by Kathi Daley
Echo put his head in my lap as if sensing my discontent. He was a sensitive dog who seemed well equipped to read my many moods. Bernese Mountain Dogs tended to be in tune with their human’s needs anyway, but Echo and I were a search-and-rescue team, which created a heightened level of bonding.
“What do you think?” I asked my furry friend. “Was I rash in bringing us here for the summer?”
Echo lifted his head from my lap. He picked my cell up off the table and brought it to me.
“You think I should call Jenna?”
Echo put his paw on my lap.
“It’s kind of late.”
Echo barked once.
“Of course, with the time difference, it isn’t so late at Paradise Lake.”
I pulled up my best friend Jenna Elston’s number and hit enter. Jenna and I had been best friends since preschool when I tried to steal her red crayon. Instead of lashing out, Jenna had befriended me and we’d been best friends ever since.
“Oh my God. I’m so glad you called,” Jenna answered after the first ring. “I was just thinking about you. You must have read my mind.”
“Actually Echo read your mind, but I’m really happy I decided to call too.”
“So how is South Carolina? Is it romantic? I bet it’s romantic.”
I could almost see Jenna’s blue eyes flash with enthusiasm as I looked out at the sea. It was a warm summer night that seemed to wrap me in a hug as I listened to the crickets in the background.
“Actually,” I answered, “it is romantic. Not that I have anyone to be romantic with.”
“Are you sure?” Jenna asked.
I knew she meant Kyle. Jenna had been hinting for months that perhaps the love of my life hadn’t been Hunter, but the man who had been standing beside me all along.
“We’ve talked about this before. Kyle and I are just friends, and the fact that Hunter and I have officially split doesn’t change that in the least.”
“Not that I believe you, because deep down you must realize that you are supposed to end up with Kyle, but we’ve been over this before and I really want to hear about your trip. Tell me everything. What is the most amazing thing that has happened to you so far?”
“Kyle and I found a body in the attic.”
I waited during the long pause. “A real one?” she asked.
“Afraid so.”
I spent the next twenty minutes sharing everything I knew about Buck and his search for a mythical treasure with Jenna, who interrupted the flow of the retelling on several occasions with questions of her own.
“Are you are going to investigate?”
“Actually, probably not. I have a resort to refurbish and sisters to look after. I doubt I’ll have time for much else.”
Jenna just laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“You telling me that you don’t plan to investigate. It’s hysterical.”
“Why? I don’t even know the guy.”
“Maybe, but I bet that mind of yours has already been listing suspects, categorizing details, and formatting questions. I have known you almost your entire life, and if there is one thing I know to be true, it’s that if there is a puzzle to solve Tj Jensen is going to be the one to solve it.”
“Not always.”
“Always.”
Jenna did have a point. I think one of the reasons I found myself involved in so many mysteries was because of my innate need to figure things out. “So how are things in Serenity?” I decided to change the subject rather than admit that Jenna knew me as well as she thought she knew me.
“Okay.”
I could tell by Jenna’s tone of voice that her “okay” really meant the opposite. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really.”
“Come on, Jen. A best friend knows when something’s wrong.”
“It’s not any one thing. It’s a bunch of little things that have teamed up to bring stress and aggravation into my life.”
“Such as?”
I listened while Jenna let out a long breath. “Probably the biggest thing at the moment is time. The restaurant has been super busy so I’ve been working a lot of hours, which can be expected since summers are always busy. I guess the bigger issue has to do with Dennis’s promotion.” Jenna’s husband was a firefighter. “Now that he’s made Captain, he’s been working a lot of hours too. Between the two of us we’ve been working too many hours. I barely ever see Dennis and the girls are spending most of the summer with a babysitter. I love my family and I love my life, but I have to admit that I’m a little jealous of your adventure.”
“I wouldn’t be too jealous if I were you. So far my adventure has consisted of emotionally distraught sisters, a body in the attic, and a developer who I sense is going to make my life difficult. Not exactly the thing dreams are made of.”
“Maybe not, but you took a chance and shook things up. I feel like I’m in a rut.”
“Yeah, I get it. Although at the moment, I envy your rut. When I made the decision to come to Gull Island I really thought it was the right thing to do, but now I’m not so sure. I’m really afraid I might have made a mistake.”
“It was the right thing,” Jenna assured me. “You needed time away to gain perspective after your breakup with Hunter.”
“Which is another thing I’ve been questioning.”
“Sweetie, I love you and I love Hunter, but I don’t think you did the wrong thing. I know that when you first got back together with Hunter I was your biggest cheerleader. You and Hunter and Dennis and I have a long history filled with fond memories that I will always cherish. All through high school we were like the four Musketeers. Our team meant a lot to me, and I will admit that the four of us being the four of us again really appealed to me when you first started dating again. But now that I’ve had a chance to step back and really look at things, I can see that, although you both really tried, there just wasn’t a spark.”
