The Village of Gerard's Cliff

by Carol Anne Vick

  ******

  Allie wrote methodically in the notebook. She began with her most pressing needs, and worked down from there.

  "Okay." She took a deep breath, relieved to be able to think clearly. She would not let self-pity overtake her, deciding to give herself three hours to research, make phone calls, and put her plans into action. As sweet and generous as Ben and Tilda were, she thought, she wouldn't take advantage of them. Two days at Ben's was long enough for him to be inconvenienced, and Tilda needed to start her new job.

  After the necessary call to her insurance company, made as she sat propped up against the pillows, Allie pored over the ads in the morning paper Ben had brought her. As she flipped the pages of the paper, her eyes fell on a photograph of her inn, engulfed in flames, accompanied by a short article. She folded the page back and began to read. Allie felt as if she were reading about someone elses tragedy, not her own. She read the article through tear-filled lashes, and reached for the box of tissues Connor had put by the sofa. As she held the tissue to her cheek, she realized that, surprisingly, there was no mention of the two gunmen, or Connor....only that the cause of the fire was unknown and under investigation. She folded the page, and set it aside to keep, turning back to the ads. After finding a listing for a furnished apartment, with a month to month lease, in the village that appealed to her, she dialed the number of the landlord.

  Allie put checks by 'call insurance', and 'rent apartment' on her list. She felt very pleased with herself, encouraged that she was still somewhat in control of her life.

  "What is that wonderful smell?" Allie peeked into the kitchen, her hand cinching the waist of the sagging pajama bottoms.

  "Ham and spinach quiche, honey." Tilda turned around from the counter where she was chopping lettuce. Allie noticed that Ben was leaning on the same counter, watching her make the salad.

  "I'm going to get a quick shower." Allie smiled at the two of them.

  Allie took longer than she had planned. She leaned against the tiles and closed her eyes, letting the hot, steamy water flow over her, feeling her mind and body rejuvenate. She dressed in the previous day's outfit, appreciative of the fact that they were clean, and neatly folded. It struck Allie that these were her only possessions now... literally, the clothes on her back. She shuddered. She had survived. Connor had survived. They both could have been killed. She would not allow herself to wallow in self-pity, she decided, as she pulled her damp hair back into a pony-tail.

  Allie walked into the kitchen to see Connor sitting at the table, his back to her, gesturing with his hands as he engaged in an amiable conversation with Tilda and Ben. Connor turned and stood up when she walked in. He put his hands on his hips and smiled broadly at her. She returned his smile, feeling her eyes light up at the sight of him.

  Tilda brought in their late lunch - quiche, salad, and a bottle of white wine to the table. They spent the next hour enjoying each other's company. Allie noticed how much Ben and Tilda seemed to genuinely like Connor. She smiled as she listened to Connor tell them about his encounter with a moose on his way to Gerard's Cliff.

  Ben and Tilda shoved them out of the kitchen after the meal, insisting on cleaning up. Connor and Allie walked into the living room carrying their glasses of wine, and sat on the sofa, turning to face each other. Allie tucked her feet under her. Connor crossed his long legs, and leaned his shoulder into the back cushion as he searched her face.

  "I think I got everything on your list....in the bags over there." Connor motioned with his glass, then nodded as she thanked him. "But I want to tell you some news first."

  "All right." She sipped her wine.

  "Ethan was just arrested, Allie. You don't have to worry about him any more. In fact, the main suspects in both countries have been taken in."

  "Thank goodness." She breathed a sigh of relief. "What do you mean by both countries?"

  "I'll try to put this whole thing in some sort of order." Connor paused to get his thoughts together. "Several years ago, Ethan allegedly approached your husband to join him in an international counterfeiting operation based in Canada. Halifax, to be exact. The group there produced fake U.S. twenty dollar bills. They needed someone on this end who could take a boat north, pick up a shipment of the fake twenties, and stash it in the United States until pick-up. That became Patrick's job." Allie listened quietly, sipping her wine. "He stored the counterfeit twenties in the inn's basement, and at a scheduled time, Ethan would come to the inn, pick up the stash and transport it to Virginia. A group in the U.S. then picked up the fake twenties from Ethan, and dispersed all of it throughout the country, by various means, exchanging it for real American currency."

