“I mentioned yesterday the home owner had a surprise for us, and I have just been informed what it is. It would appear Gretchen is not only a beauty but handy around the house. A real jack-of-all-trades, she is. Today she will demonstrate her skills by installing a hot tub in one of the guest suites. I have to admit, I have my doubts.” He put his finger to his lips and made a shushing sound at the camera.
Gretchen, who stood by the tub with a pair of joint pliers in hand, did not look amused at his antics.
But she did look adorable.
From beneath her hard hat she rolled her eyes to the gutted ceiling of the bathroom. All the old tiled walls were already removed, exposing the wiring and copper plumbing that she would now connect to the tub.
“Oh, Mr. McCrae,” she said in a sweet mimic of his accent. “You’re just jealous because you don’t get to play with the tools. That’s why you’re only the host.”
“Whoa! And the gloves come off!” Colm shot back. “What do you say we take this out back? Huh, Goldie?”
“Sorry, no can do. Some of us have to earn a living by doing real work. Perhaps you can go practice your smile in a mirror while the rest of us make some progress on the house.”
Gretchen’s pursed lips twitched. She was holding back a smile he hoped she would let fly, even if it was at his expense. Her face was meant for television. He’d seen some of the footage already, and the camera loved her. But then it was quite easy to do, especially with her glittering eyes beneath the hard hat stealing the spotlight.
When Colm had envisioned her in his hat, he had expected her to look fetching in it, but he hadn’t expected the pummeling his gut took every time she looked his way. No alley brawl had ever bowled him over as much. He could gaze upon her for a lifetime and never tire of it.
Colm choked out a laugh, nearly forgetting the camera rolled. He must look like a lovesick puppy with his tongue hanging out. Get back into character, he scolded himself. The crew stood by waiting for him to respond.
“Shall we cue the cricket sounds, Mr. McCrae?” Gretchen asked, then faced the camera. “It would appear our smooth-talking Irish host is speechless.”
Colm cleared his throat at the large round lens. Tongue-tied was more like it, he thought. “Yes, well, I do believe Round One goes to you, Goldie, because I’ve got nothing. All right, love, impress us with your plumbing capabilities, and I suppose I’ll just slink away to find that mirror you mentioned for a little more practice.”
“Don’t you go anywhere. You could use the lesson just like your viewers. Probably more so.” She smiled and winked at him, but quickly became all business.
Gretchen turned to point out the two parallel pipes running down into the floor, and reaching out with the pliers, she touched metal against metal with a tinking sound. “These pipes are old, but they’re in great shape. To cut costs, I decided to keep whatever fixtures I could. The fittings will match up to the new tub just fine. The electrical wiring has already been connected to the tub, thanks to Sly.” She grinned at the show’s electrician, who also stood in the shot.
Colm noticed a pink tinge race up Sly’s leathery neck. It would appear her smile affected his friend, too.
“Since I know a bit about plumbing,” she continued, “I wanted to do the honors of connecting the pipes and turning on this hot tub for the first time. I was so excited when the director suggested it, so thanks goes to Troy for this opportunity.”
“Gretchen, can you tell us a wee bit about where you learned these tools of the trade?” Colm asked.
She hesitated, her cheeks red. After too long a pause she said, “Sure, I suppose I could.” The footage would have to be edited, but Colm wondered why she had a hard time sharing anything about her life. Her secrets ran deep, whatever they were.
She sat on the edge of the tub and faced the camera. “After my dad passed away when I was seven, I used to try to show my mom we were okay on our own. I learned everything I could to help around the house. Even fixing a leaky pipe. Some days I feel like I’m still trying to prove it to her, you know? I keep thinking that maybe after this show she’ll finally see there’s nothing wrong with being on your own, and in fact, we can be stronger because of it.” Gretchen gave a short laugh, but it fell flat, as did her smile. “Anyway, I tried it her way once…um…dating, I mean…” Gretchen visibly gulped and blanched at the camera.
Colm couldn’t let her bomb on film, especially since he’d set her up by asking the question. “So, you set out to better your family’s life. I commend you. It couldn’t have been easy, but here you are, proof that it can be done. You’re an inspiration to us all, Goldie.” Colm turned his head enough to shield half his face from the camera. He hoped his supportive gaze encouraged her to continue.
“Well, thank you, Colm. And I’m sorry for what I said about you and the tools.” Her smile grew broader by the second, and his respect for her grew, as well. Her blue eyes shimmered with life again. “But not about the mirror.” She stood and turned her back to him.
Colm looked back at the camera, eyes wide. “Aaaand Round Two also goes to Goldie.”
“Score! So, let me show how to install a tub. It’s really quite simple. As you can see, we’ve already mortared the tub into place beneath this beautiful picture window looking out to the rocky sea coast. Could you think of a better view while you relax in a hot tub? The guests who request the Sea View room will be in for a treat. Which reminds me, I’m already accepting reservations and my planner is filling up for the summer season, so don’t wait to call. Anyway, now the tub is ready to be hooked up to these parallel pipes called the waste, overflow and trap pipes.” She waved her pliers at each pipe as she named it, then started with the waste pipe.