“We had a spark.”
“Not the way you should have. Not the way you do with Kyle.”
I sighed. “I told you, Kyle and I are just friends.”
“Deny it as long as you want, but a best friend knows these things. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and I’ve seen the way you look at him. I know how important Hunter is to you, but even if there isn’t anything between you and Kyle I don’t think you and Hunter would have lasted the test of time. If Jake hadn’t been in the picture you probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as you did.”
Jenna was right. Hunter and I might have had a spark in the past, but somewhere along the line that spark had faded. If it hadn’t been for Jake, we most likely would have seen that. Somehow my love for Jake and my feelings for Hunter were all wrapped up together.
“Your dad and Rosalie came into the restaurant today.” Jenna had obviously decided to change the subject, which was more than fine with me.
“How’d they seem?”
“Happy.”
“I know my desertion on the tail of Dad’s announcement makes it seem as if I’m upset about the fact that they’re finally getting married, but I’m not. It’s more that I’m feeling displaced.”
“I’ve known your dad my whole life and I’ve known Rosalie for years, and based on what I know of both of them, I honestly would be surprised if it even entered either of their minds that you and the girls would move out. You’re a family. A big and loving multi-generation family who has made it work for a lot of years.”
“I know you’re right. My feeling like a third wheel isn’t due to anything that either Dad or Rosalie said. I guess I just need some time to get used to all the changes.”
“Which, as I said before, was a good move. Relax and try to enjoy your time on the island.”
Jenna and I c
hatted a few more minutes before I heard a crash in the background and Jenna informed me that she had to go clean up the mess their new puppy had made in the kitchen.
I was trying to decide whether to head upstairs or go for a walk when I heard someone ring the doorbell. I got up and went through the house to the front, where I opened the door to Deputy Savage.
“Deputy. What can I do for you?”
“I need to take another look at the attic. It seems we may have new information regarding Buck Barnes’s death.”
“Really? That was fast. Care to share?”
“No, ma’am. I’ll just be a minute.”
I stepped aside and let him in. “I spoke to Garrett after you left earlier. He seems to think Buck was killed while looking for the map his father used to own.”
“That’s a theory.”
“Do you have a better one?”
Deputy Savage smiled. “I appreciate your interest, but I’m afraid I can’t discuss an open investigation with you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll show myself upstairs.”
Jenna was right. I did like to be the one to solve a puzzle and being on the outside when I was used to being on the inside was not sitting well with me. I decided to power up my computer and see what I could find out about Buck Barnes. I wasn’t the wiz Kyle was at digging up information, but I was resourceful and therefore certain I could dig up the basics in the very least.
As it turned out, Buck was a sixty-eight-year-old lifetime resident of Gull Island who never married and never had children. As far as I could tell, his parents were both deceased and he had no siblings. His work history was pretty much nonexistent, so I had to wonder how he had supported himself. Although, I did remember Gertie commenting that the residents of the island gave the man work sweeping up and such. I suppose he must have been paid under the table since I couldn’t find any employment records. There wasn’t a lot of information about the man on the web, but he was briefly mentioned in an article for a popular magazine who had done a feature on Gull Island and the treasure hunters who seemed to gravitate to the island.
The longer I searched, the more convinced I was that the answers I was looking for would not be found on the information highway known as the World Wide Web. It looked as if the answers I sought would be found the old fashion way, direct conversations with the people who knew the man and called him friend. It was late and I was ready to turn in, but tomorrow I’d put on my sleuthing hat and see what I could dig up.
Chapter 4
Monday, June 19
In spite of my best intentions, I hadn’t followed up with any of the people I planned to follow up with after the events of Friday. Kyle suggested we should get everything unpacked and put away so that we’d feel more settled. His idea made sense, so we made it a priority on Saturday morning to relax and get to know our home for the summer. Of course, when we found that the guest shower leaked and the garbage disposal sent food hurling into the kitchen rather than taking waste the opposite direction, our priorities changed considerably. Saturday became devoted to making the house livable, so any unpacking that needed to be done was pushed off to Sunday.
Monday began for me as the sky was just beginning to turn light. I woke early and quietly gathered the household’s three dogs and headed downstairs. I figured a leisurely walk on the beach would go a long way toward quieting my mind. I let the warm water wash over my feet as the dogs chased the seagulls who were scavenging for their morning meal during low tide. I felt myself begin to relax as I focused on the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore as the sun began to rise. It was nice to have the beach to myself as I looked toward the day ahead.