  Allie listened intently to Connor's explanation, remembering the times when Patrick would leave on his fishing trips, and Ethan would occasionally visit for no apparent reason. It started to make sense to her.

  "Then the process was reversed." Connor continued. "The group would then take the real cash to Ethan, minus the cuts, and he transported the cash to Patrick. Patrick took out his cut, then transported the real American money by boat to Halifax."

  "This just seems unreal." Allie shook her head. "I can't believe I didn't notice anything unusual."

  "Well, it all started to unravel when someone in Canada figured out that the real money had been coming up short for awhile. They figured out that Patrick had been skimming for a couple of years, and assumed that he'd hidden the money in the inn. That's when he was set up, and murdered on a boat trip to Halifax, and it was made to look like a fishing accident." Connor knew she'd been through so much already. He didn't want to make things harder for her. "Are you okay?"

  "No...I mean yes." Allie assured him. "I need to know this. It explains so much."

  "Ok, where was I? Um..." Connor rubbed his forehead. "Okay - Ethan kept pestering you to sell him the inn, because he must have known the money was there. He probably would have been murdered next if he couldn't come up with it." Connor put his glass on the side table. "Allie, when I went back to the inn last night, I shot and killed one of the gunmen. He pulled his weapon. I injured the other one, who, I understand, is already giving the police even more names than Jake Ayers gave me."

  "How was Jake Ayers involved in this?" Allie was confused.

  "He worked on the boat with Patrick when they went to Halifax, and for some reason, he quit and decided to snitch. He called our office a few weeks ago, but wouldn't go into detail unless someone met him." Connor rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  "So that's why you came to Gerard's Cliff? To talk to Jake Ayers?"

  Connor nodded. "I got the assignment - with very little information from Ayers. I came here to continue the investigation. When I talked to him the other night, his name-dropping really broke open the case." He adjusted the bandage under his shirt sleeve. "Then, he was murdered. I was going to try to convince you to leave the inn, for your own safety, when they broke in last night."

  Allie lowered her eyes, remembering how she had suspected Connor.

  "Allie, there's something else..." Connor seemed uncomfortable. "Jake Ayers told me that night that a woman close to Patrick was involved in all of this. Naturally, the feds would assume that..."

  "...that it was me? They suspected me?" Allie looked at him in amazement.

  "Well...yes, they would have. I had to make a gut call. When I gave the office Jake Ayer's information, I left that one detail out." He looked at her seriously. "I didn't tell them because I believed that you had no idea what your husband was involved in. And you're not that kind of person. If I had told them, you would have been picked up, checked out. I couldn't let that happen. Turns out the woman was Ethan's ex-wife, Mary. She's been arrested too, by the way."

  She nodded, remembering what Patrick had said about Mary being independently wealthy.

  He paused. "One other thing. The two men last night found the money. They had stashed it in t
heir pick-up."

  "Connor, why did they have to burn down the inn?" Allie was puzzled.

  "Pure meanness. Because we got away. To cover their tracks. We'll never know, I guess."

  "Are we still in any danger from these groups?"

  "No, I wouldn't worry about that." He shook his head. "Believe me, I wouldn't leave if I thought you were in any danger. There are a few stragglers here and there, but they'll soon be picked up." Connor took a deep breath and leaned back.

  Allie sipped her wine thoughtfully, trying to take it all in. She tried to visualize Patrick involved in such a huge illegal operation. She shook her head, remembering Connor running his hand across the wall in the basement.

  "So you also came to the inn to find the money that Patrick had hidden?" Allie tilted her head toward him.