She reached out to grab the pipe, but just as the tips of her fingers brushed against it, a spark zapped her and sent her flying back and onto the floor with a thud.
Gasps circled through the room.
Gretchen had dropped the pliers and lay against the tub. She held her injured hand close to her body, shaking.
“Gretchen?” Colm dropped to his knees, grabbing her hand. “Let me see,” he demanded, noticing two of her fingertips blackening. He looked at her pained expression, her eyes tightly sealed. “Goldie, look at me.” He reached for her face with his free hand, patting her cheek to get her attention. He needed to know if she could comprehend what had happened. Her eyes opened but looked so stunned, he didn’t think she did.
“This doesn’t make sense,” she murmured.
“Being shocked while installing a tub, you mean?”
She nodded. “That’s not supposed to happen.” She lifted her blackened fingers. “How?”
“Sly will figure it out.” Colm noticed his friend already inspecting the pipes. “Right now I need to know if you’re okay.”
“I think so. Just stunned and really confused. Sly, wh-what happened?”
Colm dragged his gaze away from searching for any injuries on Gretchen to look at the electrician. “Does this have anything to do with an old house not being grounded? Is it as simple as that? Please let it be as simple as that,” Colm said under his breath as he pulled Gretchen’s shaking body closer to his, butting his head against her hard hat. A lot of good it had done her. He ripped it off and tucked her head into his neck.
Sly ripped a voltage reader from his belt and touched it to the pipe. “There’s electricity looking for a ground, all right. And it’ll take anything it can get, including a human body. The waste pipe is hot.”
“Hot?” Colm felt inadequate. What did a woodworker and reality television show host know about electricity? “Come on, Sly. You know when it comes to electricity I’m as handy as an ashtray on a motorbike. What does ‘hot’ mean?”
“As in hot-wired. Come here. I’ll show you.”
Colm wasn’t ready to relinquish Gretchen from his hold, but her need to see what had happened trumped his. She pulled herself out of his arms to crawl over to Sly.
“It would appea
r someone attached the positive side of a hot wire to the copper piping. They used the hot tub’s electrical box for juice. Nicely done, I might add. Very clean and discreet. I wouldn’t have noticed anything out of place if I hadn’t been looking for it. Man, if she had grabbed hold of the pipe with her whole hand…well, let’s just say things would have been a whole lot worse than burned fingers.”
Colm swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Facts first. Then reaction. “But you just hooked up all the electricity last night.” He looked from the tampered pipe to Sly.
“Which means someone came in after I left.”
“How do I know it wasn’t you?” Colm choked on the words even before he finished saying them. “I’m sorry, Sly. I’m not thinking clearly. Of course you would never do anything like this. Forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive, son. This is serious business and you’ve got foul play to contend with. At this point, it could be any one of us.”
Gretchen scanned the faces in the room. “Who else was with you when you worked on the electricity?” she asked Sly.
“This is a television show. There’s always someone around. Colm was even here while we filmed.”
Gretchen shot a look Colm’s way. He saw her reservations about him once again flowing into her eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder and could feel her doubts in him tense up her body.
“Cut,” Troy announced. “That was perfect. Sorry, Gretchen, about you being hurt. Glad it was just a minor shock. It wasn’t planned, but you definitely played it well. Got some great footage to work with. Love that look of fear you gave Colm.”
Gretchen pushed Colm away and jumped to her feet. “I wish I never called this show. I think you should all leave.”
“Terms, Miss Bauer.” Nate peeked out from behind his camera.
Wendy chimed in, “Stuff like this is why the home owners aren’t on the scene during renovation and shooting. For your safety you might want to reconsider, Gretchen.”
Gretchen’s mouth dropped. “You make it sound like this was my fault. Someone did this to me!” She raced out of the room and down the stairs. Her front door slammed and rattled the windows around them.
After a few beats of guilt-filled silence, Colm said, “I’m heading out to shut the power down. Sly, don’t touch the pipe. I want Gretchen to report this to the authorities first. Someone knew she would be working up here today. Someone planned for her to grab hold of that pipe and not let go. Not even after she fried.”
*
Gretchen ran toward the trees and her cliff. She had to get away to think.
“Gretchen, wait up!” Colm called from behind her and she picked up her speed.
She gave no answer, just darted looks in all directions. The incident had freaked her out to the point that she had asked the crew to go. What was wrong with her? Even if she hadn’t signed the contract, she needed them. Without them she would never make her deadline.
“You have to call the sheriff, Gretchen.” Colm grabbed her hand to make her stop and look at him. “Listen to me. Your life is more important than any business.”
“You don’t understand. You’re rich. You can buy any home you want. Start your life anywhere you want.”
“First of all, Troy pays me the bare minimum and the money I do make, I put aside for— Never mind. This conversation is not about my finances. It’s about your life…and whatever you think you need to prove to someone, like you mentioned inside. Is this why you won’t call the sheriff’s department? Or are you still trying to protect a certain deputy?”
“How dare you throw that at me!” Gretchen yanked her hand away. “I shouldn’t have told you anything!”
“You can trust me, Gretchen. I’m not throwing it in your face. I just don’t want you to protect the man who hurt you. It will never end if you do.”