Although I had been busy all weekend, I’d still spent a considerable amount of time thinking about Buck’s murder. The method by which Deputy Savage seemed to be investigating was unusual at best. He’d never even sent a crime scene team over. Even Deputy Roy Fisher back home, who admittedly wasn’t the brightest cop in the world, knew to send people around to check for fingerprints and other physical evidence. I was sure that Deputy Savage wasn’t as inept as he seemed. Different law enforcement agencies had different procedures, and I knew I just needed to accept that. Besides, I knew that Savage wouldn’t want me getting involved in his investigation, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved, but I was certain there wasn’t any harm in taking some time to introduce myself to some of the residents of the island. Gertie had mentioned Buck’s ex-partner Toby Upton as a suspect in Buck’s death. It made sense, I suppose, that if Toby felt Buck owed him a debt he might feel he was due a piece of any new treasure Buck might stumble onto. I didn’t know for certain that Toby had followed Buck to the attic, struggled with him, and ended up killing him, as Gertie suggested, but I was sure no harm could come from introducing myself to the man and letting the conversation take us where it would.
As the dogs and I wandered toward the south end of the beach, I noticed roped-off areas that indicated there were turtles nesting. I was anxious to speak to Meg from the turtle rescue squad about what we could do to help ensure that as many of the hatchlings as possible made it safely into the sea. I’d done a bit of reading about the struggle to protect the endangered turtles and only a very small percentage of eggs actually ended up as adult turtles. I could understand why Garrett was so intent on making sure the land his family had owned and protected for generations continued to remain intact and unhindered by development after he was gone. It seemed to me that as Garrett’s representative while he was away it was imperative of me to track down this Norton fellow and have a chat about his plans.
It was still early when the dogs and I returned to the house, so I fed the animals, showered, and dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. In all I had three people on my list to speak to: Toby Upton, Greg Norton, and Meg from the museum. I doubted that the museum would be open yet, so after leaving a note for the other members of the household, all of whom were still sleeping, I headed into town in the hope of speaking to both Toby Upton and Greg Norton.
The small touristy town was charming. Most of the businesses displayed colorful flowers in barrels in front of their storefronts, and many had awnings with blue and white stripes over the entries as well. The harbor was just across the street from the main thoroughfare, providing the atmospheric sound of seagulls and picturesque beauty of fishing boats in the background.
I decided to stop by the Gull Island Inn first in hopes of catching Mr. Norton before he headed out for the day. The inn itself was lovely. A lush green lawn bordered by a colorful flower garden and wraparound porch greeted me as I walked up the cobblestone walkway to the double front door. I imagined many guests had whiled away a summer evening sitting in one of the rocking chairs that were arranged artfully along the front of the building.
One of the fondest memories I had of my grandmother was the image of her sitting on the front porch of the house at the resort watching the sunset from the rocker my grandfather had made for one of her birthdays. I’d head outside and sit on one of the hardwood benches that lined the railing while Grandma would tell me stories of growing up in a wealthy family from the big city. She’d given up so much to move to the one-room cabin my grandfather had owned when they’d first met. I’d often wondered if she ever regretted her decision to give up a life of privilege to move to Paradise Lake, but looking back on the time we spent together, you only had to notice the love radiating from her eyes to know that she was happy and content with the life she’d chosen.
I climbed the three steps to the front door and knocked.
“Can I help you?” a friendly-looking woman with a huge smile and a sparkle in her eye inquired.
“My name is Tj Jensen.”
“The woman staying out at Garrett’s place. I heard you’d arrived.” The woman’s bracelets, which matched her long peasant dress, jangled as she reached out to shake my hand. I had to admit the local gossip hotlin
e really was impressive. Everyone I’d spoken to so far seemed to know exactly who I was. “My name is Hallie Bolton. Please do come in. Gertie called to tell me you’d be by. She said I should tell you everything I know and help in any way I can.”
“That was nice of her.”
“Gertie can be caustic if you get on her bad side, but if she likes you she’ll move heaven and earth to help you, and it was clear to me she really likes you. Besides, I want to help, although I’m afraid you’ve missed Mr. Norton.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hoped to discuss his plans for Garrett’s property with him.”
“You might want to check out the coffee bar down the street. He’s been known to stop by for a beverage in the morning.”
“I could use some coffee. Can you point me in the right direction?”
“Just take a left when you go out the door. Marina Coffee is about two blocks down on your right. You can’t miss it; there’s a giant cup of coffee painted on the front window.”
“Thanks.” I hesitated. “Was Gertie right that Mr. Norton has been successful in his bid to convince the town to rally together to pressure Garrett into selling the Turtle Cove Resort to Destination Properties?”
“The man is persuasive, and there are those who have come around to his way of thinking. There’s no doubt that the sale would change the culture of the island considerably.”
“And there are those who support that change?”
Hallie nodded. “I’m afraid the locals are very much divided in their opinions as to whether a megaresort would benefit or destroy the island. There are those, like Gertie and me, who live on Gull Island because we enjoy the small-town feel. For us, island life is ideal with its slower pace and easygoing way of life. There are others, however, who find it difficult to make a living with the tourist base we currently enjoy. Norton is promising a megaresort with a room capacity of over two hundred. He’s managed to convince many of the small business owners there’ll be a huge payday when it’s completed and the rooms are filled.”