  "That was part of it." Connor looked at her squarely. "I would have told you all I knew before checking out the basement. It just happened those guys tried to break in first." He rubbed his hand through his hair. "I had bits and pieces of information about the money from Jake Ayers. I was just one of dozens of agents working on this case."

  "Well," Allie took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm glad it was you they sent to Gerard's Cliff."

  Connor reached over and softly caressed her cheek with his thumb.

  "What will you do now?" Allie was hesitant, afraid of his answer.

  "Go back to Maryland and my job. It's pretty much finished here on my part. I may have to testify at the trials. I know there will be lots of paperwork." He paused. "I have to leave tonight."

  Connor continued rubbing her cheek, as she closed her eyes.

  "Oh, is this a bad time?" Tilda suddenly appeared in the living room, putting both of her hands in the air as if frustrated with herself. as Ben walked up beside her.

  Allie opened her eyes, startled, and sniffed. Connor stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

  "No...no." He seemed at a loss for words. "Tilda, Ben, I appreciate all you've done." He glanced back down at Allie and saw that she was wiping her eyes with a tissue. "I have to leave in a few minutes and head back to Maryland. They expect me to report to work tomorrow at eight am sharp."

  Tilda looked over sympathetically at Allie, who returned her gaze with red-rimmed eyes.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Connor." Tilda hugged him, and Ben shook his hand, both of them wishing him a safe drive home. They turned and Allie saw that they practically tripped over each other trying to head back to the kitchen.

  Connor turned to Allie and smiled at their exit. "They make a nice couple, don't they?" He nodded back toward the kitchen.

  "Evidently, a lot went on in my inn that I never noticed." Allie commented wryly.

  Connor walked back to the sofa, and sat next to her.

  "I'll keep in touch, Allie." Connor put his hand over hers.

  "I'm moving in two days to a small apartment in the village." Allie looked up at him.

  "I know. Tilda told me."

  A silence fell between them.

  "I'll walk you out." Allie stood up, and walked ahead of him to the front door.

  Allie leaned back against the door jamb, and looked up at Connor, her arms folded lightly across her waist. As hard as she tried to fight it, the lethargy continued to overcome her, making her feel hopeless at times. But she didn't want Connor to remember her like this. Who knew when she would see him again? When he pictured her in his head, she wanted him to remember her as a strong woman who could handle anything. In the few short days they'd spent together, she knew without a doubt how she felt about him. Strange, she thought, that she could be married for years to a man she never really knew at all, but in days, she felt so close to Connor...so connected. She lifted her chin, straightened up and took a deep breath.

  "You have Ben's number, right?" she shivered, suddenly starting to feel chilled.

  "Yes, and I'll call as often as I can." Connor reached out and rubbed her arms. "I expect things to be pretty hectic for a while at the office." He searched her eyes, and she saw the concern there. "Allie are you going to be all right? I know you're putting on a brave front for everyone. It's okay to feel the way you are. It's only natural. You've been through a lot." He folded her into his arms, and she reached around his broad chest, and leaned into him. She felt him nuzzle her hair. "I just wish I could do more. I wanted to go back to the inn with you and see if we could salvage anything." His lips trailed down as he planted soft, lingering kisses around her ear and neck. She didn't want this to end...for him to leave. Her hands loosened around his chest, as he pulled back to look in her eyes. She tried to hold the tears back, but saw his gentle face descend to hers through a blur. Tears streamed down her face, as he kissed her. Her hands moved up to grasp the back of his shoulders, and they held each other tightly. She could feel the heat from his chest penetrate and spread through hers, marveling that he could make her feel this way. He lifted his head, and smiled. She felt his warm hands come up to cup her face, as he looked lovingly down at her. She never wanted to forget how he looked at this moment. Looking back down at her upturned face, Connor lifted his chin slightly, nodding, as he gazed into her eyes, reassuring her. Allie saw that his eyes were moist. He bent down to kiss her again, one last time.