “I suppose you need proof.” Alex grabbed his tablet, punched some keys and thrust the screen before me. “Here. Take a look at this message stream.”

  “I don’t need to look at anything.” I crushed the blueprints to my chest and made a point to look away, fixing my stare on the noisy gulls rioting over the shoreline. “Whatever you have, it’s fake. Seth’s systems can’t be hacked.”

  “Agreed,” Alex said. “Seth’s systems are solid and even my best people don’t have superpowers. But Nikolai Golov? Poor thing. His devices don’t even have virus protection. Take a look.” Alex offered me the tablet. “If you don’t want to believe me, that’s your problem. But you owe it to yourself to at least consider the evidence.”

  I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to credit Alex’s schemes with even the slightest consideration. I didn’t want to doubt Seth either. Looking at that screen felt like betrayal. But refuting Alex’s so-called “evidence” was also the only way to put an end to his lies. Surely, I’d be able to identify the discrepancies and establish that the messages were fakes, created by Alex to discredit Seth.

  I snatched the tablet from Alex’s eager hands. I perused the screen. And there it was, an involved exchange, allegedly between Seth and Nikolai. I read through the messages, first quickly and then more slowly. My eyes tripped over the ones where a purported Seth related to a purported Nikolai our first visit with Anya. It explained how worried I was and how I’d almost gotten shot when I found Tammy’s blanket on the line.

  The details. They were spot-on, recounted by someone who’d been present during the events. I recognized Seth’s voice in the messages, his stark, succinct style, trying to convince Nikolai to get Tammy to meet with me. These messages weren’t fakes.

  The bile rose in my throat. Seth had known where my sister was. He’d lied to me. That’s why he’d been so lukewarm about my leads. That’s why his guy had never come up with anything helpful. That’s why he hadn’t wanted me to go to Denali in the first place.

  The gull’s cackles seemed to be directed at me. Something inside of me broke. Whatever part of me generated my capacity to trust shattered all over again. My heart ached and my knees faltered. I plopped down on the steps. Seth knew where Tammy was. He hadn’t told me. He’d lied to me.

  I clamped down on my lips and swallowed the tears. No crying. I dipped my face in my hands. Pa
in and fury collided inside of me. For a full sixty seconds, the battle within annihilated my capacity to think. How could he?

  “I can take you to your sister.” Uninvited, Alex took a seat on the stairs next to me. “I can fly you out there right now. She’ll confirm that Seth has known where she was for a while.”

  “You must be deluded if you think I’m going anywhere with you.” I might be mad and hurt, but I wasn’t stupid and, no matter what, I wasn’t going to conspire with Alex to destroy Seth. Never. “You’re not doing this for my benefit. You want to cause trouble for Seth? Well, kiss my ass. I’m not going with you.”

  “The jerk lied to you,” Alex said. “I’m your only chance to get to your sister, now, today, before she makes the mistake of a lifetime.”

  My head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

  Alex took the tablet from me and pulled up some photographs on the screen. “Once we hacked into Nikolai’s devices, I hired a pair of private eyes to track down Tammy. They’ve gone along on your sister’s little adventure, sending me nice pictures along the way. These are from this morning. By the way, your sister’s hot. She looks happy, wouldn’t you say?”

  I stared at the pictures on Alex’s tablet as he scrolled from one frame to the next. Blonde and sprite-like, Tammy pranced next to a dark-haired man who must be Nikolai as they exited an official-looking building somewhere in Alaska. In the next frame, Tammy pumped her fists in the air, holding up what looked like a paper of some sort.

  “Would you like to know what that document is?” Alex said.

  I covered my mouth. Oh, no. No, no, no.

  “It’s a marriage license.”

  Had Tammy gone insane? What was wrong with that girl? I wanted to throttle my sister. If Louise found out, all hell would break loose. Oh, my God. I had to stop Tammy from ruining her life. She must be on a high. A manic state was the only possible explanation for this. I knew what a bad marriage was like. I knew the humiliation and indignities she’d have to endure.