“Is this about your ma and the man she remarried? Because I’m not her.”
“No.” Colm reached for her arms. “This is about you. Gretchen, you could have been killed. If you had grabbed hold of the pipe, you wouldn’t have been able to let go. And nobody would have been able to help you. Not even me. I’m doing my best to protect you, but someone wants to make sure that task is impossible. Please, if you won’t call for yourself, who will you call for? Your mom?”
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but not from anger. Betrayal hurt so much more. “My mom would be on his side. She has been since the day we became a couple. Even when I ended it.”
“Oh.” Colm pulled her into his chest. He wrapped his arms tight and spoke into her ear. “I’m so sorry, love. The one person you should be able to go to—”
“A little lovebird quarrel?” A rude voice intruded abruptly. A quick twist and she saw Troy approaching. His gaze traveled between them for the answer.
“Of course not,” she jumped to reply first, then extricated herself from Colm’s arms.
Troy grunted, obviously doubting her claim. “Too bad. I could have used that.”
Colm tilted his head. “You know, Troy, Gretchen might have been killed. You don’t seem too upset about that fact.”
Troy scoped her out from top to bottom then back again with a shrug. “I said I was sorry. What more do you want?”
“I want to know who besides you knew Gretchen would be installing the tub today.”
“I had nothing to do with this incident, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
“Then tell me who else knew! Because if you’re the only one, you’re going to need a lawyer. I’m not going to sit back and allow you to put people in harm’s way for an inconsequential show on the telly.”
Troy huffed. He unbuttoned the dark green suit that looked tailor-made and closed in on Colm. “Inconsequential show? Need I remind you of the Dublin prison you would call home if it wasn’t for that show? Now, I don’t know anything about a hot wire. And I can’t say for certain who else knew about the installation. But if you want to call it quits and head back to your filthy neighborhood, go right ahead.”
“No.” Gretchen intervened before she lost her one chance at making a go of her business. “As much as I want to send you all packing right now, I can’t. I…I…”
“You what?” Colm demanded. “You need us? Is that what you were going to say? It’s not that hard, you know. Go ahead, try it. ‘I need you.’ Say it.”
“You know I do. I hate it more than anything, but I need you to start this business. I need you to help me begin my life again. There, you happy?”
“I won’t be happy until you call the sheriff’s department and report these incidents.”
“Then you might as well start swimming for the mainland now, because if I let the islanders know what’s going on, they will use it to put a stop to the renovation and the opening of The Morning Glory. Don’t you see?”
“The only thing I see is a woman with a lot of enemies who needs a bodyguard, not a construction crew. What I would hate more than anything is to see you get killed.” Colm’s jaw trembled with pent-up anger. He stomped away, clenching and unclenching his fists. He stopped suddenly and turned back, and Gretchen caught a glimpse of the street-fighting Colm.
Her heart jumped into her throat, but just as fast as it came, his anger turned to sadness and his shoulders slumped. He let out a sigh. “Just call the sheriff, Gretchen. Please.”
The pleading look he gave her nearly made her nod. She had to avert her attention away from his face.
“Then at least watch where you walk and what you touch. This place is a ticking time bomb. I need to go shut the power off for Sly.”
She watched in silence as Colm walked to the back of the house where the exterior entrance to the basement was located.
“You don’t fool me,” Troy said from behind her. She had nearly forgotten he stood there, witnessing her and Colm’s confrontation.
“What are you talking about?”
He pressed close with two steps of his long legs. “You just told me there was nothing between you and McCrae
. Three months ago, when I asked you out you also told me you would not be involved with another man for the rest of your life. Your words don’t speak as loud as your actions.” He leaned down so their faces were inches apart. His eyes turned beady and severe. She studied them with growing concern for her safety.
This is what danger looks like.
“I know there’s something between the two of you.” Troy spoke low and evenly. “I’ve watched the footage when the two of you are on camera together. The chemistry is off the charts. But there’s something you should know about Colm and his type of chemistry—things tend to blow up around him.”
“Like the fight you ransomed him from for your gain?”
Troy laughed but kept his voice quiet. “You mean when I saved him from a jail cell?”
“He was attacked.”
“So he says.” Troy straightened. He dusted off the lapel of his fancy suit. “You know, I think I’m going to let this little fling continue. If nothing else, I’ll make a pretty penny off this episode. People who don’t even care about home renovating will keep the channel tuned in just to see what happens between the two of you. Do me a favor, though—save these quarrels for the camera. The viewers will eat them up.” He flashed his too-white teeth and stepped toward the house.
Gretchen’s hand went to her chest where she could feel it tightening. The events of the day and Troy’s demeanor were doing a number on her breathing. She looked to her bedroom window and wondered if she had an old inhaler upstairs in her medicine chest.
“Oh, and, Gretchen,” Troy called out. He continued to walk on as though he knew she still stood by. “Just so you know, my offer stands. When you’re done slumming with McCrae, you know where to find me. Especially since I now know you haven’t really sworn off men. You just like the heavy hitters.” He disappeared around the back of the house, and she heard the first wheeze in her chest.
Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 Page 45